We started simple, with 4 questions; 1. What do you want to see more of in plus-size fashion? 2. Do you feel like the plus-size community is well represented in fashion these days? 3. What makes you feel most beautiful? and  4. What is your biggest challenge in finding new pieces you are excited about?

We were so happy to see over 500 respondents in a short amount of time. A huge thanks to all those who shared with us, we look forward to more conversions about fashion, plus-size communities, and where this industry is headed.  What we heard was inspiring, relatable, frustrating, and something laugh out loud funny. Let’s start with the first question.  

Our respondents want workwear, which of course can vary from business casual to boardroom boss. With a lack of variety our work uniforms can become a very small closet of basics, considering we spend half our waking days in workwear we believe this becomes one of the greatest misses in fashion today. As we curate more brands for our customers, I think we can all agree there’s more we can do to look for more opportunities to build out the work wardrobe options.

A simple binary question prompted some of the most comments in our survey -  size availability;  design and cut of clothes, variety, trends, and advertising were the primary themes. 

The commentary was especially relatable around size availability.  From, “So many advertisements that claim plus size but only got to 16 or 18.” to “I'm a 3x. That is so "just out of reach" in so many fashion brands.” - the struggle to even define plus-size for many brands remains a challenge. At Amour we only buy brands that design pieces for plus-size people, not size up smaller pieces with no consideration for how clothes actually fall on a plus-size body.

Unfortunately, many of you have noticed that the plus-size section in major retailers is being quietly pushed online.  While we are the majority, it seems counterintuitive to isolate us to the web, but of course we are pretty comfortable there 🙂

The design and cut of clothes came up again and again.  The lack of attention to detail, careful tailoring and general style is sorely missed, “We are the size majority, yet we are losing ground every day. It's hard to find much beyond basic t-shirts, flowy dresses, and ponte pants. It's really frustrating for those of us who know and desire good quality.“ We can’t agree more, which is why we spend so much time working with designers to encourage the attention to detail we all notice. We love to see plus-size fashion with more style, more great fabrics, more beautiful cuts!  Some of our favorite designers do just that, and we can’t wait to see more in the future. 

And, of course, representation solicited many comments around brands and advertising. The current plus-size models being used in advertising was mentioned often with comments that there were “...no real plus size women models“, and that the current trend away from body positive models was worrisome, “ I think the diminishing of body positive models is a setback we need more not less as they are an inspiration…”.

And then there’s the lack of understanding what plus-size women actually want.  Comments mentioning that they aren’t looking for clothing that is overly sexualized, but clothing that they can comfortably go to work in, “I find too many plus sized options are geared for the very young.  I have no interest in displaying my belly”. 

At Amour, we are always looking to reflect and inspire our shoppers with not only practical high-quality items but pieces that reflect their individual style. We curate our collections to serve the needs of our shoppers, and those curations evolve as we learn and listen.