Where are people buying affordable plus-size clothes now ranges are shrinking?

[FFSToEverythingSince2020]

H&M used to go all the way up to 4XL; now they’re slowly phasing it all out and the biggest size is now 16 or XL. Same with at least two other sites I’ve seen (Gap, Mint Velvet). I gained a ton of weight whilst on steroids and it’s going to take a while to lose it now that I’m actually able to. I used to feel I didn’t deserve any clothes until I lost the weight, due to some bullying from my ex and his second wife, and I’m trying to work on that feeling. I’m just barely starting a phased return to work, WFH in a field with very few online calls, mostly live in loungewear, but would like to look a little less like I just got out of hospital (mostly because I spent the last year constantly just getting out of hospital), so I can afford at most £50 per piece (in a perfect world, I’d love to do £30), and it needs to not fall apart in five washes.

Is that possible? Would I do best on Vinted? I have good luck with cotton, cotton blends, linen, linen blends, jersey, bamboo, viscose - polyester might be fine in shirts or dresses, but not trousers. Can you share where you shop, if it carries sizes over XL or 16 and you don’t have a shitload of money AND you don’t want SHEIN shite? Also… is it going to go back to being hard to find plus-size clothes now that weight loss jabs are so popular? Seems like?

Definitely careful shopping on Vinted is where I get most my good quality clothes- Mantaray, Gudrun's Sjøden, Ulla Popken, Snag are my go to second hand. Sainsbury's TU for basics new.

Check out Yours clothing. They have some lovely stuff

Online for everything: Yours (for the Evans range), J D Williams and Simply Be (same group but often have different things), Curvissa

I just find so much polyester now and I sweat just looking at it

I'm sorry to hear you've been unwell. I am a size 18 mostly (sometimes a 20), in my late 40s.
I have a chronic illness which makes weight loss harder and I can't take WLI because of my illness.
My options and budget are pretty limited and I like dressing alt/boho - mainly dresses, tops, skirts and cardis.
I like Asos, Disturbia, EMP, Yours (they do some nice jersey midi/maxi dresses) & New Look.
For more dressy clothes I go for Joe Browns, Joanie, Carolina Dress Room and Hell Bunny.
Most of these places go up to about a size 24/26 I think.
I mostly shop on Vinted unless something really grabs me that I can justify spending money on, like knowing I'll wear it a lot.
But I agree that it can be difficult to get what you like, that looks nice and doesn't cost a fortune.
However with lots of people loosing weight, I am seeing more listings on Vinted at the moment!

Tu have some nice cotton dresses and skirts at the moment
https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/product/tuc147491393

There’s loads on the Uk H & M site in sizes over 16 or XL, all the way to the 4XL still. Same with Gap. Mint Velvet have a size 18 which is the same as an XL, but I agree they don’t seem to do any larger sizes than that.

I find Sainsburys Tu is decent quality and usually have plus sizes. Gudrun Sjoden do larger sizes and you can often find them on Vinted, as they are expensive new. But it’s excellent quality and usually decent fabrics.

That's a lovely dress!!

Wow. Great dress. Well made and cotton with 4% elastane.

OP: there's a ton of low priced plus sized clothing on vinted. Thanks to WLI, wardrobes across the UK are emptying. Buy ahead now for summer; next week's mini-heatwave will result in all the sandals and dresses getting snapped up. Meanwhile, cashmere and wool will languish, so you can pick up a winter bargain then.

I know fast fashion is not the done thing but Shein. I have not had any issues with quality at all.

for other affordable places supermarkets, Tu and George at Asda generally have nice bits & quite affordable.

makes sense not to spend a fortune if you plan on losing weight - good luck for that

Surprised at this! I am size 8/10 but like an oversize… partly because I shrink it a size in the dryer and partly because I like a baggy Mary Kate look.

I got a L/ 14 jumper in mint velvet last week and it honestly is not that big.

I am well aware I am small and there’s many bigger people. How are most people actually going to fit in any of these clothes!! Surely this will not last long OP! Do not worry.

Do you have access to a sewing machine?

If so, there are some amazing fabrics out there. I make a lot of simple t shirt style tops (long or short sleeve) but in fabrics I love.

There are a lot of online fabric shops with inexpensive pure cottons: Dalston Mills, Pound a Metre, Pound Fabrics, Fabric Love to name but a few.

love that TU dress
Matalan has good dresses and i was about to suggest Joanie, but see they have ceased to trade, what a shame.

i make sure i buy viscose if not cotton,

Lots on eBay.

I've worn the marks and Spencer silk and wool trousers for ten years.
They're autograph. Usually £75. I've seen them as an end of line for £25. I wash mine in woolite.
I was a 24 after steroids. Now a 16. It took three years but I've not had any loose skin.
I use nutricheck on my phone to record my food.

I agree about TU at Sainsbury's, lovely wearable items.

Vinted is great because you see what the item actually looks like on a hanger, not pinned to a model who is draped over a rock semi submerged in the sea at dusk (H&M)

If you have any charity shops locally, get yourself along for a rummage and you might get a bargain too. X

Only and Vero Moda.

I’m not plus size, but I just had a look on JOHN Lewis website and they have a few nice 100% cotton shirts / blouses that would be suitable for WFH - Cape Cove stripe embroidered shirt down from £139 to £41, it’s made in Portugal in size L (18) and XL (20); and there was also a really cute sleeveless gingham top in size 22 (not for work unless you are very informal) by Nobody’s Child reduced to £14.They also have lots of larger size cotton dresses reduced to under £30 by White Stuff. Free delivery to home over £50 or to Waitrose on click and collect at £40 or above. Easy returns. Easy to search as you can filter by size, fabric and then sort by % discount as well as low to high.

M&S go up to size 24 and have lots of well priced basics. Just as an example of something I'd use as lounge wear but they're clearly suggesting you could wear it to leave the house, even when you're not going for a run:

https://www.marksandspencer.com/cotton-rich-cuffed-joggers/p/clp60780752?color=BLACK#intid=pid_pg1pip48g4r2c3

Just a message about H&M. If you look in their “new in” or “s/s 2026 collection,” the new section now only goes to XXL, and the “s/s 2026 collection” has most items stopping at a large, so even XL is disappearing (not sold out in larger sizes, but just plain not made in them). Just one example: www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.1334932001.html

Thank you so much everyone with advice! Almost all of these are a good shout, and I loved the person who said you can see what it actually looks like on a hanger on Vinted, and not artfully worn on a sea rock at dusk 😂 Too true. And I responded to one person, but what I meant was larger sizes are being phased out. H&M’s new collection stops at size L.

Most of my wardrobe comes from Yours or Seasalt. I'm a size 22-24 (and also a short-arse).

I'm a busty size 20 and get bits from Next, M & S, and quite a few dresses ftom Roman last year. Linen blend trousers from Next were about £25, and got a nice linen blend dress from M&s for about £30. A few places seem to have Easter sales on too.

I used to be us size not any more thanks to mounjaro.
But then and now I buy most of my cothes on ebay.
Ive just bought a gorgeous designer jacket for £18 pure wool, mint condition.
I dont like vinted.
I get my shoes from ebay too. I can get half sizes and wide fitting brand new for half price.