The fashion industry is finally realizing that plus-sized women are not the minority. Many mainstream designers are adding plus sizes to their collections. Isaac Mizrahi is my hero for not only designing affordable clothing available at my favorite store Target, but for including big girls in those designs! Let's not forget the companies who cater only to plus-size. Long gone are the floral muu-muus and stretch pants with elastic waistbands. These clothes are actually stylish and trendy.
www.torrid.com is an offshoot of Hot Topic which has goth and rockabilly clothes, as well as some work-appropriate items. They also have a large selection of well-known labels, like Betsey Johnson, Dickies, Z. Cavaricci.
www.lanebryant.com has great business-wear for the 9 to 5 gal like me.
www.babygirlboutique.com has recently added plus-sizes for the plesantly plump pinup girls.
Mia Tyler (model, author, rock royalty) has started her own clothing line with business partner Victoria Baker-Winfrey. Right now, they only have a few t-shirts, but they plan to have a full clothing line soon! Check them out at
www.revolution1228.com.
www.alight.com sizes 14-30. They have really cute plaid halter tops and cuffed jeans. Prices are middle of the road; about $50 for jeans and $30 for a shirt.
www.alwaysforme.com has cute swimwear and lingeries in sizes 16-26. They have a cool feature where you can shop by your body type to solve your body "issues" - bust enhancers, C-cup and up, hip minimizer, waist minimizer. Reasonably priced. Average price about $40.00
www.cjbanks.com for sizes 14 and more has casual & work clothes at a middle of the road price. Dresses run from $39.50 to $69.50. They have a cute Marilyn style sweaterdress.
www.igigi.com for 12-32 has pretty cute stuff, but they are a little pricey. A plain tank top is $32.00 and their dresses are in the $80 range. But their items are pretty stylish and not frumpy.
www.macys.com has a plus-size section where you can get all your favorite name brands, like Calvin Klein, Levi's, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, MICHAEL Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfiger, Ed Hardy. With the prices you would expect from Macy's.
www.oldnavy.com, sizes 16-30 Old Navy recently got flak for pulling their plus sizes out of their stores and only selling it online. My friend said she was boycotting Old Navy for this reason, but I personally couldn't resist visiting their site and dropping some dough on a CUTE halter swimsuit for $29.50 and some slacks for work. Very reasonably priced!