Sizing Matters: Fashion inclusiveness on model sizes
The fashion world has recently come a long way in the realm of including more double digit sizes in their design. Inclusiveness has become a major game changer from models to department stores including plus size market in their fashion wheel. There are several original companies that were created for just plus size women one of them being Dress Barn.
In the last couple years Dress Barn announced the closing of not some but ALL of their retail locations due to financial issues. Dress Barn made the drastic decision to turn their stores to online only. Originally, they had intended to close everything altogether leaving the retail world for good. Dress Barn was created in a time when the fashion world really snubbed their nose at people who were bigger than a size 10. Come the mid 2000's however, Dress Barn began to have competition as other retailers realized what a niche market was waiting to be scooped up as its own fashion retail market.
The areas I personally believe Dress Barn started their decline is that they never really truly changed with the times, and fashion of the generations of plus size women also changed along the way. With more retailers creating options, it caused the retailer's niche market to only look to Dress Barn sometimes versus going everyday for their needs. When you entered a Dress Barn store they were always clean, but as a young woman in her late 20's I rarely found more than two items I liked, if that, when shopping. Their clothing felt dated and the patterns were rarely up to date with trends in the fashion world. As someone who has been plus sized most of her teen to adult life, the goal was to never actually feel super different when it came to your size/ You wanted your clothes to look like all the others girls in your age group.
Already feeling isolated at being able to shop with some of my girlfriends in the same stores in the mall, it was so much more uncomfortable when I felt like the plus size stores available made me look like my mom and not like the exploring teenager I was in my fashion statement yearning for the ability to create my style! As teenagers we go on a journey of creative discovery looking towards so many outlets to be our guides. Sadly, for me that wasn’t easy since so many stores were so set in their ways.
Inevitably I either wore over-sized paisley prints or just funky dark colors in a baby-doll cut top. Dress Barn was so set in their styles there was no new room to create journeys of fashion discovery for the young plus size women in the world. Dress Barn began to falter and fail even more as companies like Torrid took away a wide section of their niche market due to it's ability to be more inclusive of all age groups and with their ability to create work appropriate clothing while still keeping it young and fashion forward.
Being first in the market or trend of any fashion retailer makes it very hard to stay on top, because you have to grow many times. Your mistakes are those other retailers learn from to become the competition. You, as a retailer, have to learn from and grow into the better competitor. IF you don't grow you cannot possibly survive in the fashion world.
