To think I am not body shaming or ripping larger people off?

[BimBamBoomer]

I've NC because this is potentially outing!

I have my own tiny but fairly successful business making clothes. Mostly I make a few specific lines to order (via Etsy type websites) and have sizes 6-26 available. However I also have occasional sales on Facebook where I have a page and sale group. The sales are a mix of returned customer orders, things I made to the wrong size or colour by accident, slight seconds, unsold stock from events (festivals etc) and some one offs made with amazing material I've picked up or pieces I've upcycled. I tend to end up with most of my stock for the sales in sizes 10-16 just because a) that's what most people order so that's what I have most seconds of, b) if I'm making stock for an event I make more of the most popular sizes for obvious reasons, and c) if I get a bit of amazing material I try to make the most of it especially if it was expensive.

I've recently had my end of 2019 sale and since then have had a flurry of messages from unhappy larger people. I suspect I've been named and shamed somewhere as it's come out of the blue in the last week. They're not happy that I don't have enough stock in their size, and that the more unique one off pieces are mostly in the middle sizes. I've been replying explaining why and that they can order larger sizes from my standard range and have them made. If they wanted a replica of a one off they've seen, I can give a quote but it wont be cheap! But I've now had a few bad reviews on my page from people who think it's unfair that the some of the larger sizes cost more. I agonised over this but in the end felt I had to have sliding pricing on some items (not all - I charge the same for all sizes for about half my range). But a size 8 in some styles uses literally half the material of a size 24 - and I charge for materials plus an hourly rate for my time (at a rate that covers overheads etc). The materials I use aren't cheap and I don't know how to make this fair or how to answer the bad reviews. I'm quite upset and feel really down that people think this of me.

Am I body shaming, really and honestly?

No, they’re being ridiculous. It’s an unavoidable fact that the larger items cost more.

It does sound as though you are not including enough of your own wage/ time within the cost if materials are making a significant cost difference as that is the largest slice of cost for custom work. If you are undervaluing your work and responding in an unsure or apologetic way you might be viewed as a target. Put a charging info page and calmly refer complainants to it. Don't engage and seriously consider your cost for your time. Don't undervalue that.

I think you are being perfectly reasonable.

It annoys me with somethings that they charge much more for eg a bra where there might be a little more material used but where the real cost is in making the bra.

I also get mad when it is a simple skirt in inexpensive material, One where there is a single seam at the back and the differences in material is £1 and the time taken and the skill level is the same.

Lol at all the different offensive metaphors for larger size women's clothes like comparing their clothing to a king size duvet!

No one actually compares their clothing to a king sized duvet, what they are pointing out is that you pay more for larger sized bedding and many other larger sized things. No one said larger women's clothes were actually like a king sized duvet. 🙄

"Lol at all the different offensive metaphors for larger size women's clothes like comparing their clothing to a king size duvet!

No one actually compares their clothing to a king sized duvet, what they are pointing out is that you pay more for larger sized bedding and many other larger sized things. No one said larger women's clothes were actually like a king sized duvet. 🙄"

I know. That's why I said metaphor and not simile.

It's not even a metaphor for their clothing. It is about the pricing structure.

I'd just stop making the larger sizes altogether tbh.

If women aren't buying them and you're getting grief for. To stocking them even though no one is buying them, stop making them. Most retailers stop at size 18.

I think with marketing clothes it is different to marketing duvets. It is to do with making the customer feel good. If you compare one potential customer to a King Size duvet and another to a Single duvet, you could see why that might make the customer feel a tiny bit offended. It's to do with PR and good marketing not just pricing. I understand about pricing etc but also about making customers feel good about themselves. Its the same reason Evans changed its name from Evans Outsize.

I do sympathise with the OP though and its a tough one to juggle for a small business.

YNBU but you have a marketing problem. A lot of large companies blend their overall costs so they can charge the same or very similar for larger sizes. A small business cannot do this as sale volumes are so low that taking a loss in size 24 but a bigger profit on size 8 isn't going to be sustainable for you. This is why it's a marketing problem.

Perhaps you could make more of a feature of your bespoke service, with a full breakdown of material cost + hourly rate? In a generic form. Ie choose this style dress, now choose material (3 price brackets), now chose size. That changes the price again. Add an explanation of how your bespoke service is priced, with emphasis on making beautiful designs as affordable as possible.

Then allow the same logic to flow through you other pricing. Use a link to your website text in advertising FAQs. Why are different t sizes different prices? Head it off that way.

