Dress Barn Rules, Old Navy Drools.

I've been following the story about Old Navy kicking its plus sizes out of its stores via entries from Big Fat Deal and PastaQueen, and I've concluded that I don't really have anything new to add to what others have already said and said well.

(Except maybe this: Given that more Americans are overweight than not, a store that can't sell a halfway decent plus-size clothing line couldn't sell ice water in Hell. Seriously: How badly did they mess up this marketing? Oh, and also this: Size six dress or not, I'm done with Old Navy. If they can't be bothered with me when I'm fat, screw 'em: I don't want to be in their stores when I'm normal size. They're entitled to make a business decision. So am I. And if I decide that Old Navy can go pound sand, that's my business.)

Instead, I thought I'd take a moment to praise a store that does seem to value its fat customers: Dress Barn.

Poor Dress Barn. It gets no respect that I've seen online, particularly not from me. I treat the place as so hopelessly uncool that if it came and sat at my table at lunch, I'd probably pick up my tray and move. Maybe it's that Groucho Marx "I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member" syndrome coming through.

Honestly, it's the name. I still have trouble getting past That Name. I hated lugging around the big pink bag labeled "DRESS BARN" when I was really fat, and I'd do what I could to be sure the store logo on the bag didn't show. It made me feel too much like a setup looking for a punchline.

Anyhow, Dress Barn doesn't have the hip, trendy image that Old Navy does, but you know what? It's always been there for me. (Well, there was that time when I was so fat that I couldn't even fit into their plus-size stuff, but really, that wasn't their fault.)

Dress Barn doesn't keep the plus size department a secret, or relegate plus-size shoppers to the Internet where they don't get to try things on before they buy. You go to the store entrance and there's Dress Barn Woman to the left, Dress Barn Misses to the right. Perfectly straightforward.

And having had plenty of experience with the clothes on both sides of the store, I can say that the plus sized clothes have been equal in quality to the regular line. That's not always a good thing, mind you -- the quality of the clothes can be uneven, to put it mildly -- but for better or for worse, the average girls and the fat girls are getting pretty much the same thing. I have a couple of DB shirts that have lasted for two years. They're big on me now, but they've held up nicely to lots of coffee spills and washing.

And really, the clothes aren't bad there. Sure, there's some hideous eye-bleeding crap, but guess what? That's everywhere. I know I talk up Urban Outfitters a good bit, but good lord -- I wouldn't be caught dead in 98% of their stuff. (Yeah, yeah, I know -- I'm an old fart and it's not meant for me. But I wouldn't have worn it when I was in the target age group, ok?) Some of Dress Barn's stuff is a bit on the pricy side, but they have decent sales. It's always a go-to place for me when I'm looking for acceptable "Buy the same shirt in several different colors" tops for the office.

So I think I'll stop picking on them now. Anyone else have any favorite stores that do well for women of all sizes? (Extra points for stores that have a decent in-store plus line; this whole "Fat women shouldn't get to try on clothes like the average girls do" thing really pisses me off.) Despite what Old Navy seems to think, I know it can be done.

Comments

[jodi]

kohl's, target, and macy's have decent plus-size departments... and there's nothing wrong w/looking in a few consignment shops too - why pay full price when you can pay a fraction for something barely worn... :o)

[PastaQueen]

Fashion Bug splits the store in half too, Plus on one side and Misses on the other. I found this incredibly helpful when I was fitting into misses tops, but still wearing plus-sized bottoms.

[spacedcowgirl]

I'd second Kohl's. Target is pissing me off lately with their smaller and smaller selection of plus sizes. Pretty soon I bet they will discontinue plus sizes in-store too, claiming sales were bad. And the real reason sales are bad will be because they have about 1 kind of pants and 2 tops to choose from at any given time, if you can even find them squeezed in among the clearance rack war zone and the dizzying selection of beautiful maternity clothes.

So that's my prediction. Though I hope it doesn't come true, because I love Target and wear regular sizes now, and I would hate to have to boycott their cute, cheap, comfortable t-shirts and twinsets in a rainbow of lovely colors. Sigh...

[Tonya]

First time reader, but I thought I'd pop in and comment anyway. I don't know how national of a chain it is, but Cato has always had good plus-size clothing. They also split their store in half. It's also the only place that I've been able to find really cute bras in plus sizes.

[Marla]

Good for you, putting your money where you mouth is! I know there's a WL joke in there somewhere, but I'm too lazy to search for it.

I used to get a lot of my clothes at The Barn, simply because they did have the larger sizes. Their clothes - at least the one in my area - are beyond uncool. They have a whole lot of weirdly patterned dresses that look like what elderly women wear to church in rural areas. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone, but that's really the general style!

Target can kiss my [fat] ass, because their plus clothes are smaller than other places - I wear a XL in almost any other store in the universe, but in Target I can't even squeeze into their 2X. If they even HAD a 3x I probably wouldn't fit. Also, they mix up their plus sizes on the racks with maternity clothes. Feck em, I'll go bare-assed naked before I'll give them any of my money.

[Nina]

Wow - thanks for this post! I haven't been in a dress barn in years, but because of what you wrote I went and looked at their website. Sadly no online shopping, but the look book was particularly inspiring. I can definitely see myself in some of those spring dresses (#5) - do you think they come in plus sizes too? If not, I also love the first dress here

[Lori W.]

