You know….Bopo?
Yes you do. It’s the shorthand way of saying body positivism which unless you have been living under a rock you will have heard mentioned by one /all of the following:
- The long suffering advocates and campaigners
- Recent adopters
- The MUCH, much slower mainstream fashion and media industry (they have only just begun to get their act together).
The type of bopo we are talking about here is the promotion and normalisation of ‘plus sized’ bodies. Research shows that the plus size market has been outperforming the overall womenswear and menswear market in the UK-Thanks in part to the advocacy of plus sized ‘body confidence’ bloggers like Gabi Fresh. (pictured right).
Yet some brands still don’t get it.
You know who they are, you won’t find a single plus sized model in their campaigns. They don’t want to cater to women over a certain size because they see them as irrelevant…it’s that simple. It’s a flawed and outdated strategy. In my opinion those brands have only a certain type of person sitting around their boardroom table, they still think that women aspire to a very limited aesthetic.
A word to those brands: Times are changing, do keep up.
When shopping for underwear was utter pants:
While the rest of the fashion world is yet to fully commit, the most noticeable change is firmly in the lingerie market.
Look, there has always been underwear available for plus sized women – it was just butt ugly, kept in the back and only went up to a certain size. As a result, many plus sized women were forced to wear the wrong size or had only a handful of bras to choose from. What’s more, you would be hard pushed to find larger underwear modeled on anyone over a size 12 – and size 12 is not plus sized #js.
Things are better, but for a long time it was left to niche brands like market leader Simply Be to cover the gap left by a disinterested mainstream. Some plus sized women also decided to become the change they wanted to see and created their own fashion lines – but only a few. The point is that it’s been a long and hard won journey – but to see models like Ashley Graham, Tess Holliday, Tabria Majors and Candace Huffine fronting underwear campaigns is a real win. That said, we need more.
The problem remains
I read a Tweet from someone I follow who was surprised to find that Top Shop still do not offer a plus sized range in 2019. Last year, a blogger put Top Shop on blast for doing half sizes but still no plus sized range. Plus sized ranges are still under-stocked and are often seen as optional extras and are not as fashionable as main collections. It’s not just designer brands, it’s the high street too!
Can we please get it together?
Thanks,
K.x