To say this is such a dated thing to do?

[plumpylumpydumpy]

I work in charity retail.
My colleague wants to create a separate area for larger sizes for women.
I hate the idea.
My reasons:
It will have a sign saying 'curvy and voluptuous' or whatever! I'm overweight myself and wear a size 18 and don't think of myself as curvy or any other term which avoids saying I'm overweight.
It's only for women. There's no section for men. Whatever size they are, all clothes go in together.
We wouldn't separate out the size 6s and 8s and have a section for that so why always larger people?
Also, I can't really think of any high street store which does this now and after reading up a bit, high street retailers seem to go along the lines of size inclusive now, rather than separation, which leads me to think it's dated.
I know being overweight isn't a protected characteristic but people do have different reasons for being overweight and it could relate to illness, disability or mental health.
AIBU to think this is an out of date concept?

I think it’s a bad idea, not least because the proper plus size section would be tiny. As the OP says, those clothes don’t get donated as much (I suspect because they tend to be poor quality and hard to find in the first place, and because anything nice will be worn until it falls apart).

Also, sizing is bonkers. I’ve bought clothes that fit me in everything from a 16 to 24.

I'm not enamoured by a plus size section segragated from the 'normal' size section, but I do wish charity shops organised clothes by size and not by colour. It takes ages to go round every carousel. I don't wear plus size myself but do find the fact there is a separate section a bit odd.

Yanbu. What a pointless and potentially upsetting thing to do.

i would like this idea in charity shops that do not put sizes on the hangers , if you shop regular in charity shops you will find there is not a lot of large sizes, i am 58 and size 22/24, i would not have a problem with larger sizes having there own rail, you might notice if you go into regular shops that most of the sale items are 10/12 or 14/16 it is very seldom you get bigger sizes in the sales, i think that shows that more women in the uk are bigger, not because they are fat like me with a stomach hanging down and very floppy boobs but because they are very fit and just made bigger, i would love to look like a size 22/24 model, i am plus size partly because of illness but also for not trying to keep myself fit and eat the right things. so i am all for getting the large sizes on there own and not having to go through all the items and seeing something i want but i can't have because i am to fat...lol

Why does she want to do this?

Definitely group by size - all clothes. There's no point looking through garments that aren't going to fit. Complete waste of time.

I've been fat for years, now not so fat as previously. I go into Yours and Evans without shame. I have a strong desire to cover my fat with clothes I like, that won't pull, wrinkle, be too narrow in the upper arm...

If there isn't a 'petite' and 'middle sized' and 'super plus size' then I don't see the point? There are no 'tiny sizes' shoe sections or 'large' handbag sections? Weird

My biggest gripe in charity shops is that it's often really hard to see at a glance what size something is and I waste time pulling out things that are too small. I am a 16 and most stuff is too small. I'd love an area clearly labelled with each size. No "curvy" description, just the number. Maybe 16-18 or 14-16 could be grouped together.

I'm a size 18 and regularly walk into clothes/charity shops and ask bluntly where their fat person section is. Never been a problem. Much easier to be directed instead of faffing about in some charity shops that group colours together and not sizes. That really is infuriating.

However, I did the same in H&M and asked if they sold fat person clothes and the poor blushing sales person said they didn't go over a size 14!

curvy and voluptuous
🤦

I am averagely sized and prefer charity shop rails (and TK Maxx ) organised by size - I can go in and out quickly to see if they have what I want.

Rarely go in Evans or Yours because they don’t stock my size, but I used to covet their styles at times.

@MrsLargeEmbodied

shame *@RampantIvy*

Oh no. You shouldn't feel ashamed. If these shops sell nice, well fitting clothes that look good on you, you should never feel ashamed for shopping there.

I'm overweight and buy a lot from charity shops. I'd like this. I'd be able to go straight to the bigger section and not faff about looking through the smaller stuff. It seems practical to me.
It would only be embarrassing if you think being a big woman is something to be embarrassed about.
Are we supposed to pretend to rifle through the size 10s before quickly grabbing a size 20 before anyone notices?
I'd also mention that 'plus' size also doesn't necessarily mean overweight. Those of us who are very tall or particularly busty also often buy plus size even when we're otherwise slim. Short people clothes don't tend to fit.

