Exclusionary clothing stores.

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PepperWorm
PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
in Chit-Chat
I went to Rue 21 fairly recently. The highest their tops go are XL and I can squeeze into them, thankfully.

I was looking for a bandeau once to go under an open-backed dress. One of the employees was there sorting them. I told her I just wanted a nice plain one and we went searching together, but I could neither find one like that nor one in my size. She made an offhand comment that they came 'kind of small anyway' when she looked me up and down. Kind of hurtful, but okay. I was embarrassed and defeated. Walked out empty handed.

One of my goals when I lose half the weight is to Pretty Woman the **** out of the store...or my version anyway. I love Rue 21 and I want to fit into the clothes!!!

Anyone ever have a similar experience at a clothing store?
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Replies

  • kf4vkp
    kf4vkp Posts: 164 Member
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    I can't wear things from there or 5*7*9 or Abercrombie. Also Victoria's Secret doesn't make a bra size big enough for me cup wise.

    But I rock at finding cute clothes elsewhere, so that's no big.
  • PartyPerson
    PartyPerson Posts: 116 Member
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    Many years ago, when I was considerably thinner, I walked into a little boutique. The shop assistant looked me up and down and said "There is no point coming in here - we don't cater for fat people".

    I was mortified. In a burst of pure evil, I was ecstatic when they went bust a couple of months later...
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
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    Yeah... I experience that every time I look at a price tag at Nordstrom.... All stores are exclusionary to some extent. Hell, there is no such thing as "petite" or "short" at Target...
  • FezzesRCool
    FezzesRCool Posts: 36
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    Generally not a fan of clothes shopping to begin with, I tended to lean towards t-shirts for summer and sweatshirts for winter, even when I was thinner when I did shop. As such, I never encountered such a rude employee, but if I had, my response would've been significantly nastier. No one deserves to be talked to like that. Also, I wouldn't shop Abercrombie even if I could fit into their clothes. Go google their CEO and his comments.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    It's simple all you have to say is they dont get your money. Obviously they dont need money and money is not that important to the company.

    I wish Lane Bryant had a smaller size sister company because I'd shop there at goal just on principal, but they dont. :cry: Not sure which company I would find worthy enough to have my money when I get to goal? I'll have to research.
  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
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    I love Ann Taylor Loft, it is by far my favorite store. I actually worked there for about 3 years ago. For the last 3 years I have not been able to shop there due to my size. They only carry up to a 14 in pants and XL in tops and only up to a 12P in the petite section. I went shopping there over the holiday weekend and to my surprise I can now shop there once again. The 14 pants fit perfectly and I was able to wear a size large in tops. I was beyond excited :D My next goal is to be able to get down to a 12P which is like a 10 in regular sizes that way I can buy pants in the petite section as I am only 5 feet tall.
  • Penny427
    Penny427 Posts: 166 Member
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    I can't wear things from there or 5*7*9 or Abercrombie. Also Victoria's Secret doesn't make a bra size big enough for me cup wise.

    But I rock at finding cute clothes elsewhere, so that's no big.

    I wont even go into a Victoria's Secret because Im positive they dont have anything in my size! I could be wrong but Im a doubtin' it lol
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Different stores cater to different clientele. That's how they make their money. You don't see stores like Lane Bryant carrying my size and I'm not going to complain about that. That'd be like being pissed that a Mexican restaurant doesn't have Chinese food on their menu.
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
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    Different stores cater to different clientele. That's how they make their money. You don't see stores like Lane Bryant carrying my size and I'm not going to complain about that. That'd be like being pissed that a Mexican restaurant doesn't have Chinese food on their menu.

    Honestly, I can't think of a thing that tops this, so I'll just quote it
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
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    Many years ago, when I was considerably thinner, I walked into a little boutique. The shop assistant looked me up and down and said "There is no point coming in here - we don't cater for fat people".

    I was mortified. In a burst of pure evil, I was ecstatic when they went bust a couple of months later...

    ^^this might be grounds for a Pretty Woman moment
    She made an offhand comment that they came 'kind of small anyway' when she looked me up and down.

    ^^This is sadly lacking in tact on her part, but could also be the way you took it. Stating that their clothes run "kind of small" isn't a judgment on YOU. It's a fact.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Different stores cater to different clientele. That's how they make their money. You don't see stores like Lane Bryant carrying my size and I'm not going to complain about that. That'd be like being pissed that a Mexican restaurant doesn't have Chinese food on their menu.

    I dont see the similarities. She went into a store that sales XL tops. She wears an XL I assume at other stores without issue. The company cuts the sizes so small she couldnt wear what she normally wears. How is that good business and a way to make money?
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Different stores cater to different clientele. That's how they make their money. You don't see stores like Lane Bryant carrying my size and I'm not going to complain about that. That'd be like being pissed that a Mexican restaurant doesn't have Chinese food on their menu.

    I dont see the similarities. She went into a store that sales XL tops. She wears an XL I assume at other stores without issue. The company cuts the sizes so small she couldnt wear what she normally wears. How is that good business and a way to make money?

