Why the lack of cute plus sized clothing?

[Heifzilla]

So many awesome choices for teeny tiny women. For example, I found the Vanderkitten website and I LOVE their jerseys. But when an XL is a size 10-12, that really pisses me off and makes me feel like a huge cow Seriously, a size 10-12 is EXTRA LARGE??? Really??

Some manufacturers take plus size women seriously, such as Terry and Sheebeast, but everyone else ignores us. Larger women like cute stuff too!! I don't want to dress in a tent just because hardly anyone seems to think that plus size women could possibly get on a bike and actually ride and want to look as cute as we can doing it (I know not everyone wants to look cute on a bike...point is that the thin girls get the opportunity, while the big girls really don't have much choice at all).



Also, why do so many people think larger people are totally unhealthy? I am in better shape physically at my weight than some of the size 6 women I know, despite my weight. Argh.

/rant

[Trek420]

I see lots of cool duds right here on TE :

http://www.teamestrogen.com/product/...cialty_03.html

[Heifzilla]

I see lots of cool duds right here on TE :

http://www.teamestrogen.com/product/...cialty_03.html

TE does have a good selection, that really wasn't my point. If I have to buy everything from TE, that's really limiting, and I don't necessarily like their choices.

I *am* working on losing weight, but I just *hate* that I am so limited right now where I can get bike clothing from. Men's clothing is not really an option, either, because I am not shaped like a man. I have wide hips, a small waist. Plus, most men's jersey's aren't in colors or patterns I like

[tantrumbean]

Corinne Dennis does larger sizes ... although it's based in the uk, so not sure about shipping charges, etc. and they aren't exactly exiting...

http://www.corinnedennis.co.uk/about.html

[ridebikeme]

Check out LouisGarneau.com and Terry, they both offer plus size clothing. You're right the sizing charts for the womens side of clothing is off, hopefully the manufacturers will take a look at this here in the near fuiture.

[pinkbikes]

I realise that this is in the land of Oz, but I guess your dollar would go a lot further here than most, so it might be an option?

I recently discovered a local (actually local to CrazyCanuck really since it's in Western Oz) company that makes up jerseys and other cycling apparel. They have a wide range of artwork and make them up to whatever size you order according to their sizing chart. Their women's jerseys are very definitely woman-shaped and come in up to 6XL.

They are not cheap but they are VERY cute. I bought the Easter Bunny and the Santa Claus ones. My DH bought me a really "girlie tough mountain biker chick" one (skulls and flames and lots of pink) for my birthday. And I greatly covet the "Dogs in Space" model. I am what Australians call a size 16 (about a US size 14) and I bought them in XL, which fits really nicely.

Here is the link:

http://www.sprintdesign.com.au/index.html

The Director, Alex can be contacted by email and was very helpful.

I've attached a pic of me at Easter in my bunny jersey (before I put my helmet on - complete with ears - and a tail on my cute pink furry toolbag from TE). It was quite a hit wherever I went.

[crazycanuck]

Heifzilla, if you decide to purchase a sprint design item, i'm happy to pick up the item as it's close to my house. It'll save you a bit on shipping?

In regards to larger sizings, perhaps one day clothing manufacturers might surprise you

[TrekTheKaty]

I hear your frustration! I'm a women's medium in regular shirts. However, because I have boobs and don't like my jersey's skin-tight--I have a hard time finding cute jerseys. Women's XL jerseys are often too tight and I resort to men's jerseys, but they are too long and not "CUTE." Good thread.

[divingbiker]

I recently discovered a local (actually local to CrazyCanuck really since it's in Western Oz) company that makes up jerseys and other cycling apparel. They have a wide range of artwork and make them up to whatever size you order according to their sizing chart. Their women's jerseys are very definitely woman-shaped and come in up to 6XL.

I loooove some of those jerseys, but their web site is a bit frustrating. It's hard to see what they look like from those tiny little pictures. And when you click on the picture, the link is broken.

I think an order may be in my future. Thanks for pointing this out!

[smurfalicious]

Unfortunately from the perspective of manufacturer's and retailers there's just not a big enough market to produce a lot of plus size items. I want to say I've heard it's a 50/50 split of males and females in the cycling world, but looking around my area I'd say it's 2/3 men 1/3 women. BIA says 55% women, others say 60% men. Bah.

So let's go with half. Now you have to take 1/2 your market and figure that maybe I dunno, 1/4 or less of that is seeking plus size gear. So now you've got about 13% of your total market. As a retailer and manufacturer, are you going to take a huge risk on creating a lot of inventory that might sell to such a small group? So they knock out a few of their more core items in larger sizes and call it good. Does it suck? Yeah, but right now a LOT of clothing manufacturers, Descente and Sugoi I know for sure, are really struggling. They can't have a ton of product that isn't going to move.

Look at it this way, in any apparel line there will probably be three levels of a short of tight in men's, and maybe one or two in women's. I wanted Descente's Shelter tights, but they only made the Coldout in women's.

So I wholeheartedly agree that it sucks that all you get is "Here's your primary colored basic, boring jersey," but that's how it goes. It's a big risk for a manufacturer to make the flashy stuff that might not sell across the whole size run in additional sizes.

I think TE is a huge blessing! Specialty retailers are definitely at an advantage with this sort of thing. And thanks to the interwebs for creating a sort of global market for such items to thrive. What is totally unrealistic for your LBS to carry, a site like TE can.

