skinny people get cheaper clothing

2

Replies

  • GuruOnAMountain
    GuruOnAMountain Posts: 489 Member
    I'm in Britain and I have only very occassionally noticed changes in price in shops for different sizes. Most shops sells British size 6-18 or 20 (not sure what the equivalent sizes in America would be), but for people who are larger than a 20 or 22, it would be difficult for them to get clothes in most shops. There are shops that cater to the larger lady but no doubt they do come with a bigger price tag but for about 6-20, I've not really noticed any mark up in price between the small and the large sizes.
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member


    ya dont think? you can spend 99 cents and up grade to slightly thicker ribbon that feels like satan.

    I'm not sure I want to know what Satan feels like. Especially down there!
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
    I shop a lot at designer outlets like BCBG and Off 5th (Saks outlet) and there are definitely more of the bigger sizes at those stores. While it's not plus size, there are usually like 3 or 4 12's and 10's but I'm lucky to find the 2 or 4 that I need, and if the dress runs big and I need a 0, it's pretty unlikely that they have one. I think it really depends on which stores you're in, and sometimes it's just luck. I think I see it more with shoes that very small sizes and very big sizes get better deals because similar amounts are produced for each size, but less people buy the "extreme" sizes.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    I've always found that since it's easier to get and stay fat than it is to get and stay thin, thrift stores are the best resource of skinny clothes ever! I used to get high dollar brand name stuff, often with the original price tag still on it. Great for when you need nice work clothes and you're too broke to afford any.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    Maybe I shop in different stores, I have never noticed clothes for fat people costing more.

    I guess it could be a regional thing, there really aren't that many fat people where I live.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Presuming "Girls" means childrens, maybe those clothes aren't taxed? You don't pay VAT in the UK on children's clothes or shoes. Being 4' 10" I don't pay tax on a lot of my clothes and never on shoes.

    Certainly the amount of fabric won't make a difference, it's a minuscule almost insignificant proportion of the price you pay for a garment.
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    I hate everything about big clothes, they cost more, they take up more room in the washer, they take up more room in your suitcase, you can't fit as many on the clothes line, they take twice as long to iron, they're a pain to fold UGH. I love doing my husband's "average size" laundry it's so easy compared to my size 26 clothes!
  • VenturaGurl
    VenturaGurl Posts: 413 Member
    The Grass is Always Greener, or some kind of Murphy's Law of shoppin, always seems to follow me. There's always better selection in whatever size I'm NOT! :laugh:

    I TOTALLY agree!!! It seems like the top/pants I always want are not available in MY size...whatever that may be!!! :sad:
  • GreenLifeGirl
    GreenLifeGirl Posts: 381 Member
    I once accidentally bought a nursing bra. I was so excited to find a white bra in my size on clearance that I didn't take a good look at it until I got home. :embarassed:

    Then I thought of that hypothetical poor starving baby that would have to nurse from boobies as small as mine... I would be so ticked off if I was breastfeeding and only a 36B! Guess that's why it was on clearance. Not a lot of demand.

    I was only ever a 34B and nursed my baby for 15 months and never had an issue. DD definitely wasn't starving. Breast size has nothing to do with milk supply.

    Anyhow, I watched something on TV once about the difference in pricing in clothing size. Clothing lines are priced by groups. So a price for smaller sizes and a price for plus sizes. No, a size 2 is not cheaper than a size 10, but will be cheaper than a size listed in the plus category, because the pricing is based on the average cost of materials for that grouping. Also, which the actual material in the finished product may not look like a huge difference, it is the cost of the raw materials, not the finished product that matters. Do you sew? Are you familiar with pattern piece layouts? So, say with a pair of pants in a size 6, they are able to fit 3 pattern pieces across the width of fabric. Go up to a size 24, and now you can not quite fit 3 across anymore, so you have to move that 3rd piece down in to another row. Larger pieces are harder to puzzle together.

    You also can't really compare adult clothes to children's, even of similar size because they often aren't made to the same quality standards, since they are expected to be grown out of within a few months. They will contain cheaper fastenings, cheaper thread, fewer reinforced seams, etc.

    good insight
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
    I think it has to do with supply and demand... the "regular" sizes are in more demand, so they are able to make them in a higher quantity, and have a good chance of selling them all. When anything is made in bulk, the price goes down. The bigger "plus" sizes are likely in less demand-- so fewer are made, which would increase the price per item.

    Then you have fancy boutique designers, who don't even bother to make clothing above a size 10... or so I hear-- I don't have the money to shop in those places. lol!!

