Baby Phat Does Plus Size Right
One of the things about most retailers who have several, separate lines of clothing is that for some reason, the plus-size clothes never seem to be anywhere close to as nice as the clothes in the other sizes. It’s like they design a whole cavalcade of items for their petites and their misses, and then go oh, shit! We forgot to think about the plus size clothes! Quick, make a sweater or something! Put some ruffles on that shit! Go go go!
What always confused me–why can’t they simply use the same designs, in different sizes? I don’t mean scale up a size-six blouse to a size sixteen–I mean, use the same basic idea, fitted on a plus size model. Is that not genius? So where is the retailer going holy shit, plus size women don’t want to be singled out, they want to be able to wear the same awesome stuff we provide to smaller sizes! IT’S LIKE I’M PRINTING MY OWN MONEY!
Kimora Lee Simmons is a genius, and those are words I never ever thought I’d string all together, in exactly that order. Elle of The Demoiselles discovered, recently on a browse through the site that the same articles of clothing are almost all across the board being offered to both Juniors and Plus Size customers. And maybe an assymmetrical blousant sleeve jumpsuit is not, you know, exactly your thing, and you won’t be ordering a pair of artfully destrolled rolled up skinny jeans any time soon, the idea is there, that plus-size clothing shouldn’t be treated as something Other, that plus-size customers don’t need to be treated as a strange and alien demographic onto which swathes of tulle should be thrown before they scurry away like terrified mice. Let’s see it elsewhere, in other collections, at other retailers. This separate-but-equal bullshit isn’t cutting it any more.
Posted by jenfu
Filed under: Celebrities, Fashion, Fat Positive, Feel Good Friday
Not only that but they actually have full figured models showing many of the clothes. What a concept.
While I am not a big fan of Baby Phat, I flove Kimora Lee with all my bitter heart. I know I shouldn’t, but I simply cannot help myself.
J. Jill is pretty good at this. Not everything is available in both average and plus sizes, but a lot of their items are, and the designs are exactly the same.
I wish that line fit me better. It’s cut for big booties and a small waist and I have a belly and no ass. I have to go up two sizes to be able to button the jeans and then the butt’s all baggy.
But, still, it’s a better model for the concept behind doing plus size right than most other lines.
I wish the plus line was “extended” plus, because it sounds like her jeans would fit me (big hips, smaller waist). Fashion Bug is trying to do something similar – blending misses and plus – but they’re reducing the items that are carried in 30/32, which totally sucks. FB has been the only brick-and-mortar retailer I’ve been able to shop in for the past few years, but they’re slowly locking me out.
Deva Lifewear is a small company that specializes in cotton casual and travel clothing. Many of their styles are cut for both misses and women’s sizes and there are others that are designed specifically for women’s figures–not “Hide me, I’m faaaat!” but “Let’s work it.”
I’m glad Baby Phat is doing plus size clothing that is stylish (to some, far more stylish than a circus tent, though). But Kimora pissed me off. I watched her reality show because I was impressed with her offering plus sizes and I wanted to learn a bit about her. I was upset when she said something along the line of “I need to lose weight, a belly is never in style!” I didn’t watch it after that. It made me see her as a very rich hypocrite.
Part of the problem, at least around here, seems to be that plus sized clothing is designed for older women. As in, retired ladies with no fashion sense who are still dressing like it’s thirty years ago. This insults so many groups, including the fashionable older plus-sized women.
In Canada we have MXM. Its a trendy plus size collection available in Penningtons and Addition Elle stores. It does however sell to the U.S. thru its website http://www.mxm.ca.
I love baby phat for that reason exactly, if you go to the misses part of the site you see a thin girl in a pair of jeans. If you go to the plus part of the site you see a bigger girl in the SAME jeans, only bigger. Hallelujiah! I love their jeans, my only complaint is that they don’t come in lenghths and I have to hem them myself. When I finally decided to stop fighting it and embrace the booty, they were right there for me. So far I haven’t ordered any tops but maybe in the future.
Baby Phat jeans give me the best booty! I have the big butt and small waist and not many jeans fit me like theirs. I even ignore the four, golden cats printed on the back pockets for this awesome of fit. I also like the wash, a dark wash and unlike so many other companies that make plus size jeans, they have dark seams. I hate light colored seams.
Unfortunately they don’t come in sizes bigger than 24 – and the 24 is sold out most of the time. They are also kind of small in the cut. When I was a size 20 in Gap, I was a size 22 in Baby Phat.
[...] talked about the separate-but-equal thing in fashion, but have we talked about it in the wider world, in social situations? Because here we have an [...]
[...] hablado de la cosa, pero por separado-la igualdad-en la moda, pero hemos hablado de ello en el resto del mundo, en situaciones sociales? Porque aqu? tenemos un [...]
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AMEN! Most retails vomit up some ruffles, some sequins, a double dose of poorly stitched beading, and a cheap acid wash for their plus line. (And while I’m at it: a horribly unflattering neckline!)– I agree that it’s nice to see the same styles made for all their sizes *mostly* BUT: Baby Phat is serving a pretty narrow style market. I feel like an ass with a seven inch cat curled around my thigh! Why can’t we get some simple non-branded clothing that’s ALSO hot and stylish??
did want to say– petite means short. fashion loves tall. I am petite and petite clothes are HIDEOUS. they are the old-lady dept. So please, please, please don’t claim that lines make nice clothes for the petite section; the petites are just as awful as the plus0size selections.thx.