I have a notepad on my phone with a running list titled “Things brands said to me with their mouths open.” Some of them are funny. Some are sad. Some are amazing. Most are revealing.

After three years of collecting, I’ve identified five marketing patterns in the plus-size world that I wish someone had named for me earlier. Here they are, with translation.

1. “Designed for every body” = “We added XL to four styles”

Translation: the brand added one or two new sizes to existing products and called it a redesign. The fit will be okay. The cut will not be designed for a plus body, just enlarged.

The real test: Look for the size range in the brand’s plus line. If they say “up to 3X,” that’s three to five styles, not every style. If they say “in sizes 14–32,” that’s the real commitment. Most brands have something in between.

The test for you: Are the same tops, bottoms, and dresses available in the same wash, the same cut, the same fabric — just in your size? If yes, real commitment. If no, marketing.

2. “Real women” = “Models who are not supermodels”

Translation: the brand is using models who are regular people, which is a real shift in marketing practice. The phrasing “real women” is itself weird, because it implies the previous models were fake. Everyone who was ever on a runway is a real woman.

The test for you: Look at the body types in the brand’s plus-size campaign photos. Are they:

  • Showing models at the wider end of the size range? Or just at the smaller end?
  • In poses that don’t hide the belly / thighs / arms? Or always contoured?
  • Wearing the same clothes the brand is marketing, or are they in “tasteful” loungewear while the actual product is something else?

A plus-size model in a flattering pose is fine. A plus-size model contoured into invisibility is marketing.

3. “Body positive” = “Any size is fine”

Translation: the brand has decided that “body positive” is a stance they take. Whether or not they actually hire plus-size models, stock plus-sizes, or make clothes that fit plus bodies is a separate question.

The test for you: Reverse. Don’t read marketing. Read the production. Go to the brand’s size chart. Try to find a 22/24/26 in every cut they offer. If you can’t, “body positive” is a hashtag, not a practice.

4. “Sculpting / shaping / contouring” = “Spandex”

Translation: most “sculpting” garments are a structured knit, which is also what spandex is. There is a difference between construction and material, and most brands elide them.

The test for you: Look at the fiber content on the label. If it’s 90%+ synthetic with elastane, it’s shapewear with marketing copy. If the brand is using a different construction (paneled, boned, double-stitched in the waist), they’ll say so. The honest ones do.

The real point: Shapewear is fine. Marketing shapewear as a magic sculpting fabric is dishonest. A garment that holds in your belly is doing what it’s doing with fabric and seams. It’s not magic.

5. “Inclusive sizing” = “We added sizes so we can say inclusive sizing”

Translation: the brand heard the criticism, made a 2X or 3X, and wrote a press release about it. They will not change their design process. They will not hire plus-size models in significant numbers. They will not renew the commitment year over year.

The test for you: Has the brand extended sizes more than once? Do they have size-extension programs beyond a one-time announcement? Are they showing extended sizes in current marketing, not just in “campaign” moments?

Brands that take inclusion seriously iterate. They extend from 14 to 24, then to 32. They add cuts, not just sizes. Their plus-size line has a buyer who’s empowered to make different decisions than the straight-size buyer.

What brands get right

I want to end on credit where it’s due. Some brands are doing this well and I’d rather name them than just point at fakes:

  • Universal Standard — treats plus as the primary, not the secondary line.
  • Eloquii — plus-first, designed-in-plus from day one, sizes 14–32 with consistent availability.
  • Good American — iterative, makes mistakes, expands over time, public about growth.
  • Maeve (Anthropologie’s line) — quiet, repetitive, reliable, available, expanding slowly.

The common thread on these: they treat plus-size as a line not a campaign. Lines run year-round. Campaigns run for a quarter.

Have a plus-size brand pattern I missed? Send it to me — I’m always collecting new ones for this post.