I'm right on the edge of L and XL in cycling clothes and even then it sucks. I could not for the life of me get into my team kit in a women's size. It's a good thing I'm really secure with body (it is strong, healthy, and has banging curves!) or I might have cried coming out of the bathroom at a team meeting, women's L and XL jerseys in my hand declaring I couldn't get my boobs into either. I'm currently in a men's large. Thanks Primal, really, love your warped sizing. Oh well, I gots bibs and I looove them!!!

I do agree that a 10-12 is NOT an XL in anyone's reality except cycling apparel, and even then, their idea of 10-12 measurements are whacked as well.

So brands I would look at as an expert in boobs and ghetto booty. No lie, even when I was at my fittest I was still a large in cycling gear. I've found the folks at Craft have realistic sizing ideas. Sugoi seems to run big, I tried on some cute commuter tights, took the L and XL into the dressing room. The large was biggish but can't confirm medium was right due to it being a clearance item. Sheila Moon seems biggish as well. I found a large tank on the clearance rack, tried it figuring it would be too small and it was big on me. Skirt Sports rocks as well. I love Nicole and her company ohsomuch! I have a medium jersey from their new line that fits awesome and I'm normally and L/XL up top. And they're looooong! Love that the most!

Blah, blah, blah. Just the inane ramblings of an industry girl.

[pinkbikes]

I loooove some of those jerseys, but their web site is a bit frustrating. It's hard to see what they look like from those tiny little pictures. And when you click on the picture, the link is broken.

I think an order may be in my future. Thanks for pointing this out!

Yes - I had a look at their site and there do seem to be some broken links at the moment. I could get some pics to come up but not others. I might drop Alex a line and let her know - she seems nice and would want to know. The layout seems to be different from the last time I was on the site, so maybe they are having some teething problems with it.

I hope they get it sorted because I have a plus-sized friend who wants to buy the zebra jersey. She used to be a VERY substantial girl and is now down to about 220lbs. But she also has a waist and hips and doesn't want to wear a sack! I have just pointed her to TE for shorts because she has a fair bit of trouble fitting her saddlebags. It really is a PIA being a bigger girl sometimes!

[TxDoc]

So many awesome choices for teeny tiny women. For example, I found the Vanderkitten website and I LOVE their jerseys. But when an XL is a size 10-12, that really pisses me off and makes me feel like a huge cow Seriously, a size 10-12 is EXTRA LARGE??? Really??

Don't know, but - what I was taught when I was growing up is that 0-2= XS, 2-4=S, 4-6=M, 6-8=L, anything 10 and above=XL. So I guess 10-12 really is XL, or maybe I'm confused?

Some manufacturers take plus size women seriously, such as Terry and Sheebeast, but everyone else ignores us. Larger women like cute stuff too!! I don't want to dress in a tent just because hardly anyone seems to think that plus size women could possibly get on a bike and actually ride and want to look as cute as we can doing it (I know not everyone wants to look cute on a bike...point is that the thin girls get the opportunity, while the big girls really don't have much choice at all).

Back to your question though - I guess the main factor is marketing, since the companies' purpose is to actually sell their clothes. So what they do is to cater to the majority of cyclists. And cyclists tend to be of slim athletic build.
Now if you turn on th TV and watch a stage of a grand tour - well, most cyclists are in the average BMI range or below average. Likewise, if you ride around in your area and meet team members or club members - probably overweight cyclists will be a small minority.
So if a company wants to make good sale #s, they need to sell a lot of shorts and jerseys (especially cute ones as you say) - and so they need to make sure that their marketing target is the majority of cyclists which is low-to-average weight.

Now, if you say that this leaves out whoever does not meet the marketing/publicity standards and you don't like it - yes, I hear you. There are, as you said, some companies that develop within a market niche and provide good products to everyone regardless of size - but I would guess that most companies would try to cater to a larger # of cyclists, and that does not include the subpopulation of overweight/plus sizes.

One solution is semi-custom, a couple of my cycling buddies on the heavy side have ordered a lot of custom and semi-custom items to have nicer jerseys and kits. And, as Trek said, here on TE they have some products for plus sizes. But that's about all I can suggest, don't know much about it

Not sure if I was able to answer in a way that makes sense - I'm not a marketing expert so really I don't know. Maybe Susan here on TE can help with a more detailed insight - Susan illuminate all of us please?

[pinkbikes]

I loooove some of those jerseys, but their web site is a bit frustrating. It's hard to see what they look like from those tiny little pictures. And when you click on the picture, the link is broken.

I think an order may be in my future. Thanks for pointing this out!

I went and had another look at the site before I sent off an email to them, only to find it is already fixed. I went to two links that were previously showing up as broken (the Space Diva under the Diva heading and the Valentine under the Festive Holidays heading) and both were working now. So maybe they had it "under construction" earlier today?

[Heifzilla]

I do understand the whys of it, it's just SO frustrating. It was late, I had been looking on a lot of websites for some clothes and was really pissed off Clothes shopping for me has always been difficult, even when I was thinner. I have no boobs, wide back, a small waist, and wider hips. Plus, I am long waisted and have no leg. I'm the exact same way when thinner (boobs are even smaller, oy!) so trying to find clothes that fit and look good has always been painful for me. And forget about trying to find a bra in my size. Ugh, I'm getting stressed just typing about clothing

Thanks for all the replies, though, some of the links have some really cute stuff

[Autigirl]

I had a hard time finding bike shorts that fit. I am tall and have curves. If they fit in the booty they were huge in the waist. I bought some Andiamo padded briefs and love them! I wear them under cotton shorts or pants depending on the temperature outside. They are so versatile - I love them!

I haven't tried any jerseys on yet - I just wear a cotton tee. At this point all I care about is riding in comfort.

Kat