In a time in this country when women are fighting for equality, and the right to feel beautiful in our skin regardless of size, why is it that clothing companies aren’t actually trying to help us feel beautiful? Clothing companies all utilize very small sized mannequins and models to advertise their clothing. According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015, the average woman weighs 166.2 pounds and is 5’4” tall.
This stat compared to the average model who is 5’10” and weighs 107 pounds goes to show that most women are not being represented by the models in these ads. The mannequins always look gorgeous in these smaller sized outfits because that is what we are taught to want. What if large clothing stores like Kohl's, JC Penney, and other places, like American Eagle, put out mannequins in a bigger assortment of sizes. Why should we have to go to the plus size section to see a realistic display of how the clothes will look on us? It makes it very hard to shop when you can’t imagine yourself in the outfits because they are only advertised in the smallest sizes a store will carry.
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Companies should advertise their clothing on larger models or at least show a handful of sizes when selling things like jeans, dresses, and tops. Everything looks good on a size zero mannequin or model, but how do those skinny jeans look on a girl who is closer to a size six or a size 18? It’s really hard to shop when it’s impossible to picture how things will look on you without trying them on and that is really discouraging. I’m not against people that are small by any means, I know that often they have a hard time finding the right fit just as others do. However, American Eagle advertises their jeans online with women who are very tall and very thin. Yes, they look absolutely beautiful and rock those jeans, but it makes me not want to purchase them. How do I know how those jeans will look that good on me? Most likely they won’t because life just isn’t that simple. Would it really be so hard for stores to get a few mannequins and take a few extra pictures for their online shops?
It really wouldn’t be that much work if stores, at least online ones, could advertise clothing in a small size like one or two, a medium size like eight or 10, and a larger size in a 14 or 16. This would give all women an idea of how they would look in these jeans, dresses, and tops. It would build confidence in women to order more clothing without trying it on. Not only would this give more women the modeling jobs they dream of but they could also expand their markets.
And what really is plus size anyway? Many women struggle to fit into clothing that isn’t their size because they don’t want to shop in the plus size section. Why can’t clothing stores just carry a bigger assortment of sizes in one women’s section. They don’t segregate the XS and size double zero clothing to it’s own section, why must we make the larger sizes feel as though they are different. We are all beautiful and strong in our own skin and as long as we are happy and healthy size shouldn’t matter. Things are due for change in the beauty industry and those who are setting the standards for beauty need to reach out to all, not just tall and thin.
