“With less than a third of women finding it easy to buy clothes that fit, it can evidently be a struggle for most women to get the correct size, cut and style for their highly variable body shapes. If retailers made shopping for clothing more straightforward by standardising their clothing sizes or, at the very least, displaying size guides in-store to help the selection process, it would promote higher levels of expenditure – which is particularly important considering the current tough trading conditions on the high street.”

“With less than a third of women finding it easy to buy clothes that fit, it can evidently be a struggle for most women to get the correct size, cut and style for their highly variable body shapes. If retailers made shopping for clothing more straightforward by standardising their clothing sizes or, at the very least, displaying size guides in-store to help the selection process, it would promote higher levels of expenditure – which is particularly important considering the current tough trading conditions on the high street.”

– Emma Clifford, Clothing and Fashion Analyst

In this report we answer the key questions:

What is driving growth in the plus-size clothing market?

Who is innovating in the plus-size market?

Have plus-size consumers’ views of the high street changed?

Should society be catering for or preventing plus-sizes?

How do consumers feel about sizing and fit?

How can retailers make finding the right fit easier?

Definitions:

This report covers the non-standard size fashion market, which is defined as:

· Clothing for women in sizes 18 or over;

· Clothing specifically designed as petite or tall ranges and other garments bought by women under 5’3” or over 5’9”;

· Menswear in sizes XL or larger.

· Childrenswear may be mentioned in passing but is not included in market sizes.