If you've ever seen haute couture, you've probably wondered, "Who wears this stuff?" With models standing 5 feet 10 inches and weighing in at 110 pounds, it's hard to imagine how some fashions translate in the real world.
The fashion industry is eliminating the guesswork with a major presence in an area that has long been dominated by frumpy styles and synthetic fabrics the plus-size market.
The numbers justify the interest. For the first time ever, overweight Americans outnumber those who carry the prescribed poundage. And more than 40 percent of women wear a size 14 or larger. Sales of large-size clothes last year topped $20 billion, up 21 percent from 1993.
Every day, it seems, the light dawns for another manufacturer or designer who realizes the potential for creating chic, striking, sexy, exotic, professional and elegant clothes for larger figures.
"Fashion and beauty are not exclusive to size 8," says designer Jane Sutrell. "Full-figured women also want new ideas, different approaches, great variety and first-class quality."
Plus-size fashions aren't merely bigger versions of current styles. They're styles that originate with a plus-size figure in mind. They're larger-scale accessories.
Retailers like Lane Bryant and Pretty and Plump have carried contemporary plus-size fashions for years. What's different is the visibility of the fashions. Lane Bryant now advertises in the fashion glossies. And consider all the newcomers: Ungaro's Emanuel Woman, Givenchy en Plus, Versace, Ellen Tracy, Eileen Fisher, Holly Harp, Oleg Cassini, Hanae Mori, Dana Buchman, David Dart, Jones New York, Peter Nygard, Tamotsu, Adrienne Vittadini, Evan Picone.\
Elisabeth, the plus-size line from Liz Claiborne, has just opened a store at Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton. And The Forgotten Woman, a higher-end plus-size retailer with a store in San Francisco, added several new designers to its inventory last year.
Suzan Nanfeldt, image consultant and author of "Plus Style: The Plus-Size Guide to Looking Great" (Plume, $19.95), says that during the recession, most retail areas were stagnant, except for the plus-size market.
A plus size herself, Nanfeldt offers suggestions to other women on how to be stylish en plus.
"Anyone can look better," she says, "it's just a matter of learning how."
She says it's all about finding your size, and shopping around for it.
"Plus-size women are often afraid to go out and shop, because they are embarrassed to buy bigger sizes. But you can find great style in your true size. But remember, just because you can get into it doesn't mean it fits."
It's important for women to understand the nuances of shape, silhouette and fabric and how they differ depending on your shape, she says.
Body shape (hourglass, pear, apple or rectangular) is especially critical for plus-size women to keep in mind, she says.
Nanfeldt studied image consulting at the Parsons School of Design in New York.
"If you wear big, you look big; if you wear small, you look big. There's no justice, it's true, but fit is everything."
Kay Wightman of Walnut Creek is often frustrated with retail offerings for plus-size women.
"Surprisingly," says Wightman, "some of the upper-end stores don't offer designers in plus sizes so when I read about the latest colors and fabrics in the fashion magazines, I can admire, but that's about it."
She says she doesn't understand why designers would think women size 14 and over aren't interested in beautiful fabrics and colors. She even takes it a little personally.
"Sometimes, I feel as though designers just don't want to see their clothes on larger women."
While the retail market is expanding, Weber and Nanfeldt advocate catalogs for plus-size clothes, accessories and lingerie.
"I have to go to great lengths to find beautiful jewelry," says Susan Weber, a plus-size problem-solver. Weber runs a web site called Grand Style ( www.grandstyle.com ) that includes a chat room and Q & A board.
"You would never think that something like a watch would be hard to track down or that you would need to find a place that sells larger hangers, but unless you know where to look, you are oftentimes out of luck."
Women like Delta Burke and Rosie O'Donnell help women see that they can be glamorous at any size, says Weber.
"It's starting to be socially acceptable to be a plus size," says Weber, "and that same movement is going on throughout the country. We are who we are, and we are finally starting to emerge as an influential force in the marketplace."
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