Spring Fashion Week 2017 was Dia’s greatest fashion campaign, #MoveFashionForward. Since this revolutionary time in Dia’s history, we’ve teamed with some of the greatest labels to bring their collections into plus sizes. Now, our community has more alternatives than ever for expressing who we are via what we wear. With every new brand in our inventory, every exclusive collection we build, and every product feature we introduce, we’re coming closer to our objective of a size-inclusive future.
If you need a reminder on how far we’ve come—and how far we still need to go—we talked with plus size history expert Dr. Lauren Downing Peters to summarize everything you need to know.
Back in the 1800s, the ideal body form was a curvaceous one. According to Dr. Lauren Downing Peters, Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at Columbia College Chicago, things altered in the 1900s. As technology got more advanced and clothing was no longer built to order, mass production meant that fewer variances in body form could locate the outfits they wanted. Originally, so-called stoutwear was split from the rest of sizing to meet our community’s particular issues while shopping, from businesses not carrying larger sizes to salespeople delivering horrible customer service.
In 1904, the first purely plus-size shop came onto the market. Lena Bryant (aka Lane Bryant), already recognized for her expertise in changing mass-produced items and producing personalized lingerie, started up a business in New York City. An early buyer wanted a maternity outfit, which was considered controversial at the time. The style was the first of its sort.
In 1909, Bryant met Albert Malsin, a mechanical engineer and her future husband. According to Peters’ dissertation, Malsin was so impressed by Bryant’s adjustable waistbands that he invented new designs to accommodate different sizes of women’s bodies, including “stout” ones. (He wasn’t alone—in the teens and twenties, scores of patents pertaining to stoutwear were submitted.) Malsin utilized his technical skills to comprehend “stout” women’s shapes and surveyed over 4,000 clients.
Using his study, and cross-referencing with insurance information belonging to 200,000 female policyholders, Malsin found how women with breast size 44+’s morphologies were distinct from the usual sizing and grading systems. Malsin’s studies led him to the revelation that women’s bodies, especially over a certain size, differed substantially in shape from person to person. To simplify matters, he devised and published the three most prevalent forms he experienced throughout his investigation. Though “full-busted,” “stout all over,” and “flat-busted” don’t truly stand up a century later, the theory behind the three unique forms still impact plus-size fit today.
According to Peters, by the time the 1940s got around, America was seeking to impose itself as a worldwide superpower in the fashion sector. As a result, the concept of who the “American woman” was came into doubt. It was concluded that she was tall, athletic, and well-rounded. Unfortunately, effort in developing wonderful garments for women who didn’t fall into those categories fell by the wayside. Even when merchants did sell garments in plus sizes, the drawings in advertising didn’t authentically reflect the woman they were selling to, or the language used bordered on insulting.
Read Alos: Styling Plus Size Fitness Tops for Workouts
In the 1960s, the revolution was everywhere. Taking lessons from Vietnam War demonstrations, women came together to fight weight bias and discrimination through the radical fat-acceptance movement. Though the movement wasn’t about fashion, it laid the ground for the shift in mentality that unfolded in the industry the next decade. In the 1970s, fashion became more about enjoying our bodies than attempting to hide and cover our natural forms. A modeling agency that solely repped plus-size and tiny models, Big Beauties – Little Women agency, was also formed at this time.
It wasn’t until the ‘80s that “plus size” became the descriptor of choice for sizes 14 and higher, according to Peters. Even high-end fashion designers started joining in on the game, like Valentino and Givenchy, because of a fall in the sale of premium items. In fact, Vogue, the fashion magazine known for the lack of size diversity on its pages, published its sole plus-size advertorial—as in, money had to be paid to make it in.
Thankfully, BBW, recognized as the forerunner of Mode, the first plus-size fashion magazine, catered to our community with lifestyle, wellness, and fashion content. In their early editions, they contained pullouts begging designers to manufacture items in our sizes. The magazine ended up heading down a different course with future issues, but, happily, 1997 launched Mode magazine.
Mode magazine was entirely dedicated to the plus-size fashion world and offered regular employment to designers and models who didn’t get much exposure elsewhere. The magazine marked a turning moment in model Emme’s career and led to her recognition as the first plus-size supermodel. The magazine collapsed in 2001, yet even in its few years, it’s one of the biggest milestones in plus-size fashion history.
After the new century, groups on the edge flocked to Tumblr to discover people just like them—and a new breed of body-positive pioneers hit the scene. 2008 witnessed the birth of the plus-size fashion blogosphere, with notable names like Marie Denee, Gabi Fresh, and Nicolette Mason leading the push. 2009 marked the inaugural year of Full Figured Fashion Week, organized by former plus-size model Gwen DeVoe. We no longer had to rely on publications or commercials to represent us—there were fashionable, confident women who wore sizes 14 and higher telling us that we belong in fashion. The early plus-size fashion blogosphere paved the way for the bloggers and YouTubers we know and love today and signaled a new age of body positivity.
These days, plus-size models are gracing the covers of magazines and walking the catwalk, while actresses of all sizes are appearing in movies and on TV. There’s no shortage of fantastic plus-size fashion bloggers to look up to or body-positive advocates to adore. Even with plus size models becoming more prominent, we’ve still got a long way to go. Some plus-size fashion manufacturers continue to emphasize the “slenderizing” technological components of their items, women sizes 14 are still underrepresented in media, and women don’t all have equitable access to the same amount of wardrobe alternatives. So, until that happens, we’ll keep working hard every day to take fashion ahead.
