A little over a month ago, I was contacted by the lovely ladies at
ModCloth, wondering if I might want to attend a media event centered
around the launch of their plus size expansion. Um,
duh! Double
duh, because they also wanted to send me an awesome outfit to wear that day. It was a
wonderful opportunity for me to have something in my closet that I would
not normally have taken a risk on. I went with
the "Lady Brunch" Dress and
the "Heart for the Hills" heels
in Curry. It was torture to have that outfit just sitting in
my closet for a month and not be able to wear it! The fit on both the
dress and the shoes is absolute perfection. The dress is one of the most well-tailored garments I own, and the heels were just the perfect width and height for me. (I HIGHLY recommend that you
seek out any dress that is under the "Retrolicious" label on ModCloth.
That's their in-house label, designed by their master patternmaker
Goretti. But I'll get more into that later.)
The day began with an invite-only presentation by ModCloth, during which they explained their branding and why it works, their intentions behind expanding their plus line, and where they plan to take it in the future. It's a fact: plus size women hold 28% of the retail buying power in the United States right now, while only about 6% of the market actually caters to them. It might not surprise you to hear that more women in the U.S. wear a size 16 than sizes 0 and 2 combined. So
where are all the plus size clothes?
I've ruminated over the facts presented to us that afternoon, and one thing is very clear to me: fat stigma is responsible for not only sizing people over a 14 out of accessible clothing options, but also preventing clothing retailers from making some serious bank. Given that 57% of American women are wearing size 16 and above these days, plus size clothing has the potential to be a multibillion dollar industry. It seems to make nothing but perfect sense that
someone should come along and deliver on the demands of this particular community. Defying all logic, chain retailers have made it clear time and time again that they do not want fat folks in their stores. Most plus size retailers, save for a small handful, have either done away with their plus lines (Eloquii), moved them online only (Old Navy), or limit the plus items they carry to very few select stores (H&M). Most of these retailers also do not carry past a size 3x, or 24.
When these retailers are questioned as to why they don't promote their plus lines more, generic answers along the lines of "the market is just not there" are typically given. Um, what?! That seems very unlikely, considering research shows that 1/3 of American women are "inbetweenies,"
meaning they wear items in both straight and plus sizes. So why
wouldn't you just offer every item in every size? Oh yeah, because fat = poor, right? Not so. In fact, plus size women are more likely to shop online, spend 25% more, and buy 17% more items than their straight size counterparts. (Like, we have to, because you price plus items 20% higher for no reason and won't let us in your stores!)
This is where ModCloth comes in.
ModCloth, beloved purveyor of all that is delightfully twee and vintage-inspired (and recent recipient of $25M from investors, no big deal or anything), has stepped up to the plate. Accurately described to us as "a brand you could be friends with," they're just the kind of friend you'd want- approachable, unpretentious, and confident enough in themselves to be inclusive, making them the perfect candidate to take the plus size clothing industry by storm. They've realized the full potential of the plus size market and are doing everything they can to attract those valuable dollars.They've even begun incorporating plus models into their regular editorials and advertisements! This really shouldn't be so revolutionary, but how often do you see thin and fat friends together in a totally non-sensationalized, not exploitative way in the media?
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| Just have to brag, I received two of these stickers from shoppers at the event. |
As we all know, the problem with supply and demand is that they often do not match up. In this case, ModCloth had an overwhelming demand for more plus size clothing, but were dealing with manufacturers being unwilling or "unable" to reliably produce quality plus items. Rather than resting on their laurels, ModCloth chose to be proactive, bringing in master patternmakers to create new patterns for the manufacturers or teach them how to correctly modify their patterns. In order to do so, fit models were hired to try on each piece of new stock that came in. The patternmakers would then deconstruct the garment and figure out how it could be modified to fit a real customer rather than a dress form. Unsurprisingly, they discovered it wasn't as simple as just increasing the measurements from a straight size garment. There is a definite science to this, and ModCloth believes they have now perfected it enough to offer a great fit for every body type. Taking things one step further, they employed people to survey their plus size customers, even going so far as to travel to their homes for closet tours. ModCloth is in tune with their clientele, and they want them to know they're being heard.
As for the future, ModCloth has two upcoming plus collections that they're very excited about. One is a "Retro Game Night" themed collection, which takes its inspiration from the mid-century design of board games such as Life and Operation. The other, of which there were no items available to be shown yet, is a "Swiss Miss" themed collaboration with blogger Mandy Ferrugia of
Miss Indie. They hope to be able to offer more sizes and more styles (without going off-brand, obviously) in the coming years. They are also planning to expand the amount of production they can do under their in-house labels (such as the aforementioned Retrolicious), which would provide more opportunity to expand and perfect their sizing.
If the largest problem with plus size fashion is lack of supply to meet the demand, then ModCloth's method of forcing the manufacturers to keep up (politely, of course) is pretty revolutionary for the plus industry. We've never really had an advocate with such buying power so willing to go the extra mile for us. If this expansion is successful, I believe other retailers will pretty much
have to take note and follow suit. I also hope this means good things for my employer and many other independent plus size shops, as we source many of our items from the same manufacturers as ModCloth but don't have the money or influence to pull off a maneuver such as this. Congrats to you, ModCloth. Thank you for actually listening to your customers, and I think you'll find being tuned in pays off.
After the presentation, the venue was opened up to the public for a pop-up shop. More photos after the jump!
