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You've Got the Look
Plus-size Teens and Fashion By Carma Haley Shoemaker
"I didn't discover curves, I only uncovered them."
Mae West
Statistics cited in various women's magazines and by the Food and Drug Administration show that 62 million women in this country are a size 12 or larger. The average American woman is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and is a size 12 on the top and a 14 on the bottom. Surprised? Then you are going to love this: The concept of the size 2, stick-thin, needs-to-eat-a-Big Mac-and-buy-a-Wonder-Bra model as being the "in" and perfect body is being thrown a curve. Literally.
"I don't call plus-size teens full figured (sounds too womanly) or even plus size (too exclusionary)," says Catherine Schuller, an image consultant and industry liaison of CurveStyle. "At this time in any girl's life the last thing she wants to be is different from what is hip, hop and happenin', and especially she does not want to have to shop matronly. I prefer to call these teens 'bodied' as in they are very conscious of showing off their bodies as most teens are, but they need to do it in a way that is trendy, yet still tasteful."
"I think there are so many exciting things going on in fashion right now for the plus-size teen," says Gina La Morte, president and founder of StyleEmergency, Inc. "To have stores created entirely to this market such as Torrid shows that this market is a strong and important one on the rise."
Schuller shares that there is some difficulty in reaching the plus-size teen and addresses the pickiness of this age group. According to Schuller, the overly-disconcerted attitudes regarding fashion are often seen and heard. "At times these teens don't hate their bodies so much as they hate the choices out there in terms of modern, edgy styling in the fashions available," she says. "To borrow from the overall junior market can be achieved, but it has to be done with plus-size junior clothing. Some stores are catering to this new market, which means that it's catching."
