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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to suggest that bigger size clothes are not made from clingy fabrics

27 replies

Hayleychopper · 01/12/2013 11:26

I recently bought 2 dresses and a top online in a size that I normally wear and had to return all 3, although they fit fine they show up every bump, lump and crease because they are made from clingy material. [tchangry]

I know I need to lose a few a lot pounds but honestly is it too much to ask that bigger size clothes are not just larger versions of skinny peoples clothes.

I want tops that come down lower than my waist, dresses that cover my bum and clothes that dont fit like a freaking second skin.

OP posts:
TheGreatWizardQuiQuaeQuod · 01/12/2013 11:30

I agree.

I would love to know why it's so hard to get flattering clothes. I don't want strappy sleeveless things and clinging stuff. I want loose sleeves, longer length tops and trousers that don't show my arse Grin

Something that would look lovely on a slim person looks HORRIBLE on me. It just does. No point pretending otherwise Grin

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 11:33

Depends really, but as a general comment YABU

If cut & fit correctly, then what I presume you mean by clingy fabrics - knitted stretch jersey type cloth ?? actually flatter a bigger frame better than sold block woven fabrics - though sadly not all companies do it well & sometimes the fabric bought at sample stage is a heavier better quality than ends up in production & it's missed by quality controllers - I say that as someone who worked a lot in this field

HumphreyCobbler · 01/12/2013 11:33

Well I have the same problem with size ten clothes. I may be that size but I am still rather lumpy. I find, sadly, that the better quality clothes are the ones made of more flattering fabrics.

I have back fat, it drives me mad.

TheGreatWizardQuiQuaeQuod · 01/12/2013 11:36

I think it's that shiny stuff that seems to have static and actually connects itself to you rather than hanging nicely.

That's the stuff I hate anyway.

I am not talking about lycra a la cycling shorts Grin I don't know what it's called, but it feels smooth and shiny and you have to keep pulling it off you, even if you bought it 3 sizes too big!

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 11:42

That is still a fabric quality issue then TGWQQQ - decent quality fabrics would be finished in a way so as not to hold static - unfortunately it's all down to price, the big chains really do screw the price down & down & have their suppliers by the short & curlies & what price the chains buy in for bares no relation at all to the selling price, making using decent quality fabric impossible.

You are far better off buying a more expensive item from a smaller company

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 11:45

Or better still - have it made to fit by a seamstress, once you have your patterns sorted to your fit, repeat orders would be much cheaper as it would be just the make up cost

TellMeWhyBuster · 01/12/2013 11:50

YANBU. And semi-transparent skirts slit up to the crotch can piss off too.

Original poster
Hayleychopper · 01/12/2013 11:51

Its just so annoying when manufactorers seem to think that clothes can be made exactly the same style and material to fit 6-26 when it simply doesn't work like that.

I'm a size 16/18 which is not humungous but I find it increasingly difficult to buy clothes off the peg. Sometimes we need or want to buy something new to wear there and then and its just so difficult.

OP posts:
DejaVuAllOverAgain · 01/12/2013 11:57

I ordered some dresses from New Look online earlier in the year as I'd started a job and needed some new clothes but didn't have a load of money. They were made of the cheap, stretchy type of material that clings and shows every lump and bump. Needless to say they went back.

DejaVuAllOverAgain · 01/12/2013 12:00

Oops, meant to say I had bought similar dresses from New Look in the past but not in this type of material.

YANBU

Original poster
Hayleychopper · 01/12/2013 12:03

Deja that sounds like the same material as my clothes were made of. Dont designers realise that stretcy means clingy? Its like wearing an all over elastic bandage.

OP posts:
Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 12:03

TBH haley I have the same problem & I'm a size 12 - generally off the peg stuff just doesn't fit my shape & I'm an "hour glass" I end up buy different size tops to bottoms & generally give up with dresses unless they are actually heavy knits, such as woollen

though at size 16/18 you miss the recut size mark where the better or specialist outsize companies completely recut the pattern for a larger shape anyway, but not sure it would make much difference TBH, it's not an outsize issue, it's a quality issue

Selks · 01/12/2013 12:07

It's the use of repulsive clingy polyester (cheap) fabrics that gets to me. It's impossible to buy anything in Evans, for example, that isn't made out of the most awful polyester fabric. Hideous.

