So you’re having a night out with
some of your friends and you want to look nice even though you’re not as slim
as you’d like to be. Plus size clothing isn’t limited to the caftans and
muumuus of earlier years; you can now find well-made plus size apparel in every
color and every material. The cuts of this newer generation of plus-size
clothing are made to flatter the larger woman. These clothes are actually made
for the plus-sized woman, which means they aren’t just smaller sizes expanded to
fit a bigger body.
Plus size clothing for women can
be found online, in retail stores, in boutiques inside larger retail department
stores, and in catalogs. The obvious
advantage of buying your plus size clothing at a brick-and-mortar store is that
you know immediately if the clothes fit, look good on you, and flatter you. A
secondary advantage of buying in a retail store is that they usually have a
range of sizes, so if one doesn’t fit quite right, you can go a few sizes up or
down.
The major advantage of shopping
online or through catalogs is that you can purchase clothing without ever
leaving your house, and have it delivered to your house or place of work. This
is helpful when you live in a rural area or small town that has little to no
apparel stores. For example, the town of
Enterprise, Oregon has one or two clothing stores, and neither specializes in
plus sizes.
The major disadvantage of
shopping through catalogs or online is that you have no way of trying on the
clothing before buying it. This can be
really problematical the first time you shop a certain manufacturer or brand
online or via a catalog, as you have no way of knowing if the sizes run large
or small for that specific manufacturer or brand.
Once the
clothes are delivered, you can try them on in the privacy of your own home to
see if they fit you well and flatter your body style and shape. If they don’t, you will need to return
them. Some websites will allow you to
return merchandise purchased online or through catalogs at a brick-and-mortar
store (Macy’s allows this), but more often you will need to mail the goods back
to them. Be sure to check the specific
instructions for returns, especially on sale items. Some stores will pay return
postage, or at least credit you for the cost of the postage, while other stores
will not.
