by Karen Lonsdale

Created on: August 19, 2008

Plus size clothes.

My tale is more about the stores in which we buy our plus size clothes. I have names for the stores that sell clothing, I put them in two catagories - Thinny and Fatty shops! needless to say I shop at the Fatty shops. Have you noticed that the big stores only stock very modest amounts of clothing at plus sizes, and dare you ask the assistant if a dress you like is stocked in your size, well its a brave person who does!

I went to a famous stores in England called Evans, who only sell plus sized clothing to buy myself an outfit for an interview, my weight goes up and down like a yo yo but stays within the large catagory, never any lower than a size 16+, anyway I looked around the store and spotted a nice dress, picked up my size and went to the changing rooms, as I walked into the changing area I felt like I was boarding the tardis, there to greet you are several dimensional mirrors in one changing room, front back and sides, just to ensure that you see yourself from every angle and dont miss a lump, blip, role or a ripple. You look to the front and you can see a brilliant extended view of your rear as well, just to make you feel good aboout yourself, and I am sure that they are magnified to enhance all the you see before you.

What I would like to know is which insensitive, knows nothing person designed the changing rooms for these stores, and Im curious as to what size they are? If you go into a Thinny shop there is only one mirror which I feel is ample to view the dress you are trying on, do they feel that larger individuals cant turn around to look at the dress from the back because they are too fat or was it cruel trick to let people see just how they look from all angles.

A ladies dress size is a sensitive issue and most of us are a little touchy about how we look. So please can someone change the design of these changing rooms and place just one mirror as with every other store. We dont need to see the view from the back or the sides, we have a pretty good idea of how we look. Because most of us have lived with a weight problem all of our lives, we are the experts, so I think the designers should ask us what we require when shopping, dont you.

Any how on reflection I had a pretty good laugh from this experience and told the story in a much funnier way than I can ever write it to my kids and family. Really though if ever you in England go find an Evans store and you will see what I mean and perhaps have a little titter to yourself. We are what we are and its time the world and his aunts accepted each other, for nothing is going to change in that department, genetics are genetics not all larger people are greedy, some of us cant help being larger, so the very term plus size is an insult and another term should be invented like, off the scale! extra work! inventatent! only kiddin. If we laugh at life, is keeps us young and keeps us going.

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