The corset is a staple item of  Gothic and witch clothing subcultures and can be found in many places on the internet. To the right is an example of American Islanders Gothic and Witchy  Plus Size Corset club top. This top laces up through 10 metallic eyelets and features an  inverted cathedral dome neckline with witchy chiffon sleeves. Take some time to look at American Islander’s variety of Plus size Gothic and witchy corsets here on PlusSizeSavings.com.

Bobby G. Keith is a Designer, Manufacturer and Retailer of fashionable and affordable  womens plus size clothing for American Islander Garments and PlusSizeSavings.com

On July 27th 2009 the Los Angeles Times printed an article which title reads “Tough love for fat people: Tax their food to pay for healthcare”. This stuff is outrageous but not surprising (at least not for me). It’s just the latest in a long string of attacks on our freedom. Now it’s our turn for the political magnifying glass to be turned on us fatties as we join the long and distinguished rank of whipping boys right along with big tobacco, big business, big oil. Yep, Big People have hit the “big time”, shoulder to shoulder with the rest of “The Bigs”.

In the Los Angeles Times article they’re blaming fat folks for the skyrocketing health care costs and that’s not fair according to LA times. They are pitting 1/3 of the American population who are not considered overweight against the other 2/3 of the population saying it’s not fair that the 1/3 should have to pay for the eating habits of the 2/3 in health care premiums. Now you may think my main point is to argue about the above statement but it’s not, in fact I think the above statement is only a symptom of the real problem not the problem itself. This is about building support for the health care debate (and more control over our lives) as can be inferred in LA times.

“In the debate over healthcare reform, the added cost of caring for patients with obesity-related diseases has become a common refrain.”

A common refrain meaning to say our representation is gunning for fat people. Then the LA time went on to quote a conveniently timed Center for Disease Control and Prevention report saying;

“It finds that as obesity rates increased from 18.3% of Americans in 1998 to 25% in 2006, the cost of providing treatment for those patients’ weight-driven problems increased healthcare spending by $40 billion a year.”

If you’re not yet convinced that Fat People are the target then read on;

“policy makers may need to consider interventions every bit as forceful as those that succeeded in cutting adult tobacco use by more than 50%”

LA times sited this statement from the Urban Institute and then went on to say;

“But in many ways, the drumbeat of scientific evidence and the growing cultural stigma against obesity already are well underway”.

Maybe you’ve been paying attention and have been witnessing this “drumbeat” against the dreaded Fat People and know that what I’m saying is true. But the larger issue here is not about fat people at all but about all people and specifically the freedom of all people. What they are really saying at the core of it is “You fat people don’t know what’s good for you or you can’t control yourself so we the benevolent government are going to. The government and a few busy body activists want to tell you and me how we should live.

What this article begs you realize is that the assault on our freedom is real folks. And there are (believe it or not) people who don’t like the way that America was founded and are very busy implemented laws to change it. Even some big money outsiders (people not from America) throw lots of money into organizations to circumvent our founding.

I ask you to ask yourself who are these people who want to implement more control over our daily lives? Control over what kind of car we should drive, what school our children have to go to, what doctor we go to, whether we should smoke or what we can eat… Who?

More than 60% of the American population is considered overweight and that’s a lot of voices and voting power.

Because of problems inherent in shopping for clothes online (like no fitting room), retailers know that it’s extremely important that you have a positive experience when visiting their store. The five following points are what I, as a retailer, wish all my customers knew before shopping with me.

1. Know your Body Shape
2. Know your positives
3. Know your measurements
4. Think Vertical
5. What to look for when choosing plus size clothing stores

Know your Body Shape: Shopping for plus size clothing online without knowing your body shape is like taking a trip without a map. Designs that fit a pear shape looks terrible on an apple shape and vise versa so you need to know your shape to know which designs work for you and which designs work against you. For example if you are a pair shape you have narrow shoulders and smaller bust but larger more pronounced hips while an apple shape has large shoulders and bust with an average to small hips. So the idea is that a pear shaped woman should build up her upper torso while playing down her hips while the apple shaped woman is exactly the opposite. To learn more about your body shape I would recommend looking at Igigi.com’s shapestylist page.

