21 Responses to “On Etsy, You're Not Too Fat For Fashion”

1. gina, on February 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am Said:

   I never thought of buying jewelry or art on Etsy — and I must know where you found that chandelier shilouette! it’s great!

2. lisa-marie, on February 28th, 2008 at 10:58 am Said:

   Some of the coolest jewelry and fashions I’ve ever seen have been on etsy sites. It would be awesome if they started making some plus sized clothes, too!

3. angela, on February 28th, 2008 at 1:03 pm Said:

   have you visited jane bon bon’s etsy store? cuteness!

4. Emily, on February 28th, 2008 at 1:16 pm Said:

   I just put a size 22 skirt up on my etsy site that I had made for myself but never ended up wearing – it sold in just 3 days and had 5 times as many views as the regular sized clothing on my site – a clear sign that us fat women are really looking to etsy for clothing! I’ve noticed several amazing plus size clothing sellers popping up in the last month or two on etsy, so it’s nothing but good news.

5. fatfighter, on February 28th, 2008 at 1:28 pm Said:

   I think most places are starting to see that making clothes for models and making clothes for regular women are two different things. Even mannequins are changing.

6. Di, on February 28th, 2008 at 2:14 pm Said:

   I’m a seller on Etsy (Magickal Realism) and I give Etsy plus designers as much attention as I can over at my Fat Chic blog.

   A couple things to keep in mind:
   Etsy staff itself is absolutely clueless about what “plus” means. They are mostly rail-thin New Yorkers who still think a size 12 is an “XL.”

   There are also scads of Etsy “plus” sellers who aren’t selling plus at all, just adding the tag to their clothing because of the number of hits they get.

   There are also Etsy sellers who are just plain awesome. I strongly recommend SecretLentil and WhiteStone stitchery; they’re both great, committed designers who are actually aware of what “plus size” means.

   For other sellers, come prepared with measuring tape and as many questions as you can ask before purchasing. There is NO consistent sizing method, so it’s best to ask for specifics in inches and centimeters.

7. mccn, on February 28th, 2008 at 2:20 pm Said:

   That mannequin article is truly frightening. Mannequins contain “the idea body proportions” (a size six, mind you) – “plus a few inches in length”. So, uh, not the “ideal” anymore, but even skinnier! Oh, yay. This blog has really made me aware of how distorted attitudes about bodies permeate our culture – and this article is a good example of that. (For a more “realistic” mannequin, they added an inch. When “plus sized” is at a 29 inch waist, I think we still have a loooong way to go before we hit “realistic.”)

8. Patia, on February 28th, 2008 at 2:26 pm Said:

   I’ve bought one or two plus-sized things on Etsy, but my searches for “24″ or “3x” on the site often come up short. I can only encourage sellers to remember the big girls, and I appreciate the advice to ask for custom sizes of cute things I see.

   I also LOVE your technique for using search keywords to find gifts! That is fabulous.

9. Lexy, on February 28th, 2008 at 4:01 pm Said:

   I’ve been thinking about making plus size lingere to sell on Etsy (Like camis and tap pants, I’m not quite at the custom bra level)

   My hesitation has nothing to do with not thinking there would be a market, in fact I think the fact that I found virtually zero plus size lingere sellers on etsy means that I would have quite a corner on a large *pun* market :)

10. Weetabix, on February 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm Said:

    After seeing Anne wearing an awesome dress from Circular Accessories, I was bummed to find that she didn’t have any stuff that would fit me. However, I coveted so much that I contacted the seller and made arrangements for some custom pieces. She only charged me for the base artwork and shipping, and I bought some generic v-necks from Lane Bryant and just had them shipped directly to her. I then was able to pick the design, the colors, everything, and each shirt was under $30 taking everything into consideration. So you can TOTALLY work with the sellers, and I highly recommend Circular Accessories to all BFDivas out there, because she was super awesome. I’ll definitely be commissioning more work from her soon!