I've been shopping at Talbot's and hitting some incredible sales (and by sales, I mean, a twinset for $20.00 there). Kohl's usually has some sales but I haven't been there in a while (I'm kind of unable to shop in person at the moment). Target -- they've lost me as a customer because a) their clothes are so small in the plus section, b) incredibly unflattering (yes, I want to wear sleeveless tops that go to my crotch with a blouson bottom hugging my rear), c) like Spacecowgirl says, there's 3 blouses and 1 pair of pants and d) they jam their clothes rack in so tight no one can get a cart in there or even walk. Macy's has some good things but you have to try on everything. Dillard's or Belk's also carry some nice plus sections.

The one thing about plus clothings is that I think manufacturers think we'll buy anything if it's in a size we can wear. That's certainly NOT true.

[Jen]

I agree with the comments re: Target's plus size section shrinking. It seems like every time I go, the space is smaller! At my local store, you can't even tell the area anymore - it's not delineated, just stuff in the "regular" clothes for a few haphazard racks. It is really frustrating!

[Nicole]

I like the clothes in Dress Barn, but.....really, what dope thought.."Hey, let's call our new store DRESS BARNNN!"

[The Rotund]

People have mentioned department stores but I thought I'd offer up the names of a couple of... stores with lower price points. Because sometimes I really want trendy, disposable clothes and sometimes, between paychecks, that's really all I can afford.

Rainbow Shops

DOTS

Marianne

(I can't figure out if this is their actual website as it doesn't mention plus sizes at all, but it matches the look (and font) of the store near me which carries sizes 4-24.)

The quality varies, as does the fit, but since you can try things on that isn't quite such an issue.

[Sundancer]

There is a store at a mall in Washington State that is similiar to the shops with trendy clothing I used to shop in when I was smaller, like Wet Seal or Forever 21. It is called DEB, and splits off plus sizes and regular down the middle. They are very affordable and trendy clothes for younger women who don't want to dress like their mothers or like they have given up all hope of looking cute in anything.

[Rob]

I think there's something being missed here, but maybe it's different on the boys' side of the store.

Gap and Old Navy have undergone some serious size inflation lately.

In 1992, I was 18 and plenty skinny. I wore a size XL (I'm a big guy, fat or not). On Wednesday afternoon, I went to an Old Navy store and size L was loose on me--I'll soon be a Medium at those stores!

Now, I'm definitely still bigger than I was at 18 (my waist size, for example, is 4 inches larger), and yet I'm wearing smaller sizes?

No. At many stores, sizes have inflated just like the old McDonald's cup sizes. What used to be a Medium is now a Small, today's Medium is yesterday's Large. At Old Navy, it's looking like they gone further and skipped two sizes since the old days.

That means they aren't getting rid of the plus sizes, they are just calling them regular sizes. Yes, you can call that a form of fat discrimination (Yeah, we'll take your money by offering your sizes, but we won't call them fat sizes lest our image be damaged), but I think it's part of a trend larger than just Gap, Inc.

It's not a coincidence that those McDonald's sizes changed the same way the clothing sizes changed.

[raine]

i'm with you on the name -- Dress Barn? Hello? Where is their marketing department? You may be interested to know that on the west coast, they use the name Westport/Westport Woman. Same store, different name. I know because I worked there in the summer during my college years and my paycheck read Dress Barn.

You'd think they'd switch the entire name. I know I just LOVE shopping in a barn.

[wmnslibr]

Your post made me swallow my pride and walk into Dress Barn again and it made me remember what fabulous clothes they have--I bought a skirt and 2 sweaters. But I hid the bag--the name is hideous.

[Anne]

No more plus sizes at old navy is bad news. I'm not sure why they are doing it, it looks as though they will be missing out on one area of the clothing sector.

-Anne

[me]

Everyone should stop whining about this!!
THEY STILL SELL PLUS SIZES! You just *gasp* have to order online!
Shame on a company to do what is best for it's profits!

[Jamie]

I couldn't agree more with "Sundancer" and their comment.

But putting that aside, has anyone discovered lately that "overweight" has been a major problem in our country lately?

Everyone pinpoints skinny people as being "sick", but if you look @ the statistics, there are more overweight Americans than there are ones who are @ a under and/or healthy weight.

Now granted, everyone should love themselves, their body, their curves... but seriously...

If you're discouraged about stores dropping there plus size departments... then do your body a favor and drop to a healthy 16 or 18 size and quit bitching.

[playtex]

Ashley Stewart is great! And yes Kohls gets my vote

[Heather]

I recently went shopping at Dress Barn to find a dress for a wedding. I ended up with 4 dresses instead. This never happens to me as I am usually so discouraged with shopping and finding something that doesn't resemble a moo-moo. The sales woman was extremely helpful and I didn't feel like she looked down on my size even though she was extremely slim.

I have also shopped Avenue. It is helpful to be able to try on since I fall on the fine line between Misses and Women. Kudos to Avenue and Dress Barn for being accessible.

Anyone had troubles with Victoria's Secret? I completely banned the place after I went there with a gift card searching for something for my honeymoon. When I asked the saleswoman if they had the item I was looking at in XL she looked me up and down and very snottily replied they didn't carry it in any bigger than a large. I was really pissed off. I guess you are not supposed to look or feel sexy if you are bigger than that? I know that they carry a few things online but the selection is limited and again you can't try it on. The happy side to this is that I found several things appropriate for the occassion at Kohl's.

[Marilyn Skadra]

Dressbarn (Moo-Moo) clothes are just that - dresses from a BARN. Actually, their clothes are a cross between Beverly Hillbillies meets Jetsons! Do yourself a favor - pick a better quality store - Ann Taylor, etc. Dress barn clothes are okay when you go to clean the barn