Know you positives: Some women have great shoulders and bust while other women have a curvaceous waist and nice legs. Provide a focal point. Whatever your positive features are you need to select clothing that accents your positives while keeping the body parts you want to keep hidden top secret.

Know your measurements: One question I hear frequently is “Are you clothes true to size”. First of all there is no such thing as “True to Size”. When you try on X brand in size 1X and then try on Y brand in 1X you soon realize that “true to size” is a myth. You should know your measurements especially while shipping online because you can’t try it before you buy it. After you know mostly your bust, waist and hip measurements you can look on the size chart to see if this item will fit you. Some stores like ours actually offers both a size chart and actual garment measurements so the customer can make an informed decision.

Think Vertical: Or as I like to call it “Trick the Eye”. The idea here is to choose clothing that draws the eye of the beholder up and down in a vertical fashion instead of side to side. Some savvy glamazons achieve this by dressing the entire length of their body in the same color hues. But if you know how to use prints correctly you don’t have to limit yourself to solid colors especially if you choose a print whose patterns flow up and down. Be careful not to dissect your body into little square boxes which is something I see far too much of.

What to look for when choosing plus size clothing stores: First do they have a selection of designs that work with your body shape. Secondly are they friendly and courteous and willing to work with you to resolve any problems that might arise. Does their prices match the quality of the items they are selling. And most importantly do they have a good return policy. As I said before you can’t try it before you buy it and even with the above information you can still end up getting something that don’t quite work for you so a good return policy is key. The best return policy will make a way for your to get an exchange or refund.

If you will follow these five simple steps before you shop for plus size clothing online you will save yourself a lot of headaches and money. Once you find a store or two that meets these requirements it can become a lifelong friend to meat your plus size fashion needs.

About the Author:

Bobby G. Keith
Designer, Manufacturer and Retailer of fashion forward women’s plus size clothing trendy and affordable. Serving thousands of plus size women worldwide since 2004. One of the cheapest plus size clothing stores online www.PlusSizeSavings.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Womens Plus Size Clothing — 5 Things to Remember When Shopping Plus Size Clothing Stores

I have my own plus size clothing company and I speak often with customers who have the misconception about sizing. I wish I had a dime for every time I’ve heard the term “true to size” when asking me about our sizing. In an effort to better understand the sizing mystery I thought I would dig a little deeper into it by taking a look at a few major competitors.

I know each company chooses their own strategy mostly (or so I thought) for competitive reasons. Although I knew this  I was actually amazed how far the size chart variance was between reputable plus size clothing sites.  I did find one attribute to sizing that would come closest to being called a standard.

The different attributes are Small, Medium, Large or 1x, 2x 3x and 20/22 24/26 etc. I found that using designations such as Large or 1x is practically useless as a standard. At one end of the scale a size 1x was equal to 14/16 and at the other end of the scale a size 1x was equal to 22/24.  Let’s take a look at three examples below. For our short case study we will use a size 1x for comparison.

Example 1:  Avenue

Avenue size chart

Here we have the size chart from Avenue and you can see that their 1x starts at size 14/16 which has a bust size between 41 and 43.

Example 2: JC Penny

JC Penny size chart

Here we have JC Penny and their size 1x is equivalent to size 16w/18w which has a bust size between 41 1/2″ to 45″

Example 3:  Woman Within

Woman Within size chart

Now to the upper side of the size charts we have Woman Within who’s 1x starts at 22/24 with a bust measurement of 46″ to 49 1/2″

Is it any wonder that woman are confused and frustrated about buying plus size clothes? When I seen this big difference it posed a question in my mind. If sizes vary so greatly between companies then why do people ask me if an item is “true to size”?  Maybe someone has a clear answer to this but I suspect a person judges “true to size” based on the conditioning they’ve experienced where they usually shop.  I have to say some customers have even angrily said I should consider making my clothing “true to size”. I just smile.

