Ladies Wardrobe Archive

7 Facts - Plus-Size Market Sees Rapid Growth

Sunday, August 29th, 2010 by Kim Bolsover

As a business owner in the world of image, you need to be aware of the latest statistics about your industry.  Here are 7 facts / statistics about the rapid growth of the plus-size clothing market.

Use them to impress your clients but, more importantly, to hone your marketing.

Fact #1

Hot on the heels of news that Marc Jacobs is set to become the first major fashion house to launch a plus-size line, statistics gathered by market research company Mintel has revealed that a quarter of UK women are now a size 18 or above.

The American designer label revealed earlier this month that it is in discussions to produce a clothing range catering for women bigger than a size 14.

Fact #2

It is likely to be a shrewd move as research by Mintel shows that the plus-size market for womenswear has increased by 45% in the past five years to £3.8 billion, compared to growth in the overall womenswear market of just 15%. Larger-size menswear has also grown steadily by 6% to £1.9 billion between 2005 and 2010.

Fact #3

However, while Mintel estimates that around 6.2 million now fall into the plus-size category, many of them still struggle to find clothes that fit.

Tamara Sender, Senior Fashion Analyst at Mintel which surveyed 20,000 Britons, said, “Rising levels of obesity in the UK mean that plus-size consumers are increasing and these shoppers are looking for improved choice in plus-size clothing and more fashionable garments.

Fact #4

“Given the numbers of not just plus-size women, but also men, with a third wearing XL clothes or bigger, these consumers can no longer be considered a minority or niche sector and retailers of all types of clothing need to wake up to the growth potential of this market.”

Elena GrunertFact #5

The most-purchased clothing size in the UK today is a 12, with 31% of women buying this size.

Fact #6

The second most-purchased clothing size in the UK today is a 14.

Fact #7

But with 10.1 million women in the UK (equivalent to nearly 40% of the female population) wearing clothes sized 16 and over, there is growing demand for clothing more representative of the overall population.

Over half of women who are size 18 said that not enough shops offer a range of choices to cater for different sizes and more than four in ten believe that plus-size clothes tend to be less fashionable than smaller sizes.

“Many high street retailers have still not extended their range of clothes to provide wider choices for the growing number of shoppers that do not fit into the standard size mould. With rates of obesity increasing, the new generation of younger, fashion-conscious plus-size consumers are looking for the same trend-led clothes that exist for slimmer women,” added Sender.

Image: Elena Grunert

Thanks to Manda Kent Burns who sent in this article

 

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Women’s size charts for clothes, shoes and lingerie

Saturday, August 28th, 2010 by Kim Bolsover

EN 13402 is a European standard for labelling clothes sizes. It is based on body dimensions, measured in centimetres, rather than the extremely arbitrary sizes which differ from shop to shop, and from manufacturer to manufacturer. 

Its aim was to replace many older national dress-size systems, starting in the year 2006. I’ve yet to see any evidence of this in UK shops but, then I have to admit, that I don’t go shopping for clothes very often!

As we clearly aren’t there just yet, maybe these charts will help, especially if you’re travelling.

Women’s Clothing sizes

 

UK 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
USA 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Germany 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
Spain/France 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
Italy 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54
Russia 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56
Japan 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17

19

Women’s Shoe sizes

 

UK 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5
USA 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10
Europe 36 37 37 38 38 39 39 40 40 41 41 42
Russia 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 -
Japan - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28

Women’s Lingerie sizes

 

UK 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38
USA 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
France 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52
Germany 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50
Russia 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56
Waist (cm) 63-65 66-69 70-74 75-78 79-83 84-89 90-94 95-97
Hips (cm) 89-92 93-96 97-101 102-104 105-108 109-112 113-117 118-122

Women’s Bra sizes

 

UK / USA 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
Spain / France 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125
Ital 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 n/a n/a
Germany 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
Russia 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56    

Bra measuring guide

Women’s Hat sizes

 

UK (inch) 6 5/8 6 3/4 6 7/8 7 7 1/8 7 1/4 7 3/8 7 1/2 7 5/8 7 3/4 7 7/8
USA (inch) 6 3/4 6 7/8 7 7 1/8 7 1/4 7 3/8 7 1/2 7 5/8 7 3/4 7 7/8 8
European (cm) 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Calculating your own hat size

 

 

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International bra sizes

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 by Kim Bolsover
UK / USA 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48
Spain / France 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125
Italy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 n/a n/a
Germany 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110
Russia 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56    

Bra measuring guide

 

 

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9 Top Bra Ftting Tips

Monday, August 23rd, 2010 by Kim Bolsover

Feel free to copy and paste these 9 tips into your own client handouts. 

Great fitting underwear means a smoother foundation for the clothes that the rest of us see, and that means a lot of relief all round!

  1. The underband of your bra should fit comfortably in the middle of your back and not ride up or down
  2. The underwire should never dig into your breast tissue and should fit snugly under the arm
  3. The underwire should lay flat against the breastbone
  4. The bust should not spill over the top of the cup. If it does you are wearing too small a cup size; try the next cup size up
  5. If the cups are baggy, try going down a cup size
  6. If the bra straps are digging into your shoulder and feel uncomfortable it means the straps are taking the weight of your bust whereas the underband should be doing this job - go down a band size
  7. If the underband is riding up at the back, you need a smaller band size
  8. Your bra underband should feel firm and comfortable but with enough space to enable you to insert two fingers under at the back and one finger space at the front
  9. Get yourself measured properly

 

 

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