You'll find the professionally outraged will leave you alone, and were never your customers to begin with; and those that like your designs will see you pricing with integrity, and trust you more for it.

You aren't body-shaming at all. If you make a product and it does take twice the amount of material and then more labour because of that, then it is quite reasonable to charge more.

Just because shops in the high street no longer do this (and just equalise prices over all sizes) doesn't mean you have to.

A single duvet is for one person; a king size is for two. Large dress sizes aren't for 2 people to share!

A single duvet is for one person; a king size is for two.

Being larger I find a single duvet (and a single bed) too small for comfort if I'm sleeping alone.

Whatnow40 offers a great response/ideas.

Yanbu. I suspect these reviews aren't going to affect your core business in any way. Some people are just mean.

I've seen this happen to one of my favourite clothing brands; every Instagram post gets a ton of negative comments complaining the brand is not "inclusive" because they don't go up to size 26-28 or whatever. As someone else said, I think it's definitely a mass attack by people who didn't even know the brand beforehand and wouldn't be customers, they are just using it for their activism. Completely forgetting there's a real person behind the brand!

You're not doing anything wrong, OP.
You're running a business, not providing a public service... it's not possible to cater for everyone anyway, especially for this type of sales you describe. It's not like they message you asking for a custom piece and your refuse to make anything over a size 18... I bet your pricing is very fair anyway, even at full price/for bespoke work - people just expect small and ethical businesses to be able to provide items at Primark prices these days.

Life’s not fair. I have huge boobs so bras are expensive. I have long hair so get charged more at hairdressers. Yes it’s a shame for them but what you gonna do. You don’t need to absorb the extra costs because some people are fat and I say that as someone who has eaten themselves into a new wardrobe.

I can't believe someone actually called you "greedy" for wanting to make a profit on your business...

I think the PP who said charge one price for 8-18 then bespoke price for bigger styles.

And also don't apolgise or explain! Keep social media interaction firm and polite.

The thing with inclusivity is that you just cannot have it all and do it all well unless you are an absolutely massive business.
As long as it is reasonable there is nothing wrong on doing only certain sizes, or at least predominantly certain sizes. Your market is more in the middle? Obviously you will concentrate more on the middle. The aforementioned Evans? Their market are large sizes so they do 14+ but not under 14.

The only reason why OP and similar are getting the heat is because they are small, not a multinational shop and so they are easier victims. And that is shit. It's not just for clothes. It's in food too. Basically any service or product made sold by a small independent business.

You sound totally reasonable to me.

This is from a manufacturer's perspective, but hopefully this link may explain why it's not just a case of the amount of fabric required increasing the cost.
fashion-incubator.com/why-existing-manufacturers-dont-add-plus-sizes/

There are so many other factors - style lines, body proportions, ease required (to allow you to move whilst wearing the garment), etc. Garments have to be redesigned and re-engineered over a certain size, depending on which size the manufacturer started with. Look at it - these are manufacturers who are finding difficulties adapting to our growing body sizes. For a sole trader, doing it all herself, it's impossible to cater for everyone.

This is why I do made to measure ONLY. I work with all sizes and shapes of women, and make especially for them, they have their very own pattern to their own measurements and body proportions, and they have multiple fittings during the process. My smallest client is 4'7 tall and wears age 8 children's clothes. My largest client is 5'7 and wears size 34. Both pay a premium to have something made specifically for them. I also alter purchased garments so I'm kept busy.

I don't think the OP is unreasonable, not at all. Sales are for items that didn't sell at full price. The size range the OP offers is pretty amazing, in my opinion. The fact that certain sizes aren't stocked on a shelf in anticipation of a sale is just a fact of life when you don't fit into the "median" range. OP is a small business, not a retailer with 200 outlets and 13 factories in Bangladesh making for her. Lets keep it in perspective.

You are being reasonable. I wouldn't worry about the reviews. Most people will agree with you.

I don’t think you’re being unreasonable either

I also agree with PPs about these people probably not being actual customers.

I’ve seen similar happen to a friend of mine - she runs a riding stables and sticks rigidly to weight limits for her ponies’ welfare. She got masses and masses of negative reviews on her FB page from people complaining she was fat shaming, not inclusive, etc, etc.

Several people replied to the posts recommending a different riding school who had proper weight carrying horses but none of them were interested in actually learning to ride, they just wanted to blast my friend

I agree with the previous poster. Market your clothes by saying you offer a bespoke service from size 4 to 24, price on application.