As I said previously there is a designation that comes closer than any other to a standard and that is the designation 14/16, 18/20 etc.  You can see this in examples 2 and 3 but as you can also see it’s not a hard fast rule when you look at example 1.

There is actually a company called American Society for Testing and Materials  (ASTM) who was commissioned by the U.S. government to do a study of average sizes. Because I also follow these standards I can tell that JC Penny and Woman Within are most likely following this study according to their charts and therefore I lend more credence to them (and me) =).

So overall following such designations as 1x, 2x etc is next to useless unless you shop at the same place all the time. This might also explain why the oldest plus size company Lane Bryant drops these designation altogether (see below).

Lane Bryant size chart

Buying plus size clothing online adds more complication to matters. So what’s a girl to do since she can’t try it before she buys it?  Well I think a good first step is to know your size in inches then look at JC Penny or Lane Bryant’s size chart to figure out where you fall. Let’s say you are a size 18w so you type in the keyword “plus size clothing 18w” and you come up with a Santa Clause list of online clothing stores soooo…what to do next?  Well I think using actual garment measurements is useful, which I do,  but the problem is not many companies list them. With that being said if you can find one that does then compare your measurements to the actual garment measurements making sure to give yourself the allowance (ease) you are comfortable with.

I hope this has helped, but if not I think at the very least I’ve put another nail in the coffin of the “true to size” myth!

Bobby G. Keith

Designer

PlusSizeSavings.com

First of all know your shape. Are you an apple shape, pear shape or banana shape? If you don’t know I highly recommend you take some time to read plus size body shapes . Spending a little time here will save you a lot of time and disappointments later on.

Choose your design according to what your bodies positives are and what your body needs to hide. Empire cuts are one of the most popular designs because it creates a waistline that many plus size women don’t have. Choose a design that does not break you up into squares. The ides is to create a long flowing silhouette that draws eyes up and down. Breaking yourself into squares is a common mistake and it only makes your body appear wider. Many plus size dresses come in monochromatic colors for this very reason. This is what make the “Little black dress” so popular with so many. But don’t worry you don’t have to dress monochromatic to get the desired effect. I recently seen a dress that was blue for the most part but at the bottom it was tie dyed with vertical blue line and she wore a printed shirt under the strapped dress that just had hints of blue and it created a great vertical look. Another thing you might think about is wearing a 3″ belt just above your waistline in a color that contrasts your dress in nice way. The blue dress example above wore a wide black belt and it gave her the appearance of the much sought after hourglass shape even though she is plus size.

If you’re buying online be sure to know you measurements and check actual garment measurement of the item if they offer it on the sales page.

Give yourself the proper amount of allowance. Allowance is the amount of ease you like in a garment. Some like it loose others like as tight as a restrictor. I personally think it should be fit in the bust and skim the rest.

To learn more about choosing plus size formal dresses you might want to read this blog about “Plus Size Body Doubles“. A plus size body double is some one who has the same body shape as you. This blog breaks body double into categories then post pictures with examples of what to wear with your shape.

What to do? Well following the four points below is a great place to start.

1. Know you body shape
2. Know your measurements
3. Choose plus size clothing stores that are friendly and willing to resolve any concerns you may have in a timely manner?
4. Choose plus size clothing stores that have a good return/exchange policy?

Many plus size women don’t know that their body shape play a large role in choosing their design. Knowing your measurements instead of following sizing charts like 20 or 1x is a must. Choose plus size clothing stores that are willing to put your needs first. Your bound to get it wrong sometimes so choosing plus size clothing stores that have a good return/exchange policy will minimize your headaches and your losses.

PlusDesigners Forum has great piece called the key to buying plus size clothing which I encourage you read. It is only a short piece but I think you will be glad you to a minute to read it!