File this one under: It is seriously about time. Next week in Manhattan, a group of American designers will buck the tradition that associates fashion solely with the alarmingly thin and participate in the first ever New York Fashion Week show dedicated to full-figured gals. "Sixty-two percent of women in this country are overweight," says Stephanie Sobel, president of OneStopPlus, the U.S. retail company behind the event. "These are customers who want to be a part of fashion, who want to see women of diverse sizes respected, celebrated, and embraced." Plus-size clothing is generally defined as size 14 or 16 and over.

Though the event is not officially part of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, it will take place at Lincoln Center on September 16th amid major shows by some of the industry's biggest names. Model Emme will host and more than a dozen plus-size labels will showcase their designs.

The efforts of OneStopPlus are part of a growing trend in the fashion industry to cater to fuller-figured "real" women. In the past year, high-end designers like Marc Jacobs have announced plans for plus-sized lines, stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Forever 21 have expanded sections devoted to the 16-plus crowd, and magazines like Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue have all produced stylish photo shoots featuring models who may have once been considered too shapely for their pages. "We've started to see something in the media shifting for sure," says Sobel. "This is a magical moment for plus sizes."

Perhaps a big reason behind the shift? Financial motivation. "This is an under-served population who possesses huge spending power," explains Gwendolyn DeVoe, a former plus-size model and creator of Full-Figured Fashion, an organization that runs shopping and style events in cities all over the country. "Designers are finally acknowledging that plus-size fashion is a billion-dollar industry, they're hearing our voices, and they're ready to move in a more positive direction that's good for all concerned—it's good to be included, because you know what? We've never been invited to the party before."

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

JustErin said:

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

Damn, guess I won't have to skip the Marc Jacobs show after all.

It looks like they're only the sponsor and that several designers will be contributing to the show. They still wrong for them mu-mus.

[Edited 9/9/10 18:44pm]

It'll be nice to have a fashion show where they cater to women who are not size 0-2 but are not "plus" either. I guess the 6-10 are just non existant?

SCNDLS said:

"Sixty-two percent of women in this country are overweight,"

fucking hell.

I even wonder if it is higher than that. More like 70% and getting fatter.

whistle said:

SCNDLS said:

"Sixty-two percent of women in this country are overweight,"

fucking hell.

Those dresses look like tents.

Nothing to accentuate the hips. It's like they want to hide the beautiful women.

Pass. There are so many better options than this stuff. Torrid, Zaftique, SWAK....

I mean really, those remind of the old lady gowns my great-grandmother wore. And she was a skinny lady. Dude....I'm 25. I can't be looking like a grandma Downtown on campus. Oh well. They really shouldn't be turning to One Stop Plus....

LadyLuvSexxy said:

Pass. There are so many better options than this stuff. Torrid, Zaftique, SWAK....

I mean really, those remind of the old lady gowns my great-grandmother wore. And she was a skinny lady. Dude....I'm 25. I can't be looking like a grandma Downtown on campus. Oh well. They really shouldn't be turning to One Stop Plus....

Turns out they are just sponsoring the event...but still...shitty sponsor!

While the runway models are ridiculously skinny, this misses the whole point of Fashion Week. 99% of what you see on the runway will never make it anywhere near a store. I saw plenty yesterday that I wouldn't put on my worst enemy in a real world situation. That's not what Fashion Week is about. Yes, the "trends" are set or attempted to be set, but the real world application isn't what's walking down the runway this week. If you want to go after designers for not catering to the plus size market that's a whole other ball of wax.

I'm pretty sure housecoats have always come in plus sizes.

Genesia said:

I'm pretty sure housecoats have always come in plus sizes.

Those things did look like house coats!

I noticed a shop called City Chic at my mall last time I was there, had a look through the racks

I was impressed! The shop was very funky and glam and I was disappointed I was too small to fit the things in there

http://www.citychiconline.com/

JustErin said:

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

In this day and age of apocalyptic terrorism, it's good to wear something one can prop a few sticks under and use for shelter.

johnart said:

JustErin said:

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

In this day and age of apocalyptic terrorism, it's good to wear something one can prop a few sticks under and use for shelter.

also good for those unexpected births in planes when you need to be discreet.

ZombieKitten said:

johnart said:

In this day and age of apocalyptic terrorism, it's good to wear something one can prop a few sticks under and use for shelter.

also good for those unexpected births in planes when you need to be discreet.

Or smuggling Mexicans across the border.

johnart said:

ZombieKitten said:

also good for those unexpected births in planes when you need to be discreet.

Or smuggling Mexicans across the border.

JustErin said:

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

I thought you were teasing us with pictures from an old Sears catalog for house coats! I swear, that first dress is a friggin house dress! I had one of those back in the '60's! AND, the models they use for the plus sizes look to be too thin!

Shyra said:

JustErin said:

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

I thought you were teasing us with pictures from an old Sears catalog for house coats! I swear, that first dress is a friggin house dress! I had one of those back in the '60's! AND, the models they use for the plus sizes look to be too thin!

A hot mess. I'm in NYC now for the shows and ain't seen no mu-mus or housedresses thus far.

Shyra said:

JustErin said:

I just checked out OneStopPlus.

Looks like it's going to be a great show.

I thought you were teasing us with pictures from an old Sears catalog for house coats! I swear, that first dress is a friggin house dress! I had one of those back in the '60's! AND, the models they use for the plus sizes look to be too thin!

That's an interesting thing. The company I work for does a plus size catalog. At one point, we used models that were size 14 or 16. But it's down to 12/14 now.

Why? Well...because we found that, while women say they want to see plus-size women in the clothes, the clothes sell better when they're on a smaller (but not skinny) model. It's all about aspiration, I guess.

LadyLuvSexxy said:

Pass. There are so many better options than this stuff. Torrid, Zaftique, SWAK....

I mean really, those remind of the old lady gowns my great-grandmother wore. And she was a skinny lady. Dude....I'm 25. I can't be looking like a grandma Downtown on campus. Oh well. They really shouldn't be turning to One Stop Plus....

*added to "Favorites"*

Thanks, LadyLuvSexy @)--}------

Genesia said:

Shyra said:

I thought you were teasing us with pictures from an old Sears catalog for house coats! I swear, that first dress is a friggin house dress! I had one of those back in the '60's! AND, the models they use for the plus sizes look to be too thin!

That's an interesting thing. The company I work for does a plus size catalog. At one point, we used models that were size 14 or 16. But it's down to 12/14 now.

Why? Well...because we found that, while women say they want to see plus-size women in the clothes, the clothes sell better when they're on a smaller (but not skinny) model. It's all about aspiration, I guess.

Naw, they jes delusional...

I don't understand if a woman wears say a size 18, how does she think she's going to look like the model in the picture wearing what is really maybe a size 12? Even those models in the mumu pictures look like a size 10 or 12.