Original poster
Hayleychopper · 01/12/2013 12:08

Rockinhippy my weight is evenly distributed, I am big everywhere, maybe I will have to accept defeat and start shopping at places that cater especially for bigger people.

OP posts:
Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 12:09

Dont designers realise that stretchy means clingy

But it doesn't though, not if the fabric is a decent quality

& YES designers DO realise - its the buying offices that don't realise - or more accurately the company accountants that insist the buyers are only allowed to pay a very small set price for every top, dress etc they buy in - so screwing any quality or decent cutting out of whatever ends up on the rails of the cheaper brands

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 12:14

You would do better going to smaller independent companies, or paying more, or getting it made for you - that way you avoid the thin, cheap crappy sub standard fabrics that are all suppliers can afford to use based on the prices the suppliers will pay - which really is peanuts & bares no relation at all to the rail price

MrsCakesPremonition · 01/12/2013 12:19

I agree that designers really don't get what larger women want to wear (sleeves; bum covering length; a bit of shape rather than just a sack). However if you are wearing stretchy clothes and find that they are like wearing a bandage that shows every bump, then it might be that you need to go up another size or two in that particular brand/style.

walkinghaphazardlybystarlight · 01/12/2013 12:19

It is difficult.

I have had a hard time in 2013, and I got stuck in a binge/starve cycle - I'll spare the details as they aren't pretty but I gained over 4 stone from the tail end of 2012 to October 2013. (I finally decided enough was enough right at the start of November, and I have lost a stone.) But anyway, my weight rocketed up to 14 stone and at 5'2 that was bad.

I really, really struggled with clothes as 18s were getting too tight (I tend to wear stretchy tops/jerseys rather than blouses anyway so these were less noticeable) but in terms of trousers I resorted to snatching any pair that fit from charity shops. I suffered in the heatwave as I just couldn't find clothes to fit.

I do think there needs to be a bit of an - don't know the word really - overhaul? in clothing for bigger people. Because as I discovered it isn't just buying bigger sizes, for instance one of the reasons I struggled in the summer was because of my thighs chafing together and sleeveless tops aren't flattering when your arms look like hams in a butcher's shop. I work with someone who is very big - size 32 at Evans which is I think the biggest they go up to - and she never wears a coat and I think she must struggle to find one that fits.

That said I have to admit the feeling of always looking scruffy, of not being able to find or wear nice clothes, was a huge incentive to me in finally sorting my life out. I am now a more ordinary size 16, I know I'm still very big but I am on the right path now and I never want to come back "here" again.

T100 · 01/12/2013 12:20

Yanbu totally agree

BertieBowtiesAreCool · 01/12/2013 12:24

Ooh Humphrey, if you're a size 10 but have back fat you're probably wearing the wrong size bra - see here: Better Bra Campaign (Fantastic blog created by lovely mumsnetters who will help you find the right bra size if you ask on one of the "Bra Intervention" threads which are on Style & Beauty, I think.)

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 12:26

mrscakes

please read my posts I was a very senior designer in this field for a very long time & worked with companies mentioned here - my DM was a size 24 & many of my family are larger ladies, so I cut my teeth on making quality outsize clothing.

the designers are NOT generally the ones at fault it is the company accountants with unrealistic price points to meet

back when I was doing this, which isn't that long ago, we had a £2.25 price to meet - you try doing that in quality none clingy cloth, with sleeves & decent length in larger sizes - it is impossible

MrsCakesPremonition · 01/12/2013 12:30

I'm surprised the company accountants bother to employ designers at all - as they seem superfluous to the process. It would save some more money.

feelingood · 01/12/2013 12:34

I am with you all they way OP - throught this myself recently when trying on a dress.

I have learnt to:

Layer up
Buy tailoring (cost more but less is really more)
Buy the heavier fabrics.
Stick to what suits and ignore 'on trendedness' I buy on trend but not blindly if that makes sense.

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 12:39

TBH mrscakes I'm surprised they haven't gone that far too, but generally they buy in from manufacturing companies, & it's they who employ designers - they do employ buyers though & do have a design team that ones down the merchandising theme for the next season - these very often are inexperienced cheap & fresh from uni & often don't have a clue

Rockinhippy · 01/12/2013 12:49

Lays down the merchandising theme Confused

Feelingoods advice is definitely the way to go, that & finding a good seamstress & getting things made to measure

& I don't think that is just for outsize either, but for anyone that can't get way with wearing a sack & looking good, especially if you are older than early 20s or post kids