The Anxiety of Plus Size Clothes Shopping

I have to say that I'm a little perturbed with some of my shopping experiences lately. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a plus size gal and have been for most of my adult life. Why do sizes range so drastically when it comes to plus size clothing? My favorite place to get clothing is Torrid but when it came time to shop for active wear, I wasn't going there. SORRY! Love you guys, but I'm not paying that much for active wear. 

Anywhoo...I got an email from Old Navy that their active wear was 40% off. I was kind of excited so I shopped for the items online. With the warmer weather coming I wanted clothes that didn't make me feel like I was baking in a sauna. I immediately went to their sizing chart to make sure I was buying the correct sizes. This is where I got frustrated. I live for their tank tops and always get a size large in regular sizes, not the plus. They fit perfectly so when it came time to order the active tanks, I didn't know what size to get. I went with the 1xl because the measurements were close to mine. According to their size charts, the 1xl is supposed to fit a chest of 45½-47. I fall in between at 46 and my waist is 38. I have a large chest and shirts are always off on me. They came in the mail and lets just say bending over would be challenging. People would get a free show for crying out loud! It was unbelievably large and too short. If I were to lift my arms my stomach would show. Those went back into the bag to return. 

Now onto the shorts. I bought 3 pair, two of which were the same style but different patterns. Again, with my measurements I should have ordered a 1x, but instead ordered the 2x that is sized for the hips at 50½-5. My hips are 48 inches. One pair fit perfectly, the other two not so much. They were so tight on the hips and stomach and had stitching straight across the middle (see picture below) Mind you this stitching wasn't stretchy so it caused this weird double stomach look YUCK! But I find it weird that the one pair that did fit had the same thing and it didn't do it.

Threw those in the return bag too. The only reason I didn't return them by mail is because I need them by next week. I called the local store and asked if I can exchange them there and they told me yes and they would honor the price that I paid for them. I get to the local store and they have NO PLUS SIZE clothing at all! I don't know about you, but I like to try on my clothes before buying and this means I can't. I figured I would try on the regular xxl, not the plus size. Guess what, they fit. Seriously?! So I go to the register and they would not honor the price! They just said "oh we can't honor it because the ones you returned are plus size and these are regular size." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! They have the same barcode on them and they are the same exact pair of shorts! That's just terrible customer service. Hence why I called that morning to see if I can exchange them.

I left Old Navy feeling defeated so I figured I would stop at Target in the same plaza. Target has NO PLUS SIZE clothing either. Their xxl barely fit over my butt! This got me thinking....I can't get plus size clothing at any department or chain store around here. Absolutely none. I'm always stuck shopping online and having to pay for return shipping if it doesn't fit. I'm not huge by any means. My dress size ranges from 14-18, sometimes even a 20 depending on the store. Don't even get me started on dress shopping. 

My point is, why can I not find active wear anywhere but online? Plus size women work out too! It's stressful enough trying to find the time to be more active without the added stress of finding clothing to do it. You can't tell me that there isn't a market for plus size clothing because I see hundreds of people a day and most wouldn't fit in the clothing that I see at stores. Needless to say, I spent two hours having a damn near anxiety attack. I finally had luck at Kohls, but not much. They have a huge section for regular sized active wear and only one measly rack for plus size active wear. Mind you the only sizes they had were 1x, 2x, and 3x. Guess if you're larger than a size 20 you're SOL. They seem to have issues with women who have large feet too LOL. Since 6th grade I wore a size 10. It wasn't until pregnancy that my feet grew a whole inch to a size 11. How is that even possible?! I was looking for a pair of walking/hiking sandals...you know, those Moses looking ones LOL. No such luck. I even ordered a pair online and they were so uncomfortable. 

Another issue I have is with the prices of plus size clothing, especially places like Old Navy. It's not like you're using a crazy amount of fabric/materials for the clothes that are only a few inches larger than regular sizing. Oh you're plus size? Let me tack on $20 more dollars for the same item! You should be ashamed of yourselves! Oh, all of you're clothes are on sale for 50% off? Not for plus sizes. We're lucky to even get 25% off. Talk about deceptive practices. 

Okay, my rant is over for now. Just had to get that off my chest.