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Note from the editor: This last few days I have been researching plus size keyword terms for Live Listings pages and it soon became fairly obvious that the term "plus size" is aimed mainly at the fairer sex - larger ladies if you like, and it's a much nicer term than "fat or obese" etc isn't it?. Yes, there certainly are websites which devote a few pages to big guys but they are few and far between, or so badly optimised that they don't feature highly in the SE's.
Anyway, the initial research told me that "plus size" is the second most used keyword term, "plus size lingerie" being the most searched. Now the former result did surprise me because, rightly or wrongly I thought that people were searching for that term to find out precisely what it meant. So why do so many surfers search for "plus size" without any qualification like clothes, shoes etc? So, with that in mind I decided to see what other websites in the clothing and lingerie trades mean when they mention Plus Size, and I can tell you now that precious few give much in the way of explanation. |
Before that though, one thing that did strike me as "not quite right" was the amount of websites openly selling what they blatantly referred to as plus size lingerie, thongs, corsets, panties etc and using size 8 or 10 models to show them off! A pair of large knickers would fit some of those girls twice! C'mon you lingerie site owners, get your act together and use models which correspond to the size of clothing you are selling. If you readers find sites doing that then may I suggest you mail them and tell them that they have been rumbled?
A.J.
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Bravissimo provides a service for big boobed women with average sized bodies (generally UK sizes 8-18). This is why you will never find us referring to the bras we stock as plus size bras, because having big boobs doesn't make you plus size. In fact, it makes you totally normal - we estimate that around 50% of women in the UK should be wearing a D cup or above and, with around 80% of women wearing the wrong size bra (the most common mistakes being to wear a back size that's too big and a cup size that's too small) we believe the actual average bra size in the UK is more likely to be around 34E than the often quoted 36C
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Brief and Straightforward Guide from Wisegeek: What is Plus Size Lingerie? Plus size lingerie, like most plus size clothing, usually runs from size 14 to size 40. There are differences in sizes depending on the brand and the style, but this is the general guideline, despite the fact that size 14 is considered by many women to be about average. There are also manufacturers that list sizes in small, medium, large, extra large, 1-X and up, rather than in typically numbered sizes.
For plus size lingerie these sizes usually run between 1-X and 6-X, although some go larger. In womens sizes, as opposed to misses or juniors, garments tend to be cut a bit larger. A 16W, which indicates womens, is therefore larger than a 16 in misses.
Generally, sizes listed as small, medium, large and up can be determined by adding two numbered sizes per increment. For example, size small is usually 4-6, medium is 8-10, large is 12-14 and X-large is 16-18. The same is true of 1-X and up. Size 1-X is generally regarded as being approximately a size 20-22 in woman's clothing. Each consecutive X adds two sizes, so 2-X would represent size 24-26.
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Wikipedia says: "Plus-size clothing is a general term given to clothing sized specifically for men and women of large build. Plus-size refers specifically to clothing labelled size (US) 14 / (UK) 16 and upwards for women, and for sizes over XL for men. Previously called Outsize in some countries, this term was gradually dropped during the 1990s. A synonymous term for men's plus-size clothing is big and tall.
Plus-size model is a term internationally applied to a woman who is engaged primarily in modeling garments that are designed and marketed specifically for larger body sizes and types (see plus-size clothing). These models are also increasingly engaging in work that is not strictly related to selling clothing, i.e. body acceptance imagery, lifestyle and advertising, beauty/cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals, shoes, etc. As such, plus-size models often do not wear garments designed and marketed as plus-size clothing. This is especially true of magazine editorials."
OK, so why use skinny ones to model clothes and underwear for large ladies?
And that, readers, is that - without of course delving into the American sites which deal with plus size clothing, and I don't really want to go there, noooooo sireee! |