    Different stores, different sizing. I'm different sizes in different stores. Her post title is also "exclusionary" clothing stores so that made me think that the issue is stores that cater to different sizes.

    Also, she said she can "squeeze" into an XL....


    ETA: The OP wants to go all "pretty woman" on the store because she couldn't find her size (which, hello, happens to everyone. sometimes stores run out of sizes!) and because an employee made an offhand comment that wasn't very tactful even though she probably didn't think before she said it and didn't intend to be hurtful.
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
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    Different stores cater to different clientele. That's how they make their money. You don't see stores like Lane Bryant carrying my size and I'm not going to complain about that. That'd be like being pissed that a Mexican restaurant doesn't have Chinese food on their menu.

    I dont see the similarities. She went into a store that sales XL tops. She wears an XL I assume at other stores without issue. The company cuts the sizes so small she couldnt wear what she normally wears. How is that good business and a way to make money?

    TONS of companies do this. It's Rue 21. They cater to junior sizes. Walk in ANY department store and go to the junior section. Pick up an XL and it's going to fit like a Medium women's size, maybe a large if you're lucky. Doesn't mean they are at fault or doing anything wrong. It's the store she picked and now she's mad they don't cater to her. Sorry, I love Rue21 but I know I'm 1) too fat and 2) too old to wear their stuff, so guess what? I don't shop there.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    My only issue is with the exclusionary sales staff. It's fine if you don't sell my size, just don't judge me because of it.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Anyone ever have a similar experience at a clothing store?

    I keep hearing how Victoria's Secret has the cutest and softest pjs but I went in there and they didn't have a thing I could wear. I finally got the attention of one of the clerks and asked her "Where's the section with clothes for me?". She just looked at me and said "We only sell clothes to women here." Pffft!

    I'm so tired of being excluded because of my gender. Didn't we settle all this sexist exclusionary stuff years ago? Apparently not. Just to show her she wasn't the boss of me I grabbed a black thong and when she rung up the sale I quietly told her "I'm wearing this tonight." Ha ha! Who's laughing now lady?
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Anyone ever have a similar experience at a clothing store?

    I keep hearing how Victoria's Secret has the cutest and softest pjs but I went in there and they didn't have a thing I could wear. I finally got the attention of one of the clerks and asked her "Where's the section with clothes for me?". She just looked at me and said "We only sell clothes to women here." Pffft!

    I'm so tired of being excluded because of my gender. Didn't we settle all this sexist exclusionary stuff years ago? Apparently not. Just to show her she wasn't the boss of me I grabbed a black thong and when she rung up the sale I quietly told her "I'm wearing this tonight." Ha ha! Who's laughing now lady?

    All of us? :laugh: :flowerforyou:
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    My only issue is with the exclusionary sales staff. It's fine if you don't sell my size, just don't judge me because of it.

    This. There's been a zillions of times I haven't found something that fit properly, whether it was because they didn't have my size or the cut was wrong. I have a HELL of a time finding shoes that fit, because I have a popular sized foot and it sells out fast.

    Plus, I think there's a certain Murphy's Law in place. Whatever it is you're looking for will always be the hardest to find. When I wore a bra in a 32-34A, I could never find them small enough. Now that I wear a 36B, I have a hard time finding THAT size, and notice tons of smaller sized bras. And bigger sized bras. Because human beings are fickle and tend to remember bad experiences more vividly. Everyone can talk about a time they didn't find what they wanted, but you rarely see anyone exclaim, "I went shopping and everything I tried on fit perfectly in the exact color and style I wanted!" :laugh:

    But rude sales staff? If I said what I wanted to say about them, I'd get a strike. :devil:
  • bearkisses
    bearkisses Posts: 1,252 Member
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    yes. So most stores in the shopping malls are trendy and for teens obviously. I barely squeeze into the size 9 jeans and knowing that I am not the fatest person in the planet told the cashier that they should really order larger sizes as the size 9 jeans barely fit me and I know I fit into a size 9. He told me "you shouldn't say things like that out loud". I couldn't believe it!
  • IzzyM210
    IzzyM210 Posts: 54 Member
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    What I hate about shopping is that the clothes is either expensive or blouses are like Florida outdated sofa prints.Catherine's is the worst,the clothes is so ugly and expensive. Lane bryant has cute clothes but alot of the blouses are ridiculously short and shrink after the first wash.Avenue is in the middle for me as I prefer their clothes and is a bit less expensive.Forget about clothing at the mall,it's non-existant for us big girls which is freaking depressing. I shop at Target sometimes,good thing I'm a little on the taller side at 5'7" because their pants run long...My poor mom wears capri's as pants from there lol I've heard of some online stores but it's a little tricky trying to figure out an accurate size so I don't even bother. It's a miserable feeling for sure.
  • spade117
    spade117 Posts: 2,466 Member
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    I wish Lane Bryant had a smaller size sister company because I'd shop there at goal just on principal,
    This statement confuses me.

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