Every woman has had an uncomfortable changing room experience.
Where your skin is pulled and rubbed by struggling seams, and your flesh poked, squished and nipped at by buttons and zippers that won’t do up.
Trying on clothes can be deeply upsetting for some women. On any given day, you can walk out with a few things you really love, and on others, nothing except for a sweaty face, red and irritated skin and a shred of self-confidence.
Personally, I’ve held back tears walking out of change rooms, having to mumble to the sales assistant that it ‘didn’t quite fit right’.
Not fitting into clothes is also a silent kind of shame.
No one ever walks out into the open mirror area with their bra exposed because the fabric is cut too tight over their breasts, or wearing jeans that won’t get up over your thighs.
It’s for precisely this reason Katie Sturino is sharing her uncomfortable changing room photos on Instagram, to show other women it’s the clothes, not their bodies, that need to change.
The fashion blogger and entrepreneur (Katie owns a company that makes products for thigh chafe and boob sweat!!) started the hashtag #MakeMySize to encourage big brands and retailers to consider the almost two-thirds of women who are what society calls ‘plus-size’, women who want to spend their money on fashion but aren’t catered for in stores and online.
“What kind of message are you sending to high school, college and basically any aged woman who walks in your store when I’m shown here in the largest sizes that you carry?” The 12ish Style blogger captioned one of her #MakeMySize posts.
“I’ve hit my limit with designers who don’t consider my body type! Please post your frustrated fitting room selfies and the styles you wish were available to you.”
The point she’s trying to make is that plus sizes or ‘extended sizes’ are just sizes, as are sizes eight, 10 and 12.
Katie is a US size 12, which is a size 16 in Australia. Considering the average Aussie woman is a size 16, it’s important for brands who use sizing standards like ‘XS, S, M, L, XL’ to be transparent about what size an XL legitimately is.
In many cases (and in my experience), L/XL quite often translates to a size 12/14. A size 12/14 is not ‘large’.
When it comes down to it, women who are a size 16 or beyond love fashion and we want to spend our money on the latest trends, styles and cuts like everyone.
Why is it so hard to include us?
Do you struggle to find clothes that fit you properly when you go shopping? How does it make you feel?
Top Comments
OK I know I am big, but when they put XXXL on a size 16-18 it is criminal - I go to the businesses who try and tell me "it's because they're being made in ASIA" - what a load of *****!
Women's clothing sizes are a joke and everyone knows it - but it's still humiliating to find you can't cram into something that's marked XXL.
Clothing designers really only consider one body-type is worthy enough to be seen wearing one of their "esteemed" creations.
It's the body of a slender 15yr old boy.
If your body-shape comes with hips & breasts you can forget about it.
If your body interrupts the lines of a garment - the whole effect is ruined.
This ego-centric mindset of the designer has sent far too many young women into starvation-mode trying to emulate this impossible fantasy-figure.
The day the tide turns to celebrate the juicy plumpness of the average female will see the death of the present fashion industry.
Time's UP for disrespectful , body-shaming clothing sizes .