    When I was very thin, I would sometimes buy kids clothes... now that is definitely cheaper. lol!!
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
    The Grass is Always Greener, or some kind of Murphy's Law of shoppin, always seems to follow me. There's always better selection in whatever size I'm NOT! :laugh:

    I TOTALLY agree!!! It seems like the top/pants I always want are not available in MY size...whatever that may be!!! :sad:

    true story!! Although, when I was thinner (size 0 or 1) I usually had a VERY hard time finding pants in my size. Now that I'm a 6, it's usually much easier. There seem to be more in stock of the mid-range sizes, at least where I shop. Seems like they would only stock a few of the very small sizes, and they'd sell out quickly.
  • catshark209
    catshark209 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I work in the uniform industry ( public safety, security, etc ) and there is always an oversize charge starting at size 42 pants for men and around 16-18 for women. Shirts in neck sizes bigger than 18 are OS (oversize) and women's starting at 46 (womens go by chest size ).

    In my own experience, I've found there are next to no sizes for me. I'm a size 0-2 and maybe there is one pants (usually ugly) and like a dozen in larger sizes. I have to go to the Asian owned smaller stores for my sizes.
    Its not a vast thin women conspiracy here.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
    Bigger clothes has always been higher than smaller clothes. I'm bottom heavy and bottom clothes may be higher, but top clothes will be cheaper.
  • Speedy89
    Speedy89 Posts: 64
    true and false.

    Macy's no longer carries my size - all their shirts, suits, and pants are way too big. So I have to go to Express, where clothes are twice as expensive, but tighter, more stylish and fashion forward.

    Sometimes though I buy my athletic wear and shirts in the kids section of a department store - which does end up being cheaper.
  • 30beans
    30beans Posts: 7
    I agree 110%. I live in an area where most women are size 14-18 and you can NEVER find those sizes on clearance. What you do find on clearance is size 0-6, and occasionally 8-12. It drives me crazy! I'm hoping that when I finally get this crap off of me that I will be able to dress killer by hitting those awesome deals.
  • 30beans
    30beans Posts: 7


    ya dont think? you can spend 99 cents and up grade to slightly thicker ribbon that feels like satan.

    I'm not sure I want to know what Satan feels like. Especially down there!

    LMAO!
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    And.....all of the clothes left on the SALE racks are 2's, 4's, & 6's !!!
    See now, what's funny is no matter what your size they will NEVER have your size. When I was a 14, all they had were 4's and 6's. Now I'm a 4/6 all they seem to have are 14s. You can't win! :-D
  • ShrinkRapt451
    ShrinkRapt451 Posts: 447 Member
    I hate everything about big clothes, they cost more, they take up more room in the washer, they take up more room in your suitcase, you can't fit as many on the clothes line, they take twice as long to iron, they're a pain to fold UGH. I love doing my husband's "average size" laundry it's so easy compared to my size 26 clothes!

    Totally agree. Read a blog by a woman who was bemoaning the fact that they no longer make her favorite pack for taking a week's worth of clothes all over the world. Yes, she's able to fit 7-8 day's worth of clothing into a single backpack-size bag. If I try to pack a week's worth of clothes, I'm looking at a suitcase too large to fit in an overhead compartment. Without considering shoes or toiletries. And when I do my kids' laundry, it boggles my mind how many individual items are in that basket! Folding takes forever.

    As for larger clothing taking more fabric: entirely true. I sew my own (or, I did before I had two kids). When the pattern size gets large enough, you can't pin and cut as many pieces side-by-side. You have to put them end-to-end and you get more wasted fabric pieces that you can't really use for anything. This is true for pretty much any part of the pattern. Some things, like sleeves, have to be cut one at a time when they get wide enough. (For those who don't sew, most clothing fabric is made 45" or 60" wide, folded in half lengthwise, and you pin the pattern piece so that you get two copies by cutting it out once. For a very wide pattern piece, however, you have to pin and cut one layer only, or use the fold of the fabric as the halfway point and only get one piece at a time.) So I do think there's some supply-and-demand stuff at work with the prices, but I also know that more material goes into a large garment. That said, there isn't too much difference between a size 16 and a size 18W in terms of fabric, so the price difference there is not so much about materials.
  • calibri
    calibri Posts: 439 Member
    And.....all of the clothes left on the SALE racks are 2's, 4's, & 6's !!!
    I wish that happened around here. Sales racks have 00 and 16s, both in Long. :(
  • mochalovies
    mochalovies Posts: 192 Member
    supply and demand...

