My Kingdom For A Decent Pair Of Pants!

 

An open letter to the Fashion Gods:

Once a week for the last five weeks I have spent one of my days off shopping. I get into my car full of hope and optimism and drive the 20 plus minutes to the north end of my city where the shopping malls are. I have, for the last five weeks returned home dejected and empty handed.

I am looking for new pants.

I didn’t get the style office memo

Finding pants I want to buy shouldn’t be a problem except for one thing, I wear plus size. For the last few years the pant styles have centered around tall, slim legged plus sized body types. A shape I refer to as beach ball on stilts. I am not that type. I am on the edge between petite and regular height and carry most of my weight in my legs. I am more like a beach ball on stumps and don’t even come close to being able to fit this seasons look.

The other style develop that came out a few years back and has invaded the shops is the false fly/wide elastic waist band look. The fashionista’s tell me it is comfortable and perfect for longer tops that don’t tuck in. I say they are maternity pants disguised as fat pants. The waistband constantly rolls in the front and slips down in the back requiring constant pulling up. They make me feel very uncomfortable in public as I fidget to adjust this new wonder pant trend.

I guess I missed the notice that short and fat is not fashionable this season. Silly me, what was I thinking.

The Ford Effect 

I have purchased exactly one pair of pants in the last year. They are a petite plus sized pair of dress pants. They fit perfectly and I would have bought them in every colour they came in and I did. Apparently the Fashion Gods subscribe to Henry Ford’s philosophy when he first brought out the model T. You can have it in any colour you want as long as it’s black. When I lamented to the salesclerk that I wished they offered more colours she replied that black is very slimming so that’s why they only carry the pant in that colour.

News flash, any colour is slimming if presented in quality fabric and fits well.

Why is it assumed that all plus sized women want to wear black? I own black dress pants, black casual pants, black yoga pants (several pairs actually) and even a black skirt, I think I have done my share for the black team, I want colour dammit.

What is wrong with navy, brown, gray, khaki, or taupe? Hell, I’d be happy with a nice pair of loden green trousers. I am sick of black.

Maybe the reason for all that black is the plus sized fashion industry thinks we are all in mourning because we are fat! Not me, I’m too busy having a life.

Show me the money

Recently I read a blog that quoted a Times magazine article that stated plus size shoppers are not willing to pay for quality, stylish fashion.

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Are they kidding? I have money, I really do and I want to spend it, but not on crap and not on clothes that don’t fit. When you figure that the average women is a size 12, that means there are just as many bigger than that as there are women sized smaller than that. Plus size women work and earn money like every body else. We are professionals who need to look polished in our jobs too.

I also read that here in Canada, Target having dropped the ball on their launch into our market is about to correct it’s marketing strategy. One of the ways they plan to do that is by expanding their maternity line. What?

My local Target doesn’t even have a plus sized section but apparently the pregnant women of the nation are flocking to their stores. A women who is pregnant may wear maternity wear for 5-6 months tops. A plus sized women is fat 365 days a year, every year. Approximately 500,000 women in Canada are pregnant every year but over 4 million women in Canada are considered obese. Am I missing something that only Target knows about market demand?

What I want (or it ain’t rocket science folks)

If you want me to buy  your wares, give me colour, give me style, give me quality and give me fit. Price is not the main factor but don’t gouge my wallet just because you think you can. I want a trendy look in the same prints and colours as regular sized fashions but proportioned for a plus sized women and not just a sized up size 6 junior design. My body not only is bigger but my curves are now in different spots. Please adjust accordingly. A petite sizing fits me best but I am willing to hem a regular length. The fact is my fashion tastes are the same as any other women my age, just in plus size. Why is that so hard?

Fashion update

Yesterday I finally got lucky. Maybe the Fashion Gods are finally smiling on me. I actually found some denim pants that fit me perfectly. In bloody Walmart of all places (really Fashion Gods, is that the best you can do). I bought two pair. One is a dark blue denim and the other in…….. wait for it…………black.

I’ll take the wins where I can.