I’m not a large person. I’m a size 12, which is the average size of women in this country. I’m in the middle range of the BMI for my height. However, according to the garment industry, normal sized women are considered “extra large.” Which is fine with me, I don’t care at all how other people categorize my body. Who frikking cares at what point my body falls on some made up size chart?
What I do care about is being able to try clothes on before I buy them. But, everywhere I try to shop in this city, all of the larger sizes are sold out. The only place I can even hope to find my size is online.
The other day I tried to shop at Black Fleece on Fillmore St. I had a store credit and I wanted to look at some things and try them on. But everything I wanted to try on was completely sold out in larger sizes.
I said to the sales people “Hmm, you’re always out of the larger sizes, why don’t you stock more of them?” They looked at me like I was crazy.
I really want to shop locally (even if you shop at an international brand you’re still helping support the salespeople) but I’m close to giving up on up shopping in local stores. For as long as I can remember, San Francisco stores have been selling out of larger sizes as smaller sizes clog the sales racks. They never seem to respond to the fact that they need to stock more larger sizes. I’m tired of it.
I’m done trying to support businesses that refuse to acknowledge the normal size of women. If local stores are unwilling to respond to the needs of their customers, then they deserve to lose my business and the business of every other normal sized woman in this town.
