Breaking The Pattern of Size Exclusion

How the Global Pandemic Transformed and Re-affirmed Our Perception of Plus-Sized Fashion

Written by Autumn Moon | Designed by Jill O’Farrell Photographed by Bella Bohnsack

perceive it, digest it, and interact with it. For a very long time, plus-sized women were not represented in mainstream fashion media, from the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, to the standardization of petite Instagram models, to billboard ads. This led to an unspoken ideal in our culture—that to be bigger was to be unfashionable.

However, with quarantine came change. People began to share videos and images of themselves fearlessly online. They began wearing what they wanted, not necessarily what was considered socially acceptable within our cultural norms. These online pioneers, paired with the representation of icons such as Ashley Graham and Lizzo in mainstream media, demonstrated on a global scale that bigger is certainly as beautiful. Additionally, there were influencers online like Victoria Garrick who simply were out to prove that you don’t need to be “perfect,” or a size zero, to be beautiful, lovable, and incredible. These messages began to infiltrate our world, leading to the rise of many new

In recent months, so much has changed and fluctuated in the world of fashion. Quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic not only allowed for the growth of many new trends, it also produced a new fearless spirit in consumer fashion choices. Social media apps, including Instagram and TikTok, allowed for the spread of exciting new fashion ideals— normalizing what was once perceived as less desirable.

One positive transformation reflected on social media platforms was the rise of plus-sized and bigger women reforming fashion and how we

fashion campaigns featuring diverse people of all looks, sizes, skin tones, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

However, although we have seen incredible changes in the past few months, the world of fashion is still quite resistant to change, and we have a lot of work to do in terms of reforming what is considered “beautiful” or “fashionable.” The perception that “skinny is better” when it comes to fashion is a hard ideal to kill, as it is so deeply rooted in celebrity life, social media, our daily lives, and social culture. We are seeing positive changes, but are they enough?

A large part of fashion TikTok continues to only represent slender, wealthy, white women showing off how “fashionable” they are, leaving the impression upon young minds that to be beautiful is to be thin. This perceived ideal, for some women, can be attributed to biological predispositions and vice versa; healthy habits in food and exercise don’t always result in being super skinny. However, with these TikTok models, all we see is their outward appearance, which is highly fashionable, put together, and thriving. Young women are taught to strive for the same, which, often, is simply unachievable.

Today, many clothing manufacturers still subscribe to the “skinny is better” mentality. I remember entering Brandy Melville as a pre-teen, and feeling struck by the fact that everything was one size. How would I fit into the same pair of jeans as my much smaller friend? It was evident that one size did not fit all. This kind of size exclusivity can impress upon young women that they are not “worthy” or “attractive” enough until they are a certain size. Zara is another store that has risen to fame during the pandemic and often fashion TikTokers do “hauls” of Zara items. Many of the clothes they try on are clothes that are impossible to wear if you have breasts, hips, or any belly fat—all features of a female body that are completely normal, beautiful, natural, and healthy.

There are also creators and influencers who are considered “fashionable” simply because they are thin. User @senorapattinson recently pointed this trend out in an online series called “skinny or fashionable”: she posted photos of celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin in T-shirts and mom jeans and asked the question of whether their outfits were actually “fashionable,” or whether they were simply thin.

We shouldn’t feel pressure to shrink to fit into clothes. Bodies fluctuate and change through life, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up every time we notice a change in the way our jeans fit.

If the history of fashion has taught us anything, it’s that body types which are considered “beautiful” constantly fluctuate. Ancient Greece used to worship women with curves, extra plumpness, and shape; the French Revolution saw the rise of paleness, thinness, and fragility as beauty ideals. In 2021, we are merely in another phase of what is considered “beautiful” in fashion. However, this phase might just be the one in which we’ll finally break the pattern of size exclusion.

The need for societal validation is hard to overcome, but once we do, we realize that beauty lies in loving eyes. The beholder never had anything to do with it.