With many retailers not consistently providing fashionable clothing for plus-sized women, many in this category feel like they’re ignored by their favorite stores, simply because they may be more full-figured than the media-driven, skinny sizes that are considered most ‘attractive’ in today’s society.
Because of this, many plus-sized shoppers experience more frustrations than most, from being forced to pay colossal prices for their clothing to feeling like everything looks unflattering. But despite this, there are still millions of fuller-figured women out there who look brilliant, simply because they’re strategic and use a few key tips when shopping both in store and online. So, if you’re sick and tired of feeling down every time you shop, here are a few priceless pointers you can use to improve your entire shopping experience!
Ignore labels
Photo by Xoyos.com 
It’s no secret that different stores hugely fluctuate with regard to their sizing. In fact, nowadays there’s no such thing as ‘standard sizing’ anymore, simply because of how much sizes differ. So with this in mind, don’t be afraid to try something on that may not have the correct label for your size. And, if you find yourself having to go one, maybe even two, sizes up in a particular store, don’t feel down! As mentioned, sizes hugely fluctuate from store to store, and if you’re super stubborn and won’t consider opting for a different size to what you’d usually buy, you’re massively limiting yourself.
Remember, if you do need to go a couple sizes up, this isn’t a reflection on you – it’s a reflection on the store’s inaccurate sizing!
Alter your clothing
Photo by Vito Fun
If you’ve bought something and it doesn’t hug your curves exactly how you want, why not just alter it? In fact, plus-sized clothing is often stereotyped to be unflattering and not as feminine-looking as smaller sizes. Whilst this certainly isn’t the case all the time, if you purchase something you feel could do with some added delicate touches, there’s no reason you can’t do this yourself and take your clothing to a whole new level.
Take a look at these plus size dress extender ideas for inspiration on how you can transform your existing clothing into something lacy and feminine.
Check out menswear
Whilst menswear isn’t designed with feminine curves in mind, it’s definitely still worth looking through. Shirts and blazers are likely to be great options and, as men’s sizes generally run larger than women’s offering you a greater selection of choice, finding a garment that perfectly fits your body without swamping you will probably be easier than you think!
Just because you may not have the almost unobtainable model-like, skinny figure constantly pushed upon us by today’s media, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy shopping. In fact, being fuller-figured can actually provide more opportunities for fun garment alterations and expanding into different clothing sections – you just need to branch out and choose what suits your body regardless of size or which gender it’s originally designed for!
Read more fashion tips articles at clichemag.com
Images provided by Flickr CC License
