Because of the intense heatwave happening right now and the fact that 97% of the clothing that I own is really only appropriate for late October through Pearl Harbor Day, I had to take a small chunk of money and go buy a couple new summer items. I went to three different Goodwills, because you never know, and was only able to find one shirt that was kind of okay, but I bought anyway because I have a habit of settling for "kind of okay". I know shopping at 'fast fashion' stores like Forever21 and H&M is generally looked down on in aspects of the community, when you are broke and fat, sometimes you just don't have a choice. Thrift stores are a crapshoot (with some of my local ones reselling what appear to be deadstock or clearance Target dumps for more than they would have retailed for at Target), and when you have ten bucks to spend, need clothes on your body and Forever21 can get you a cardigan for ten bucks, then that's what you have to do. Like I said, the thrift stores were all but a bust, but was lucky to find two dresses at Forever21 and H&M. I noticed that H&M had a few basics that were sized up to XL, which must be a new thing, because I've never seen it before at that store. This was very exciting, since their plus size line is so janky, but I was disappointed to see that they stopped carrying size 10 shoes, and only go up to 9.5 on the tag! Whyyyyyyy, these wide square feet need that extra .5!
I rarely shop at H&M for a number of reasons. For fast fashion, they're rather pricey. The quality is not great (even for fast fashion. I've had things from Forever21 last longer than almost anything I've had from H&M), and their sizing is stupid. Their weak attempt to offer plus sizes is frustrating. They are signigicantly more expensive than straight sizes, and I think it's off-putting that they typically only go to a large in the straight sizes (same with Forever21 pre Forever21+). Of my local stores, only one location carries the plus size range, and it usually consists of one or two racks tucked away in a corner that is not marked or advertised (though, I went in today and I couldn't find it at all, so I'm not sure what is going on with it). Usually in stores like Forever21 or H&M, I only really will purchase accessories, since that's all I can fit in, and even with the plus sized options, the sizing is extremely inconsistent.
That being said, I'm very excited that more (non-footwear) sizing options have been added to their line-up. I tried on two different XL dresses just to see because I am at the top end of whatever is considered XL spread over different companies, and I have to say one fit great, and the other was a little big in the bodice. They were both jersey (the only ones I could find with an XL option were knits), which isn't my favorite fabric due to the cling-factor, but I'm glad that other people who are my size are slowly but surely getting more options.
Inconsistant sizing across the fashion industry has got to be one of the biggest pains in my ass of all time. I wish there was a standardized, regulated sizing chart across the board. I do not understand how one person can physically fit into anything from a medium to a 3x, all of which I have in my closet.
Also, please introduce the idea of petite plus sizing because I am not 6 feet tall and do not have long arms, thanks.
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