Womens Plus Size Clothing

"Style & Shopping Guide to Chic Womens Plus Clothing
- How to Dress Your Voluptuous Body Frame"

This is your guide to your Womens Plus Size Clothing & Styling needs!

Courtesy of Macy's

Here you'll find everything from shopping for your best clothes to fashion advice and styling strategies that help flatter your full figure size as well as your horizontal body shape (Hourglass, Pear, Apple, etc.). Also learn how the size measurements work for plus sizes!

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So What Does Plus Size Exactly Mean?

A plus size refers to a larger body scale which is usually from size 14 (size 16 in the UK) and up. Womens plus clothing is made to complement the bigger scale of a full-figure woman.

Luckily for you (and sadly for Petites), there is a wide selection of stylish plus size clothes on the market today. Gone are the days when full figure women were encouraged to create a blousy and tented look to purposely disguise their curves!

Today, the fashion manufacturers have finally understood the styling principles of how to dress your body. One of them is selecting clothes that have a great fit on your body figure. And baggy clothes do the exact opposite.

Note: If you're short (5'4"/163cm or below) then I also suggest visiting Style & Shopping Guide to Womens Petite Clothing.

If you're a size 14 or greater, and you need tips on where and how to start looking stylish, then this guide will provide you with all the necessary fashion advice, styling strategies and not least the best online shopping resources to help you look and feel fabulous in your clothes!

Let's take a look at the topics on Plus Size fashion that I'm covering:

Guides to Womens Plus Size Clothing


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Looking for a specific plus size garment or topic? Search for it here:

How to Dress Your Plus Size Figure

The best way to start looking your best is to dress according to the proportions of your body figure - meaning your horizontal body shape (Hourglass, Pear, Inverted Triangle, Apple, Rectangle) as well as your vertical line (do you have short legs or long legs compared to your upper body?). Plus size women come in all shapes and sizes â€“ from curvy to athletic figure frames.

Work with Your Body Proportions

This means that despite a group of women wearing the same size, each of them has a set of styling needs that help them look their best. The kimono top that flatters your arms and make your hips look smaller, might not look as good on a woman who has wide shoulders and slim hips.

I suggest that you start with the very basics - determining your body shape - to get a clearer picture of how to place accessories, colors and shapes on all the right places of your body frame to aid in disguising the parts of your body that make you look wider, so that you can feel confident and look your best!

The 5 General Body Shapes:

Another key factor to dressing your full-figure size is your frame's vertical line; meaning, how long your upper half is compared to your bottom half (torso versus hips and legs). You might have longer or shorter legs than your upper body or vice versa which also involves a couple of adjustments. In general, having long legs make you look taller and slimmer. Check out more detailed fashion advice on how to dress your vertical body shape here.

Buying Petite Plus Size Womens Clothing

If you're short you need to look for petite plus size clothing that suits your height as well as body scale. You can find petite clothes for full figure women at stores such as Woman Within, Jessica London and Catherine's. Learn more about how to dress your petite height.

Streamline Your Silhouette and Look Trimmer

By having your body shape in mind you'll know how to strategically wear your plus size clothing in a way that will streamline your silhouette and make you look trimmer. Anything that makes the eye go up and down, instead of the the sides, helps you look leaner.

Keeping your waist slim will also help create a sleek and appealing silhouette.

Examples of slimming details are:

Monochromatic outfit (dark or light colors from bottom to top)
Wearing vertical jewelry motifs
V-necks or any other shapes that draw the eye up and down

Focus on Great Fit

One of the best ways to look trimmer is to wear great fitting clothes. So avoid tented, oversized tops and pants that only make you look heavier, and stick to clothing that sits snugly on your body, but not too tight to avoid creating bulges that would attract attention to problem areas.

It should be neither loose or tight, and it's preferred to keep the thinnest part of your waist trim with for example empire line, nipped waist cut or belt.

Other ways to finding great fitting womens plus size clothing are:

Always know your current body measurements that you can compare to size charts.
Wear the right undergarment. These should fit perfect to avoid bulges underneath your clothes. So throw out those saggy panties!
Stick to right above or knee length hemlines

My private stylist portfolio on how to wear clothes

Other Points to Consider When it Comes to
Womens Plus Size Clothing & Fashion

One thing you should know when it comes to womens plus size clothing and full-figure sizes is that they can vary by manufacturer. Always double-check their size chart. Even compare various plus clothing stores charts to see the differences.

Understanding How Plus Sizes Work

Usually a W may follow the size number, and the sizes can go from a 12W to 16W up to 30W or greater. The odd numbers such as 13 and 17 are marketed to plus size teens.

So what exactly is the difference between a regular size 14 and a 14W?

A 14W is larger cut around the waist, stomach and hips. It can be a small or significant different, because each manufacturer uses its own measurements which explains the discrepancy in sizes from store to store. Some may run smaller or larger than average.

So if you're shopping for womens plus size clothing online, make sure to:

Check the size chart and compare it with your own measurements
Email the company regarding the measurements
Research customer reviews and see what others are saying about the fit and size

What does 1X, 2X, 3X, etc. mean?

Most womens plus size clothing today are designated with an X. And an X usually corresponds to a size 14W-16W â€“ 2X to an 18W-20W, and 3X to a 22W-24W.