This is supposed to be a DRESS?
So, Forever21 has recently released a new line of "plus size" women's clothing--going up to size 18/20, oh my! Its called Faith21 and lets just say that losing one's faith in this enterprise ain't hard. The line is a joke, its not really "plus sized" and if a clothing store things its revolutionary to offer 14, 16, 18, 20's, then they are really out of touch. The average American woman is a 14, which means many women, with cash in hand, are over size 20 and they are losing serious revenue due to their limited understanding of the real world marketplace.
Its cool to market "young" and "fashionable" pieces to plus sized women, but Faith21's pieces look ill-fitting, poorly designed, and simply lack understanding in terms of what an over size 14 woman wants. I'll give you three pieces, all of which are marketed as "dresses" but non of which would really qualify as more than a shirt or cover-up at most:
NOT A DRESS
The Kimono Sleaves are kind of cool, but its way too short
(for a plus sized woman or anyone else for that matter)!!!
The Kimono Sleaves are kind of cool, but its way too short
(for a plus sized woman or anyone else for that matter)!!!
NOT A DRESS IIAt best the above is a cover-up or something to pair with leggings!
I'm afraid that with products like these, this line is going to fail and then the executives at Fover21 are going to assume that its "plus sized" clothing that is a revenue sink-hole, not that what they green-lit and marketed are inherently wrong for plus-sized women. Knock-off designers and marketers in New York and LA really don't get the concerns, considerations and desires of plus-sized women, which includes a wide array of fashionable choices that are at the same time flattering and affordable. The clothes are pretty cheap, but the fit and designs are horrible. If you want in on this (to lack a better word) HUGE market share, then do some damn research.
I couldn't agree more that these are not only not dresses, but they are not good for plus-size women! The kimono sleeve idea may seem cool, but the fullness of the sleeve near the waist area virtually eliminates the "white space" that makes a woman's waist look smaller. So, this just gives a blocky appearance. At least it's short, but it's definitely TOO short. As for the second one, which is truly appalling (to quote Simon Cowell), there is both no waist definition AND a vast expanse of stretchy fabric over typically the largest part of a plus-size woman's body! They could not have designed anything more unflattering.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, this is such a common issue -- a successful fashion company decides to expand to plus-size by just sizing up their small stuff. Sorry, it doesn't work that way! As women increase in size, their shape often changes as weight settles in different areas.
Nice try, but if you really want to wear flattering clothes that define the waist and make everything else look sleek and curvy, you gotta stick with the companies that ONLY design for plus-sizes, like Astarte. There's no comparison.
Thanks, Anonymous, for your insightful comment--you seem really knowledgeable about fashion and the mechanics of fit/proportion!
ReplyDeleteCome back!
In Forever21 defense. Even there "thin" people dresses aren't dresses, they also look like shirts. I think all the company did was just make there current line bigger. Instead of creating a new line for Plus-sizes.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I think the average american woman is really a 14P and not a 14 regular. I am 5'9" so I would have legs to be seen under the shirt/dress. But if you were 5'2" you would look like you were rocking a blue potato sack.