Plus Styles Getting Hotter

Los Angeles based Missphit is a plus clothing line that shares this view. With 20 years of serving the Plus size market, the company had started off providing more traditional styles to small Plus retailers and specialty chains. “We used to make basic items aimed at women in their late thirties to fifties.” says Yul Kwon, Managing Partner of Gemix, Inc. and the Missphit label. “However, as the years passed, we have seen a strong demand for younger, trendier looks. Now it has gotten to the point where customers are kicking and screaming at us to make fashion forward designs.” This demand has led Kwon to create the Missphit label in order to solely focus on the underserved segment of young or young-at-heart Plus shoppers. As a sign of more mainstream retailers catching on, Missphit has recently received orders from department store mainstay Dillard’s. Other hip brands such as Baby Phat and Apple Bottoms have already begun to offer trendy Plus styles through their powerful retail channels.

Research on the plus size market have for years shown the strong buying power of this market, yet most larger woman will tell you that they cannot find enough styles for their curvy shapes. Estimates for 2005 show that 30% of the U.S. woman’s apparel market is Plus size with 47 billion dollars spent. Many studies also indicate that the average size of American women is a 14 and that the majority of women in the U.S. wear a size 12 or above. Despite the fertile territory in larger sizes, most clothing companies have still preferred to focus their design and sourcing resources on fitting the smaller woman. This can be evidenced in most department stores where Woman’s (larger sized) sections are cast off to far corners of the shopping netherworld. Should a larger woman finally find her section, the majority of the women are disappointed to find boring or out-dated styles.

Well it appears as if better shopping experiences are ahead as the fashion industry is finally starting to pay attention to the specific needs and wants of the curvy woman. In the case of Missphit, its cuts are designed to enhance shapes rather than hide them, avoiding the traditional “boxy” cuts many Plus manufacturers prefer. “Some companies take a conservative approach when fitting the larger woman, however our research and experience has told us otherwise. Plus women want to show their curves and feel sexy – and they are.” Kwon said. Reinforced by more positive media images, an increasing number of larger women have become empowered by the fact that their natural curves can draw serious sex appeal. The popularity of celebrities such as singer/actress Queen Latifah and Plus size model Toccara Jones support this confidence surge