by MarthaFitat55
I like dresses. I have admired the lovely patterns that come out each year but I lament the lack of similar pretty, both in fabric and style, dresses for those of us over size 12. Most of what I have seen is pretty shapeless, drab in colour, and definitely old fashioned (and not in a good way) in pattern if they come in colours other than black, maroon, and navy. If it is pretty, stylish and size 14 and up, it usually costs a bomb.
So colour me surprised when I read about the dress sensation from Spain that is sweeping the UK. Produced by Zara, the black dotted dress has shown up everywhere and the price with tax and the exchange runs about $100 Canadian, which makes it a home run in my books. You can dress it up or down, and even get married in it if you like. So popular is this dress that Zara is making more in different colours: coming soon is white dots on black.
What really pleases me though is this dress seems to suit a variety of bodies and shapes and the article’s author points this out:
… the Zara dress is a different beast. This is not a cult item being worn by a narrow cross-section of women of similar ages and economic backgrounds. It has transcended its initial cool-girl early adopters to become a sartorial choice for women of all shapes, sizes and ages. It is no longer the preserve of slim, middle-class city-dwelling women who work in offices and do pilates. The dress is worn at village fetes, suburban barbecues and on school runs. It has become the everywoman dress.
My point is that if a high end fashion line can come up with something that is affordable, comfortable, stylish and flexible, why can’t we find this stuff everywhere including sportswear?
When Nike launched its plus size line (1X to 3X — not a great range but is a start), they got all kinds of pushback from people who thought producing a line of clothing for larger bodies was heresy and condoning unhealthy behaviours. Whatever.
In the meantime, I’m going to keep my eye out on the Zara dress and Nike’s plus size line. It’s good to support those who produce clothing that is affordable, flexible, and meets a range of needs and sizing. While I may not go lifting with a dress, it’s possible I may go cycling in one like SamB.
I am lucky enough to live in the home of Nike, so I have access to their outlet here in town. It is the only way I would buy their clothes, as the sizing is absurd. I’m anywhere from a size 4-8 in “usual” clothes, but at Nike I’m often an “extra large.” I can’t make any sense of it. Seems like if my size is extra large, they’re leaving out like 85% of the potential market.
On the positive side, one of my favorite fun online clothes vendors (unique vintage) offers most of their clothes from extra small to 3x, and they actively promote customer images of all body sizes. I love seeing women rocking a sexy Marilyn-style wiggle dress!
I agree, sportswear for every type of body! Zara is not really “high end.” It’s definitely “fast fashion” (at least in Europe) which should make the polka dot dress sizing easily replicable in mass produced sportswear.
Dresses are everything!
The problem with Zara is the fact it’s fast fashion – they underpay the people who make the clothes (predominantly women) the clothes are not meant to last and the entire lifecycle of the dress is harmful for the environment. While I agree plus sized people need choices (believe me I know) we also need to make better choices regarding our clothes.
The biggest problem with Zara is that it’s fast fashion. Zara overproduces it’s clothing, underpays the people who make the clothes , mostly women, and destroys the environment. These clothes are not made to last. We need to start rethinking our relationship to clothes and make better choices. And plus sized people need more ethical choices.