Words by Jess Shanahan

Let me start by clarifying what I mean by ‘plus size’. Let’s say, size 16+. The fashion industry counts plus size as size 12 or 14. Personally I think that’s ridiculous. Size 12 is normal and a size 12 woman is going to be able to wear clothes better than someone who is a size 6 or someone who is a size 20. That might just be personal opinion but I’d like to know what you think.

With fashion ethics on the mind, Debenhams have recently taken to relaxing the amount of airbrushing done on their swimwear models. Mark Woods, Director of Creative & Visual for the store says: “As a responsible retailer we want to help customers make the most of their beauty without bombarding them with unattainable body images.”

How nice of them.

Generally though swimwear models don’t need all that much air brushing and they certainly don’t have issues with looking fat. There’s also been a call for warnings to be put on airbrushed pictures so we don’t feel the need to weep into our glossy mags every time we reach a full-page lingerie ad.

We’ve all read the stories about too-thin models dying due to malnutrition; people are starving themselves to look like these models. It’s up to retailers and designers to wield their power in a more positive way and show people what a healthy, attainable body looks like.

Because of the fascination with plus size, designers have decided they want to shock, sending deliciously overweight models down the catwalk in lingerie. Well done, you’ve shocked the fashion world and everyone is talking about you but sending an overweight model down the catwalk is just as irresponsible.

I don’t need to wax lyrical to you about heart disease and diabetes, we get enough of that shoved in our faces.

What I’m trying to say is that designers and retailers should take responsibility for what they are showing us. Yes their clothes look better on size 10 models with no cellulite. Okay, fine but please tell us that you’ve airbrushed them. If us normal women keep thinking we’re the only ones with cellulite the world might implode.

Designers are starting to realise that figure-hugging clothes look better on models with curves. Let’s find a nice cluster of healthy, beautiful, curvy size 12 women and stick with that.

There was once a time where bigger sizes were just limited to department stores and the very few ‘plus size’ shops out there. Now you have no excuse to be unfashionable if you are anything bigger than size 8.

Let’s start with Evans they stock sizes 14-32, a good range. Their clothes are designed to flatter curves rather than being simply scaled up versions of thin people clothes. A great example of this is their jeans, they sit on the waist to hold you in and subsequently give you a fantastic hourglass figure.

More and more high street shops are getting plus size sections where the clothes are tailored to flatter bigger ladies. If you are anything like me then shopping in these sections might make you feel uncomfortable. Don’t let it. Embrace those curves and start wearing flattering clothes.

It is very hard to know what will suit you and where you can shop when everything out there is geared at thin people. Most models are unhealthily thin and their clothes sit on them differently to how they would on someone bigger. Go shopping with friends, try things on and have fun with it. You’ll soon work out what suits you and what doesn’t.

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Jess Shanahan (@jetlbomb) is a fashion blogger from Norfolk who writes  http://www.feelingstylish.co.uk

Tagged as: airbrushing, debenhams, fashion ethics, feeling stylish, jess shanahan, jetlbomb, models, plus size, renuka rajadurai, style sage