FASHION AND ITS PLUS SIZED PERILS

Fashion rules the world. There are no two ways about it. It is as important to our existence, male or female, as basic amenities are. Right from the point of waking up, we choose what to wear; that’s making a fashion decision. When we go to sleep, we change our attire and decide what to wear; that’s also a fashion decision. Whatever comes in between makes our fashion statement. So when fashion is so omnipresent in our lives, why don’t we all get an equal share in it? Is fashion biased towards people of certain shapes and sizes? Or does fashion naturally gravitate towards the already fashionable? Unfortunately, in today’s world, plus sized men and women don’t have umpteen methods to be as fashionable as their thinner, fitter counterparts. Though the scenario for plus sized fashion is changing by leaps and bounds today, it’s still a far cry away from being as fashionable as smaller sizes that have been evolving for decades.

     Many brands are trying to blur the definitive lines of sizes that divide us all as S, M, L, XL and so on but how many big brands actually provide all of them? If I were to decide, the first thing I would change is the very nomenclature of sizes. Why not term them A, B, C, D and so on instead of telling a plus-sized person that they’re large every time they go shopping. This retail desert needs to cater to women who are comfortable in their skin, who feel sexy but brands like Victoria’s Secret have nothing to offer to them. The numbers of such women aren’t small. If statistics are to be believed, a study states that as many as 46 million people are overweight in India. Even if we assume half of these to be female then it’s a huge segment of people unattended and not catered to.

    More than self-expression, fashion should be a means of self-empowerment and confidence. But what is the point of just talking about body positivity when there are no positive changes seen in any strata of fashion? As Shawn Grain Carter rightly said, “Fashion is only fashion when the masses buy it. If it's not bought by anyone, then it's not fashion, its art."

Love and light,
Rubleen Kaur