Plus-Size Fashion on Real Women Compared to Models: How They Differ

Something’s not right here!  

While considerable progress has been made with representation and clothing options for plus-sized women, a recent BuzzFeed investigation proves there is still room for improvement. 

Editors Kristin Chirico and Sheridan Watson, who frequently shop for plus-size fashions, signed themselves up for a day of trying on clothes from brands including Forever 21, Torrid, ASOS, and Fashion to Figure. Sounds exciting, right? Unfortunately this experience with outfits had more than a few snags. 

“A lot of plus-size clothes are only available online — including, most recently, the plus-size version of Target’s Lilly Pulitzer line, which sold out in minutes, and many pieces ended up on eBay at huge markups,” the duo explained in the report. “This means that plus-size women must often buy items based only on their own measurements and how it looks on the model.” 

It also doesn’t help when brands used smaller models who may be padded to fill out the clothes, which gives them “body shapes that might be more perfect than those plus-size bodies actually found in nature,” they wrote.  

Though different heights and measurements — Chirico is 5-foot-3-inches  and Sheridan is 5-foot-11-inches — the outfits on both editors were too tight or too short. 

The Forever 21 “Textured Bodycon Dress” ($15.99, Forever21.com) is described on the website as a “flattering piece” that features color-blocked accents, a round neckline, and an exposed zipper. On the model the dress is waist-slimming, but looked totally different on them.  

“I feel like this dress is just trying to bully me into buying Spanx,” Chirico wrote. “It’s being all like, ‘That’s a real nice body you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if we made it look like a misshapen eggplant.'” 

Watson didn’t fare too differently. “I hate this so much because I feel like I’ve been personally betrayed,” she wrote. “This was suppose to be a given! Stretchy, well-cut dress in a neutral color. But instead this dress is like, ‘Congrats, here’s your belly button.'” 

The styling session commenced with even more tricky trends like the “High-Rise Acid Wash Shorts” ($38.30, Torrid.com), which they both tested out in a size 20. 

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“Can we talk about how the model appears to have come equipped with some sort of perfectly shorts-shaped butt and upper thighs,” Chirico wrote. “The leg holes on this were so cartoonishly big on me that I looked like a mom from the ’80s who has just come back from the store with SunnyD.” 

It was the same for Watson. “Shorts: Either hit me at the ass or hit me at the knee — stop confusing yourself,” she wrote. 

What do you think about their plus-size fashion investigation? Tweet @UsWeekly using the hashtag #stylebyUs! 

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