What to do? What. to. do?

FFG asks:

OK, I have a fashion conundrum. My usual policy is to stop shopping at stores that don't treat their zaftig customers right. For example, if a store hides the Women's Plus section back in a dark corner by the restroom, or they move their plus collection to only online, I'll stop giving them my money. The dilemma: Old Navy now only carries Plus on their website, right? But, they carry my perfect pants. Something about their stretch, low-rise, bootcut trousers just fits me like a glove...er...a really well-proportioned pair of pants, anyway. What to I do? Let go of Old Navy because I can't shop in the store with the skinny girls, or keep buying my favorite pants? Any advice would be much appreciated.

FFG, this is one of those things that keeps me awake at night. Well, maybe not but I have thought about it a lot. I remember how very sad I was when Old Navy decided to make the plus size selection online only. I wrote about it here and I still feel the same. They pulled it out of the stores because it'd be more cost effective but they hardly did any advertising to let people know it was in the store to begin with.

Here's the issue - I could boycott Old Navy and never shop there again but I feel that I have very few choices of stores that carry my size and are in line with my style, and Old Navy is one of them. But if I continue to link to them off this blog and shop there myself, is that saying that I support their message? I don't know.

I don't think it's ok for any retailer to hide their plus size clothes, either online or in the back of their brick and mortar store. I don't like the message that sends to plus size women and I think it's pretty dumb considering how much money plus size women would spend on clothes if we had more choices and knew where to find them!

In regards to the overall message that Old Navy is sending here, I'm unhappy. I wish they would've put more effort behind promoting the line and getting women into their stores. A print ad, a commercial, something! I'm not a marketing genius but I'm going to say that it's probably hard to get people to buy something if they don't know it exists.

Now for the good. I was worried that taking the line out of stores was the first step towards axing the line completely. But they've continued to add more items, more often and in more sizes. This is great. Ordering and returning items is easy. Their stuff isn't top quality but it is affordable and for really trendy things, affordable wins out for me. I personally prefer to shop online anyway and I'm used to the gamble I take when doing that. I'm more likely to take that gamble if I know I can hop on a bus and return the item to the store.

So will I still shop there and link to them? Yes. Part of my goal with this blog is to provide as many options to plus size shoppers as possible. I think Old Navy has some cute stuff and if their plus size line went away completely, I'd be really sad.

I think we should have choices and frankly, right now, we don't have many. Let me put it this way - the plus size market is so small that I have, at some point or another, linked to almost every plus size retail website on the internet. Imagine trying to write a blog about every single straight size retailer. There aren't enough hours in the day. Then again, if we only shop at certain stores by default, despite not agreeing with their practices, that's no better, is it?

FFG, this is one of those choices we all have to make in these situations. I can't tell you where to spend your money, that's up to you. I do think an email or a phone call to Old Navy's customer service to tell them how you feel might help you make that choice.

Comments

[Meg]

Just to play devil's advocate...I just got the cardigan and coat I ordered from Old Navy the other day. I could look through all the malls in a tri-county area and never find anything as cute and kicky. Or cheap. Funnel necks, kimono sleeves, baby doll tees. Some of these things are turning up in high end departments stores in plus sizes, but at high price points. Old navy lets you try trendy items for $20-40 bucks.

I'm just sayin'.

[jms15]

I have been lurking around this blog for quite some time and love all of the advice and info! I can lurk no more, however, since this topic is one that I have pondered so many times myself. I LOVE Old Navy and cannot tell you how excited I was to be able to shop there when they began having plus sized clothes in the store. Now that they are on-line only I was going to boycott them, but I am torn! I agree that the adorable clothes and great deals are worth maybe having to make some extra trips to the post office when something does not fit.

[Ducky]

Oh! I'm so glad that I'm not the only person feeling torn about Old Navy!

When Old Navy pulled their plus sizes from their stores, I was so upset that I sent them four very well written angry letters (one to the CEO, one to the VP, one to customer service, and one to the head of marketing). Months later, I was in serious need of new pants and Old Navy just happened to have exactly what I wanted (I'd never bought pants there before). I felt really bad because I wanted to boycott them but I also knew my other options sucked. In the end, I asked my brother to order them for me so I wouldn't feel so guilty. I still haven't purchased anything from them since that time and I'm still disappointed in them. But seriously, they have cute cheap stuff that usually fits really well! And they've made it even worse by now going up to size 30. What to do, indeed!

[anna]

I've been struggling with this very issue since you first posted that ON would be pulling plus sizes out of its stores (I've ordered online from them for years, as the nearest store that carried my sizes was well over an hour's drive away and not always convenient to get to).

Last weekend, I was shopping online for a few specific items and found several pieces at their site that I thought were cute, might fit, and would be a nice addition to my wardrobe for fall. But I really hesitated at the idea that my purchase would support a retailer who has relegated this customer to internet-only. I love the convenience of shopping online, but when it comes to clothes I prefer the option to see the colors in person, feel the fabrics, and try them on before I buy.

You've said it well that our options are limited, and I definitely agree that it's a decent source of trendier and more affordable clothes. Ultimately, I decided to make the purchase (which will arrive this week) and, well, I'm still of two minds about it.

[joan]

I have an Old Navy close to me, but even when they offered plus sizes in the stores, my local store never carried them. So I've always had to order from Old Navy online. I am disappointed that they pulled the line from the stores, it seems like 1 step forward and 2 steps back for them. I was hoping they would eventually carry the plus line in all their stores. But since I never had the option to purchase in store, I don't really feel the effects of their decision.

I understand why you want to boycott them, but if they make your absolute favorite pants, and we all know how hard it is to find a great fitting pair of pants, then I say order the pants.

[Alix]

On one hand, I think a main point of boycotting is that it's a sacrifice to make a statement, so just because it's not easy, doesn't mean we shouldn't do it if our conscience points us that way.

On the other hand, how we dress often affects our confidence and a confident fat woman is a statement in and of itself. So if you can find ON clothes that fit well and make you feel good about yourself, I say that's a more important, and louder, statement.

[Kas]

Hi Colleen,

I had a question. You seem to have some retty cute clothes from the sounds of your blogs, so what size do you wear. I am curious cause I wear a size 26 in tops and 28 in bottms, and sometimes I can only seem to find cute clothes at Labe Bryant, but lately, I have not liked much of their clothing.

[Sarah Downing]

I so agree with you that retailers should not be hiding their plus size stock in the back of their stores. Frankly, it is insulting, but I have to say that you are lucky that you have as much choice as you do in America. I am currently an American Size 14 and live in Germany, where a Size 12 (their equivalent: Size 42) is practically considered Plus Size. To add insult to injury, German Sizes seem to run smaller than their counterparts anyway. Whereas I can often get into a Size M top in the US, I am lucky if I can fit the girls into a Size XL over here. It is so damn frustrating and depressing too when you like clothes as much as I do. Not all German women are super skinny, but this country simply refuses to cater for them. If it does, you may find some tiny plus size department in the poorly stocked department stores and you won't want to go there anyway because you stand out like a sore thumb thanks to the huge ass sign. Furthermore, there are a few plus size stores, but they have insulting names like "Mode für Mollige" (which basically means "Fashion for Chubbies"). I know I am not huge, but since I've been living here I have started to become really hung up on my size because people have been so cruel and made their evil comments. All too often people assume that if you are big or overweight (I am slightly overweight), then you are unhealthy. I eat right and I walk everywhere (a lot easier in Europe), but over the years I have piled on the pounds. I recently discovered that this may well be due to hypothyroidism, but I just wish that people wouldn't make their assumptions and understand that people are different shapes and sizes for different reasons and that that is perfectly okay.