I called a size 16 dress plus size and the internet got mad

Ramblings about the fashion industry and sizing diversity

Finding clothing to fit your size should not be complicated. It is a privilege to be able to walk into any shop and your size to always be available. Yet, it is something that most women face everyday in a sea of businesses who won’t carry larger sizes in fear of them not selling.

Granted, the industry has come leaps and bounds in the last year with now most brands extending their ranges to offer larger than a size 14 AU/UK. The body positivity movement successfully put pressure on brands in recent years to expand their size ranges, and as someone who has been working in retail across this transition period, I can tell you that pressure was powerful and effective. Change is important.

On one hand, I was the fashion buyer limited by brands only stocking an 8 - 12, which was frustrating. While on the other hand, I was having to be the one to tell customers that I could not offer them a larger size, for no good reason apart from business risk aversion. For fear of not being able to move those sizes. Boy, were they wrong.

Since starting CMTB vintage in 2024, I’ve wanted to be as diverse as I can. Inclusivity is something I am very passionate about and fight for. But as a vintage reseller, I get what I get… Although I actively seek out and offer a variety of sizes each week, I still get anger in my comments about my size range. Which feels misplaced. We are on the same team.

I am a one woman show and I shoot all sizes on my body. So I do find it challenging reflecting a range of sizes to accurately represent a garment. The truth is that not everything fits me. I photograph it in a way that best reflects the fit across a wide range of bodies. But perhaps I am missing the mark?

I am not a plus size person myself and it’s up to me to hold space for those who are. I can feel the emotion behind those common customer idiosyncrasies such as ‘that would fit one of my thighs’ or ‘I am too big for this shop’, which I’ve heard so often. It’s making light of an important inequality.

Yesterday, I posted a video on my channels wearing a size 16 AU/UK or XL vintage wedding gown (an exquisite gown might I add - no arguments there) and women came in droves to the comments to share their thoughts on me calling this dress ’plus size’.

I found myself the centre of an online war defining the term ‘plus size’. In my personal experience working in retail from sales assistant, to manager, to buyer, the store owner over a span of 20 years, retail stores have only ever stocked sizes 6-12 AU/UK. Very occasionally would you find a 14 AU/UK. That (thankfully) has had a complete overhaul just in the last 5 years, as we have explored. But I felt safe to say that this beautiful 1990s corseted chiffon wedding dress was indeed ‘plus size’ being a 16 AU/UK. Right or wrong, it opened up valuable conversations around the industry and its shortcomings.

So, I’ll leave you with a few questions…

What is the true definition of plus size?

To the plus size community, what do you feel smaller businesses can do or improve on to better serve you?

With love, Tara