    Is harder to get rid of smaller sizes. Ever noticed sales racks full of XS Sz 0-2?
  • Tangerine302
    Tangerine302 Posts: 1,509 Member
    You would think bikinis and baby clothes would be cheaper then they are too for the amount of fabric used. ha

    I guess it just depends on what you are looking for and in what store. Sometimes the extra large tall men's shirts are a bit more than the regular sized. Probably for more fabric used though.
  • cutiepie2628
    cutiepie2628 Posts: 415 Member
    :bigsmile: I have noticed this in all stores.... it pisses me off that in walmart the plus size night gowns is always 2 dollars more....so when i reach my goal to be able to shop in non pluz size clothes im going to post soooo many pictures....
  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    I think that in today's society that focuses solely on money and business, this kind of excuse to charge more money for something that they know people will buy, doesn't surprise me.
  • KendaVSG
    KendaVSG Posts: 147
    bigger sizes require more fabric.

    Also, depending on the brand could be more or less expensive.

    "bigger sizes require more fabric"
    This part made me laugh I was buying underwear the other day and thinking, why are thongs so much more then Briefs, there is less fabric.

    i know a great way to get super cheap thongs. go to walmart and get the 49 cent spools of ultra thin ribbon and then tie a circle and then tie another strap going between it. walah one spool makes about 10 pair. :laugh:


    I am literally LOL!!! that's too funny.

    I get very frustrated by the drastic cost difference in the sizes. Even AT the large clothes stores (Lane Bryant, Catherines, King Size) size 1x tshirt $20, 3x tshirt is $45, 5x is almost $60... And half the time these aren't even made with good sturdy material that can last more than a couple months! It's no wonder larger people have the reputation of being slobs... our clothes are outrageously expensive (limiting the number of items we can afford) and shoddily made which limits the length of time they look decent. PLUS EVERY shirt I've bought always SHRINKS in length after it gets washed (I can't dry my clothes in the dryer because they'd shrink even more and not go below my boobs!!). Just some things to think about when you see very large folks in clothes and think negative thoughts.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    Were these the same brands and same design, same pattern etc? I find it hard to believe that the exact same design/pattern would ever be a different price based on size. I have never ever seen this.
    If you're looking at different actual designs/patterns, then maybe. But then it's not about the size anymore.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    I once accidentally bought a nursing bra. I was so excited to find a white bra in my size on clearance that I didn't take a good look at it until I got home. :embarassed:

    Then I thought of that hypothetical poor starving baby that would have to nurse from boobies as small as mine... I would be so ticked off if I was breastfeeding and only a 36B! Guess that's why it was on clearance. Not a lot of demand.

    This is ridiculous and pretty offensive.
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    It has little to do with the amount of material - it is based on the production model for each clothing item. Most intelligent clothing makers and textile companies order sizing for their molds in the most common sizes. Even though I believe bigger is becoming much more common, it has not quite hit the market yet so they will make a lot less of the larger sizes causing it too cost more to ship less, i.e higher cost for larger items because fewer items are being shipped but shipping costs remain the same so their is a higher price break.

    Honestly, the other major difference is most of our clothing is made in malaysia, phillipines, and other countries being sewed together by hand from an underage sweat shop child, the company that they are purchasing from simply does not carry the textile mold for the larger sizes so they are simply not made. In other words, supply and demand. Most foreign nations do not make a lot of larger size clothes because they simply sell too everyone. For example, Hanes, known for using sweatshops that are simply not set up to print/sew larger clothing items.
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    then they have to go to a company that does make the shirts in larger sizes - hence the increase in price - smaller market costs more !
  • KendaVSG
    KendaVSG Posts: 147
    Were these the same brands and same design, same pattern etc? I find it hard to believe that the exact same design/pattern would ever be a different price based on size. I have never ever seen this.
    If you're looking at different actual designs/patterns, then maybe. But then it's not about the size anymore.

    YES this occurs within the same brands and design/pattern. The EXACT same shirt will cost more in a larger size. I've seen this at every store I've ever been to. Plus, Walmart has signs on the racks saying one price for something, and in smaller letters it will say plus sizes or 2-3x $X more.
  • micls
    micls Posts: 234
    'Average' size clothes are cheaper due to economies of scale.

    If you're anything other than average-overweight, underweight,long legs, short legs etc then you're less likely to find something that suits, and when you do find it you have little choice but to pay what they want.

    Not fun, but them's the breaks.
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