FAT FASHION resources

I gotta plug handmade Size Queen Clothing, from Bertha Pearl. The styles and colors are AMAZING, and she does custom work. Two words: hot pants!

Re/Dress is now only online but is still the home of teggings (between tights and leggings), which are amazingly stretchy and fit lots of bodies.

I know friends who love Fat Fancy, the vintage shop in Portland, Oregon.

I would love to give a shout-out to fat fleas for an amazing way to get cheap clothes and support community. Honestly, they’re where most of my best clothing comes from. Fat fleas are location specific, which can be a bummer, but they’re also amazing community events. And if you can get there, you can recoup travel costs for lots of amazing fashions in new and like-new condition. For example, you can get ten tops, five bottoms, and three dresses at Cupcakes and Muffintops for $96 (yeah, I know the prices). That’s an entire work wardrobe for the price of a single dress in some places. Specifics change, but some long-standing ones are:

Oakland: Cupcakes and Muffintops

New York City: The Big Fat Flea

Boston: The Big Thrifty

I have friends in different places who get together for informal, cash-free clothing swaps. And if there isn’t a swap happening near you, it just takes two or three people with similar fashion and size needs to get together and there you are, snagging new styles. Just bring what you’re done with and take what you want. Donate the rest.

Yay fat clothes!

—Alex Gino

ASOS Men’s Plus

DXL: Known for years for catering to an older audience, now they’re offering a lot more modern and stylish clothing.

JCPenney Foundry Big & Tall: Also focused on a younger, modern audience.

Bonobos Extended Sizes

Also, check out the style and resources section of Chubstr.com. I’ve covered a TON of brands over the last nine years.

—Bruce Sturgell

Walmart: Fat clothing on a budget. My favorite.

Forever 21+: When there’s spandex involved, it can fit up to a size 26.

Dia & Co: To learn what brands fit you and how is priceless!

Eloquii: For clothing that costs more but lasts longer. Work clothing especially!

—Jes Baker

In Australia, when I need something really nice, I go to City Chic. I like that they have clothes I can fit into, that make me feel comfortable and gorgeous. The alternative is going to Target and praying there’ll be a size 20 on the rack. To be honest, City Chic can be a little pricey (for my tiny budget), but when I think about how often I wear each item of clothing, I know it’s worth it.

—Jess Walton

I’m a ASOS/Target/Old Navy girl.

—Jonathan P. Higgins, Ed.D

CLOTHES I LOVE!

Rebdolls

City Chic

Asos Curve

CLOTHES I CAN AFFORD!

Avenue

Kohl’s

Used clothing websites like Poshmark, ThredUp, eBay

CLOTHES I DREAM OF!

Igigi

Premme US

Jibri (Julie Murphy wore them on the Dumplin’ red carpet, and I died.)

Whatever Nicole Byer is wearing on Nailed It!

Gwynnie Bee

Dia & Co

—Lily Anderson

Ava & Viv

Original Use

Both are Target brands that—while Original Use is not inclusive of folks above 2XL—make clothes that actually fit a body well, no matter what shape or size. Plus, both are very affordable and (while my sense of style is very tacky) very fashionable!

—Mason Deaver

Swak Design

Lane Bryant

Eleven60

Ava & Viv

Jibri online

—Renée Watson

Torrid: Available at most malls, has good clearance deals usually, often has coupons.

Hot Topic: Available at most malls, sometimes has surprisingly good stuff in larger sizes; can be a bit expensive, but they often run sales.

ModCloth: Online retailer; possibly out of the price range of many teens, but they run good sales every now and then.

eShakti: Online retailer; sometimes runs sales, has HUGE selection of customization and size options—highly recommend if people are looking for a nice, as-close-to-tailored-as-you-can-get-online dress.

Figleaves: Online retailer; I haven’t purchased from them, but I hear good things about their bra selection—as a teen I had the hardest time finding bras that fit from standard retailers like Victoria’s Secret!

Hips & Curves: Online retailer; I haven’t ordered from them either, but I hear good things about their bra and underwear selection.

Buffalo Exchange: Available at several locations; it’s a trendy used-clothing store, so the selection can be hit-or-miss depending on local clientele, but they do a good job of picking out good items, so the selection is a bit more stylish than Goodwill while the prices remain affordable. I wouldn’t call it a plus-size retailer, though, just a treasure-hunt option.

Old Navy: Brick and mortar locations seem to typically only go up to size 18 or so, but I think they’ve got a larger selection online, and their pants are pretty solid and affordable. I have sacrificed many Old Navy pants to the altar of chub rub, haha.

Target: Their plus selection is increasingly stylish, and their shorts and pants have been on point lately. I personally have a harder time finding bottoms than tops, so anywhere that has solid pants is a godsend for me. Plus, if you’re on the border between straight sizes and plus sizes, they have some great options for that range.

—S. Qiouyi Lu