Forever 21 is known for being on-trend and easy on the wallet, two things pretty much incongruous with plus-size style. For a lot of women, navigating the plus-size clothing industry is often an exercise in extreme patience and inevitable disappointment.
The clothing options for women over a size 12 — the average size of both American and British women — are limited to say the least, and often extremely expensive. The arrival of plus-size retailers, such as Torrid, in malls across America is a step in the direction of accessibility, but these are ultimately outliers in the plus-size fashion industry. In reality, if you want to buy plus-size clothing, you have to go online. This often means hours of scrolling through $80 smock dresses until you can find something remotely attractive and flattering. Once you find those one or two pieces of clothing, it’s time to take the leap of faith and order — without the ability to try on — and don’t you dare check your bank account balance if you value your mental health. Plus-size clothing is— without fail— rare, or expensive, or unflattering, and too often all of the above. So when Forever 21 launched their plus size collection in 2009, which was just as trendy and affordable as their straight size clothing, it was a major victory for plus-size fashion.
Seven years after having major success with street style and bathing suits— which are almost always sold out — Forever 21 decided to create something even harder to come by for plus-size women: activewear. Their new activewear collection includes leggings, athletic tops, and sports bras that you would actually want to wear in public. The best part is that, in true Forever 21 style, everything is under $30. The campaign is headed by celebrated plus-size model Ashley Graham, best known for being the first plus-size model in Sports Illustrated and last years Lane Bryant “I’m No Angel” campaign. Also featured is plus-size — and role — model Denise Bidot.
