Should plus size fashion cost more?
Only if in reality we start charging per size or less for petite and more for tall collections. It has long been the case that plus size women have been penalised and shamed by the fashion industry for their body shape. From less fashionable options to always being a season behind and often unreasonably high prices for unreasonably poor quality (this of course is not true across the board but you know the culprits).
For every indie start up that needs the support of plus size women there is an established brand who take advantage of the plus size women’s need for fashion forward options and how much she is willing to pay to keep up with her friends.
This week several high street culprits have been named and shamed for upping the price tag of identical items from straight to plus size and while a new pattern does need to be made, graded and fitted for a plus consumer, this shouldn’t mean that two essentially identical dresses should be carrying different price labels, brands have the ability to spread their costs accordingly across items and if they want continued loyalty from plus size consumers they need to start believing that their consumers are deserving of a fair deal.