11. Fat Girl, on February 28th, 2008 at 9:14 pm Said:

    I agree that you can usually work with most sellers, but I’m also with the person about some of the sellers having no idea what plus size means! I sell on etsy and buy on etsy, and it’s a lot of fun but sometimes a bit frustrating. I’m not comfortable buying clothes there because I’m SO big, but still, I’m glad to see it encouraged.

12. Miriam Nadel, on February 28th, 2008 at 11:06 pm Said:

    My hesitation would be that design doesn’t just scale up by a few measurements. Unless a clothing designer really understands anatomy (and, since most people nowadays design by drawing, rather than by draping, few do), any garment with some sort of shape is a bit iffy.

    Decorated t-shirts (if you wear that sort of stuff) are probably fine, as are looser, less fitted garments, but I wouldn’t look for something tailored. (The best bet for those is an actual tailor. My favorite suit is the one I had made in Vietnam – 30 bucks for a grey linen suit that fits me perfectly.)

13. Lisa, on February 29th, 2008 at 9:52 am Said:

    From the mannequin article: “The clothing’s made to fit the mannequins, and the clothing in the fashion industry in general is best suited for an underweight look,” said Brooke Wheisenhunt, body image expert and professor of psychology at Missouri State University. ”

    Except that’s not how it works. The mannequins don’t drive the size and cut of the clothes.

14. fatfighter, on February 29th, 2008 at 12:55 pm Said:

    Yeah I thought ya’ll might like that article. I wasn’t sure if everyone had seen it yet.

    In college, I worked at Macy’s and we needed a plus-size-esqe mannequin for the new plus-size (that started at size freakin 12) section they were supposed to start. We called the stock room and they brought out a maternity mannequin because we didn’t have anything bigger than a size 4 or 6.

    I lol’d.

15. Marlene, on February 29th, 2008 at 3:25 pm Said:

    Miriam, has it right, as a pattern maker in the industry for many years- once you get past a certain size range fitted garments won’t grade up successfully since the way the body changes becomes less & less consistent as sizes goes up. Even with an understanding of anatomy, the body variations become too many to be able to create even a semi shapely plus size line that would work for a range of body types. A line would have to pick a limited size range, & a very specific body type and stick to it. Also, plus size mannequins still tend to be shaped if they had old style foundation garments on. So that’s a bit limiting as well.

16. kate, on February 29th, 2008 at 7:21 pm Said:

    http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9349422 I’ve ordered from janebonbon, the fit was AMAZING, I don’t think I’ve ever had a dress that fit so well. Seriously.

17. AquaMarine, on March 1st, 2008 at 1:43 pm Said:

    I got a custom made circle skirt from the following Etsy seller:

    http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=51401

    She was quick, did a great job and the skirt fits perfectly. In fact, she went above and beyond with helping to match the material to a shirt I already had. I mailed a swatch of material to her (from a belt on the shirt, a belt I never used) and she matched up the skirt material to it. I’m quite happy with it. I gave her my waist measurement and how long I wanted the skirt to be. And for $26, I couldn’t beat that for a custom skirt.

    Here’s a picture of the skirt:

    http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7872690

    I’d patronize the Etsy vendors again. At least this one.

18. fat stylist, on March 8th, 2008 at 2:37 pm Said:

    Etsy would do good by encouraging more sizes from their sellers. That would be downright awesome.

19. Naomi, on March 13th, 2009 at 5:17 pm Said:

    I’m a professional knitter and I’ll knit in any size you like. I prefer knitting in a larger size because it shows of the yarn I use and lets me use drapes and fabulous large colourwork patterns that just look daft on anyone teeny

    to be sung a la the sound of music

    I am 14 going on 16.

20. Tara, on April 11th, 2009 at 1:55 am Said:

    I’d second Angela’s recommendation of Jane Bon Bon. Her clothes are cute, stylish, sexy, fit really well, made well, and are affordable.

    I have 7 of her dresses that I love.

21. Schaufensterpuppe, on December 17th, 2009 at 4:35 am Said:

    She was quick, did a great job and the skirt fits perfectly.

Leave a Reply