The fashion industry discriminates against plus-size women in many ways, although things have improved in recent years. Almost all fashions are now available in larger sizes and many shops have an entire department dedicated to larger sizes. However there are many ways in which the fashion industry still discriminates against larger ladies.
Although most fashions are available in larger sizes, that is not to say that they will look good on a larger woman. It is clear to see that when someone was designing these clothes, they did so with a thin woman in mind. It might be nice if larger women felt that the clothes in the shops were actually designed with them in mind, rather than just being a bigger version of an outfit that was designed for a thinner woman.
You almost never see a plus-size model, although recently a few companies have agreed not to use models that are deemed as being too skinny. If plus-size women are not represented in fashion shows is it any wonder they feel discriminated against? Larger women often feel that the clothes they see on the catwalk will not suit their figure as they only see them on skinny models and in many cases they are right.
Even the sales women in clothes shops are rarely of a larger size, this is also a form of discrimination as everyone knows that the sales assistants usually wear stock from the shop they work in. this can make larger women feel uncomfortable when shopping and also make them feel that there might not be anything in the shop that will suit their shape.
Many shops these days have departments dedicated to plus-size fashion; this in itself can be hurtful to larger women. Why should they have to go to a different area of the shop to anyone else? Similarly there are now some stores dedicated to larger sizes, this could mean that if a larger lady was shopping with her thinner friend they could find themselves having to go to twice as many shops as they had intended.
It’s not even just the fashion industry themselves that discriminate against plus-size women, many women’s magazines have their own fashion sections and these are usually full of skinny models showing off the latest fashions. Television advertisements are the same, no matter what the product the people advertising it are almost always skinny. People on television or in magazines rarely seem to represent real women; therefore plus-size women are not represented.
Although things have improved in recent years for plus-size women, there is still discrimination against plus-size women in the fashion industry. With more and more women these days being a bigger size, the industry really needs to stop discriminating against a group of people who could be its biggest customers.