Kari Pettersen
Spring Fashion Week 2017 was Dia’s greatest fashion campaign, #MoveFashionForward. Since this revolutionary time in Dia’s history, we’ve teamed with some of the greatest labels to bring their collections into plus sizes. Now, our community has more alternatives than ever for expressing who we are via what we wear. With every new brand in our inventory, every exclusive collection we build, and every product feature we introduce, we’re coming closer to our objective of a size-inclusive future.
If you need a reminder on how far we’ve come—and how far we still need to go—we talked with plus size history expert Dr. Lauren Downing Peters to summarize everything you need to know.
Back in the 1800s, the ideal body form was a curvaceous one. According to Dr. Lauren Downing Peters, Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at Columbia College Chicago, things altered in the 1900s. As technology got more advanced and clothing was no longer built to order, mass production meant that fewer variances in body form could locate the outfits they wanted. Originally, so-called stoutwear was split from the rest of sizing to meet our community’s particular issues while shopping, from businesses not carrying larger sizes to salespeople delivering horrible customer service.
In 1904, the first purely plus-size shop came onto the market. Lena Bryant (aka Lane Bryant), already recognized for her expertise in changing mass-produced items and producing personalized lingerie, started up a business in New York City. An early buyer wanted a maternity outfit, which was considered controversial at the time. The style was the first of its sort.
In 1909, Bryant met Albert Malsin, a mechanical engineer and her future husband. According to Peters’ dissertation, Malsin was so impressed by Bryant’s adjustable waistbands that he invented new designs to accommodate different sizes of women’s bodies, including “stout” ones. (He wasn’t alone—in the teens and twenties, scores of patents pertaining to stoutwear were submitted.) Malsin utilized his technical skills to comprehend “stout” women’s shapes and surveyed over 4,000 clients.
Using his study, and cross-referencing with insurance information belonging to 200,000 female policyholders, Malsin found how women with breast size 44+’s morphologies were distinct from the usual sizing and grading systems. Malsin’s studies led him to the revelation that women’s bodies, especially over a certain size, differed substantially in shape from person to person. To simplify matters, he devised and published the three most prevalent forms he experienced throughout his investigation. Though “full-busted,” “stout all over,” and “flat-busted” don’t truly stand up a century later, the theory behind the three unique forms still impact plus-size fit today.
According to Peters, by the time the 1940s got around, America was seeking to impose itself as a worldwide superpower in the fashion sector. As a result, the concept of who the “American woman” was came into doubt. It was concluded that she was tall, athletic, and well-rounded. Unfortunately, effort in developing wonderful garments for women who didn’t fall into those categories fell by the wayside. Even when merchants did sell garments in plus sizes, the drawings in advertising didn’t authentically reflect the woman they were selling to, or the language used bordered on insulting.
Read Alos: Styling Plus Size Fitness Tops for Workouts
In the 1960s, the revolution was everywhere. Taking lessons from Vietnam War demonstrations, women came together to fight weight bias and discrimination through the radical fat-acceptance movement. Though the movement wasn’t about fashion, it laid the ground for the shift in mentality that unfolded in the industry the next decade. In the 1970s, fashion became more about enjoying our bodies than attempting to hide and cover our natural forms. A modeling agency that solely repped plus-size and tiny models, Big Beauties – Little Women agency, was also formed at this time.
It wasn’t until the ‘80s that “plus size” became the descriptor of choice for sizes 14 and higher, according to Peters. Even high-end fashion designers started joining in on the game, like Valentino and Givenchy, because of a fall in the sale of premium items. In fact, Vogue, the fashion magazine known for the lack of size diversity on its pages, published its sole plus-size advertorial—as in, money had to be paid to make it in.
Thankfully, BBW, recognized as the forerunner of Mode, the first plus-size fashion magazine, catered to our community with lifestyle, wellness, and fashion content. In their early editions, they contained pullouts begging designers to manufacture items in our sizes. The magazine ended up heading down a different course with future issues, but, happily, 1997 launched Mode magazine.
Mode magazine was entirely dedicated to the plus-size fashion world and offered regular employment to designers and models who didn’t get much exposure elsewhere. The magazine marked a turning moment in model Emme’s career and led to her recognition as the first plus-size supermodel. The magazine collapsed in 2001, yet even in its few years, it’s one of the biggest milestones in plus-size fashion history.
After the new century, groups on the edge flocked to Tumblr to discover people just like them—and a new breed of body-positive pioneers hit the scene. 2008 witnessed the birth of the plus-size fashion blogosphere, with notable names like Marie Denee, Gabi Fresh, and Nicolette Mason leading the push. 2009 marked the inaugural year of Full Figured Fashion Week, organized by former plus-size model Gwen DeVoe. We no longer had to rely on publications or commercials to represent us—there were fashionable, confident women who wore sizes 14 and higher telling us that we belong in fashion. The early plus-size fashion blogosphere paved the way for the bloggers and YouTubers we know and love today and signaled a new age of body positivity.
These days, plus-size models are gracing the covers of magazines and walking the catwalk, while actresses of all sizes are appearing in movies and on TV. There’s no shortage of fantastic plus-size fashion bloggers to look up to or body-positive advocates to adore. Even with plus size models becoming more prominent, we’ve still got a long way to go. Some plus-size fashion manufacturers continue to emphasize the “slenderizing” technological components of their items, women sizes 14 are still underrepresented in media, and women don’t all have equitable access to the same amount of wardrobe alternatives. So, until that happens, we’ll keep working hard every day to take fashion ahead.