The Future of Plus-Size

Being plus-size means so much of your experience in fashion is being firmly told how not to dress. Don’t wear horizontal lines, things that are too tight, things that are too loose. Think of clothing more as fashion-adjacent camouflage. Sometimes I wonder if a lifetime of being told how not to dress made me the perfect candidate for minimalist fashion. There was no way to do it incorrectly—just make sure you match your bone, sand, and muted olive-toned linens together. In hindsight I wonder if I ever truly wanted to be the aforementioned minimalist dream girl, or if she was just the most obtainable fashion icon. When you exist in the niche of sustainable fashion for plus-size bodies, it’s hard to distinguish between what is a style choice and what is your only option. But in 2020, a new wave of bright, ethical fashion answered that question for me, and spoiler alert, my closet now has a neon floral silk dress hanging in it. Somewhere between Lizzo twerking to herald in the new year in a multicolor bikini and Barbie Ferreira’s character on Euphoria unequivocally declaring that “there’s nothing more powerful than a fat girl who doesn’t give a fuck,” the “fashion rules” prescribed to plus-size customers, which almost always existed to shame our bodies, have been drowned out. As this new era of fat-positive fashion dawns, there’s been a shift among sustainable brands. Not only are they extending their size ranges, but they’re also employing prints and patterns with abandon. In the span of two years, I went from begging brands to make minimalist capsule pieces in plus-sizes to choosing which checkerboard lounge set best fit my closet color story. After years of monochromatic linen, it’s a welcome change.