This pisses me off so much.
This is a supposedly fat positive shirt, right?
Well
Not only does it not go higher than a 3XL for most types of clothing, it also costs MORE MONEY if you are fat. Wow. Really blowing me away with your radical body positive politics here.
So I messaged the store because I was that angry about this. I wrote to them, “Hey. I see here that you have a fat positive shirt. However, not only do you not offer any sizes above 3XL for most clothing options, you also force fat people to spend MORE than thin people on this shirt. The hypocrisy and double standards here is outstanding. I’m pretty pissed. Thanks for ruining my day.“
Their response:
“Hi there, we are sorry for this but we have offer the 4XL and 5XL size, but the color chart for these 2 sizes are limited. It’s usually just have black color, the other colors are often out of stock. So that’s why we don’t put it in the drop down menu. Best regards, Pat.“ So their response was “We have better sizes, we just don’t offer them,” which is bullshit. But what makes me FURIOUS is that they had the audacity not to respond to their hypocrisy about forcing fat people to pay more. Fuck this store. Don’t buy from them.
You are aware that bigger shirts mean more fabric, right?
More fabric = more money
It has nothing to do with being hypocritical, it’s how the world works and how clothing works, just simple maths here, if you need more fabric to cover your body, you will have to pay more for the extra fabric used to make it happen.
No one is “forced” to pay more, you can choose to buy from someone else but the equation will stay the same.
I finally had the token fatphobic idiot respond! I was wondering where you were. It certainly took you a while.
Let’s look at this logic then, shall we? If more fabric means more money, then everyone who is not an extra small should be paying more money, right? Except that’s not the case, now, is it? Because people who fit in an extra small, small, medium, and oftentimes even a large or extra large get to pay the same price. The only people who don’t get to pay that price are fat people, people who are a 2XL and above.
Bigger shoes means more material, right? So shouldn’t people who are a size 10 pay more than someone who is a size 8? Except we don’t do that, huh? It’s almost as if making someone pay more for the same product is unfair.
Just accept you’re a fatphobe and go.
I never dismissed the fact that it’s unfair for some to have to pay more than others just because they need a bigger size, we’re on the same page here since the fashion industry has long agreed this should not be an issue so I don’t see why you would immediately accuse me of being a fatphobe.
However, without expecting you would respond, I will raise the stakes of our discussion, so let’s look further:
If not for the fact that yes, more fabric does increase the cost slightly, it’s even more so due to the labor involved.
It “is correct to say that larger clothing items cost more to produce than smaller sizes do. But the difference in production cost isn’t just due to the amount of fabric used; it’s about the expense incurred in adjusting the pattern, and whether more time and skill are required for specific sizes.” (source)
This article explains the reason behind further.
“Clothing manufacturers use slopers. [...] Once manufacturers get into the “plus” size range, then these slopers aren’t as transferable. [...] In the plus-size range, you have to have slopers created by skilled and experienced pattern technicians for every 3-4 sizes, rather than for 6 or 7 sizes. These slopers have to go through extensive testing and adjustments before they can be used to create pattern pieces in each size, so having them created is a significant investment for a company. [...] It requires more thread and notions, and the larger patterns can, at times, present challenges that require more experienced and higher-paid sewers to handle.”
Is it okay for plus size people to pay more? No. And there’s a lot more nuance to this than just that, we know how unfortunate fat people are treated by the fashion industry but your message to that store is not going to help it.
In my personal opinion, it’s not okay to give shit to a store like you did in your message. You could have asked for the reason why these prices are the way they are in a nice and kind manner, and unless it’s a scam, there would always be legitimate reasons of such prices.
Your message to them won’t change the world, why not just move on? You have your blog to vent about it but this poor employee should not have to put up with your aggressive behavior that I see here constantly from you.
I get your fight for equality and better treatment, but you can fight with kindness instead of anger and hatred, right?