I was walking through the store the other day, looking at all the plus size clothes and a theme I noticed is that plus size clothes are never in the same fashion as “regular” clothes. I know you’re thinking “what do you mean by that?” I mean that most clothes made for plus size girls who are in their teens and twenties, look more like clothes made for older women.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I can go to some stores like Charlotte Russe and Forever 21 to find really cute, age-appropriate outfits. However, other stores have a vendetta against young, plus-sized girls wearing age appropriate garb. Just because we’re plus size doesn’t mean we don’t want to dress like the other girls our age. Plus size girls want crop tops, booty shorts, and bathing suits just like everyone else, but designers just aren’t hearing us.

There have been many times I’ve wandered over to the “regular” size section in the store - which is a problem in itself - and fallen in love with a top or skirt and I didn’t even try it on because I knew it wouldn’t fit.

Right now designers are making things for “regular” sizes and plus sizes, and stores are dividing these sizes up into sections. Combined, these two things only perpetuate the idea that plus size women are outcasted from “normality.” Not only does it make women feel excluded, it becomes rather embarrassing when I make a beeline for the tiny plus size section in the back of the store while everyone else gets this massive area to roam around in and find hundreds of cute items to add to their closet at home.

I think it’s time for designers to stop making separate items based on size. Designers need to start making everything in inclusive sizes. With this, stores could also start putting all the sizes together instead of separating them which would eliminate the embarrassment of the beeline.

Part of self-love is dressing in clothes you feel comfortable in. It took me a very long time to love myself as much as I do, and it wasn’t until I started dressing in clothes I loved that I fell in love with myself. When a woman feels comfortable and beautiful in an outfit, she begins to love herself, but those outfits only come from the right clothes. By giving a woman the clothes she loves in a size that fits her, you’re giving her the tools to feel comfortable in the skin she’s in.