I have written a version of this post three times in the last two years, and every time I deleted it because I thought the discourse had moved on.

It hasn’t.

So here it is. The un-deleted version. Why I stopped hating plus-size sections and what I think the “no plus-size sections” conversation gets wrong.

The position I used to hold

For most of my twenties, this is what I believed: plus-size sections, whether physical or online, are segregation. They’re a way for brands to signal “we acknowledge fat people exist” without actually putting fat people in the same room as everyone else. The real solution is for stores to have everything available in every size.

I still believe the second half. Brands should make everything in every size. The first half I have come to revise. Let me explain.

Why I changed my mind

Three things shifted my position.

1. The plus-size section gives brands permission to design specifically for plus-size bodies

A lot of “extended sizes” in straight-size collections are designed straight-size and then graded up. The armholes on a men’s XL are not the same as a men’s XL that was designed in the XL. Same with women’s.

A plus-size section that is treated as a real — not a grudging, pink-shower-curtain-aisle — section of the store is where plus-size designers get to work. Where fits are designed in plus first, not plus last.

When I see a brand with a plus-size section that has clearly been built around plus-size designers, I see better plus-size clothes. That’s a real benefit, not a marketing trick.

2. The plus-size section makes plus-size shopping less humiliating

Let’s be honest about this. Many plus-size women, including me, have walked into a straight-size store, asked for the largest size, been told “we don’t carry that,” and felt smaller than a size.

A plus-size section that’s well-stocked, well-lit, and well-organized says “you are expected here.” That is a small thing. It is not a small thing.

3. The alternative is not reality

The ideal — every style in every size in every store — is a vision worth fighting for. It’s also not happening at scale yet. Until it does, denying the value of a well-built plus-size section harms the people who actually shop them.

What I still criticize

I am not arguing that current plus-size sections are good enough. Here is what still grinds my gears:

  • The same six styles in every plus-size section. Wrap dress. A-line dress. Stretchy trousers. Cardigan. Tunic. Repeat. The plus-size section in many stores is a study in unspecific design.
  • Marked-up plus-size pricing. Many brands charge more for plus-size versions of the same item. Not all. Some are egregious.
  • Bigger sizes aren’t shown on real bodies. Marketed with the same sample-size models as the straight-size line. The body in the photo is supposed to imagine themselves in the outfit, even though the body in the outfit is usually NOT the body in the photo.

These are real problems. The answer is not “remove the section.” The answer is “fund the section.”

What a good plus-size section looks like

A few brands, mostly newer ones, are getting this right:

  • Eloquii — the entire brand IS a plus-size section, designed in-plus from day one.
  • Universal Standard — their Fit Liberty program swaps out jeans when your weight changes. They treat their plus-size line as their flagship line.
  • Maeve — Anthropologie’s sister brand has been adding sizes steadily and not as an afterthought.

The common thread: these brands “designed in plus” rather than “added plus to existing designs.” That distinction is the one that matters.

What I want next

I want more brands to have a clear, well-funded, design-led plus-size section. I want straight-size brands to do the same. I do not want anyone to apologize for running one.

The argument that “we just need one section for everyone” is correct as an ideal and wrong as a tactic for getting there. Today’s plus-size section, done well, is the bridge to that ideal.

Tomorrow’s plus-size section won’t exist because we won’t need it. We’re not at tomorrow yet.

Have a brand doing plus-size right (or wrong)? Send the name and what happened — I’m collecting reader reviews for a future post.