@DelphiniumBlue

I think most charity shops these days organise their rails according to size. In fact, I don't go in the ones that don't, it's too much faff. But putting a "curvy" or whatever label on it seems a bit unnecessary, and I agree that some people might find it off-putting.

All my local charity shops sort in size order, too. It's so easy to find the larger sizes (if they have any, as they are the sizes that seem to shift the quickest). Separating and labelling them seems unnecessary.

Round here charity shops do have separate racks for separate sizes but even so as a larger lady it really wouldn't bother me and actually makes it easier to locate stuff so that would be a bonus to me rather than having to rummage through a load of stuff that doesn't fit me.

I did some charity shop mooching the other day. Most of the shops had clthes in colour sections, but each section was also in size order.

I prefer this as I know which colours suit me and which ones don't. I walk straight past the autumn colours and dull colours and go for the jewel winter colours.

I'd buy from the plus size section online because I'd expect the clothes to be cut differently as they are specifically plus size rather than just a bigger number, IYSWIM. So not necessarily for tall big people but properly cut for plus size (yes, this does make a difference and e.g. lands end do cut the plus size clothes differently).

I'd be annoyed to see sections like 'women' 'men' 'children' 'size 18 upwards' - seems unnecessarily segregating and judgemental. Plus someone has to decide where the cut off from 'normal' women's sizes is (16?18?24?). Plus I'd be embarrassed, even though I know the current social media trend is to embrace being overweight, actually I am pretty mortified.

@SeasonFinale

Round here charity shops do have separate racks for separate sizes but even so as a larger lady it really wouldn't bother me and actually makes it easier to locate stuff so that would be a bonus to me rather than having to rummage through a load of stuff that doesn't fit me.

yes, if all the sizes are separate then this is absolutely fine

I prefer a plus size section personally. I didn't realise that they'd fallen out of fashion but had noticed it seemed harder to find these clothes, even though more retailers than ever stock larger sizes.

I wouldn't shop for clothes in a charity shop as I'd assume you wouldn't have my size. So if you did advertise a plus size section it could attract new people.

As pp said it's not worth doing if you don't have enough stock to fill it.

I think its a good idea in a way but I hate it when plus sized women are called Curvy and Voluptuous. I’m fat! Plus Size is fine. 18+ is ok too. I’m both those things, but I’m not curvy and voluptuous - to me thats Jessica Rabbit, or an 80s page three girl, not me in my girl-guide-camping-trip sized knickers

No i don't think it's dated IMO.

From what I've heard, those who are plus size find it hard to shop in charity shops to start with.... i'd imagine they'd find a dedicated section rather useful rather than having to look through a bunch of 6s and 8s.

@lannistunut

I'm not enamoured by a plus size section segragated from the 'normal' size section, but I do wish charity shops organised clothes by size and not by colour. It takes ages to go round every carousel. I don't wear plus size myself but do find the fact there is a separate section a bit odd.

I’ve thought the same often. I’d much rather there was a rack in my size I could check.

I'd like it and I am big. Much easier to go to one section than loads of sections looking for the larger sizes. I was really annoyed recently when TK Max stopped having a plus section and mixed all the large sizes in with the rest.

Is there no men's section because the shop only has women's clothes or is it that the men's section is all together as the women's is now and no idea for a 'big & tall' for dudes? It is a bit of a double standard if it's the latter though big and tall might be a bit much, particularly for trouser sizes as it's about the waist and leg lengths which might be more than a charity shop is willing to divide (but certainly doesn't seem dated in shops, I know quite a few guys who mainly use them).

I can see pros and cons either way - if things are already divided by size then it's not really needed, but when they're so uncommon in charity shops, having an 'Sizes 18+' section and actively promoting for donations in that area could have benefits.