Within the past couple of years, thrift shopping has been a huge trend when it comes to scoring vintage pieces. From mom jeans to old band tees, it can seem like you’ve found yourself a cheap Urban Outfitters near your home. It has especially been a trend for thin bloggers to purchase plus size clothing to cut up and turn into beautiful, new outfits that fit them. While it may seem cute and innovative, it can actually make it extremely hard for plus size women who actually need to shop at thrift shops.
It’s not buying something a few sizes up, so you can take it in. Many bloggers are buying XXXL clothing from thrift shops to completely change it into something that fits their body type. For example, it is popular to find a large dress with a fun print and turn it into a small, cocktail dress. Yet, there is absolutely no shortage of cute dresses and outfits for thin women. It can, however, be especially difficult to find nice dresses for plus size women. Shopping can be an emotional and frustrating ordeal, so not finding flattering and stylish clothes can cause one to break-down.
While many bloggers make the argument that the garment they restyled would have been sitting at the shop forever, it is actually highly unlikely. Usually, there is a larger demand for plus size clothing since it is difficult to find it. With the average dress size in America being a size 16, it is terrible that many women cannot find their size. So when these bloggers take all the larger sizes, it immensely lowers a plus sized woman’s options and makes it so much harder to buy clothes.
It also promotes severe body dysmorphia to see a skinny woman wearing plus size clothing as the before and then showing how it now fits their small figure. It is like they are mocking the “outrageously, huge” difference between the two photos. While bloggers may not have this intention, it can hurt all women to see this contrast and pick apart their weight.
This also applies for maternity clothing. It is super hard for women in low-income areas to find maternity clothing, especially when they are far along in their pregnancies. Maternity clothing also is not cheap for something that women can only wear for a short amount of time. Pregnancy is already an expensive and exhausting ordeal, to have to fight to find clothes to wear is one of the last things an expectant mother should be worried about.
There is no shortage of clothing for thinner women at not just thrift shops, but any type of clothing store. You can even hit up your local craft store to get fabric if you really want to make your own clothing! To cut these plus size and maternity garments up to look like something you can easily buy at Forever 21 or H&M is extremely disrespectful and disheartening. So, next time you are at Goodwill and see an XXL dress you want to cut into a crop top and skirt combo, remember that you are taking clothing away that can go to someone who actually needs it.
