Being a plus size doesn’t have to mean you have to wear anything other than the latest fashions. The internet is full of stylish, high-quality clothing retailers that not only cater to those over size 12- they love them.
www.lanebryant.com
Price Range: 5.99 for a sale top to $299 for a suede trench coat
Sizes: 14 to 32, maternity sizes
Perhaps one of the most well known plus size clothing retailers, Lane Bryant has an expanded selection online including hard-to-find specialty items like maternity, plus size boots, petites, tall, bra sizes to cup I. Lane Bryant has a great mix of everything- coats, career wear, active wear, casual pieces, undergarments, jewelry, shoes, swimsuits and more. Sale and clearance items start at just $5.99, and sign up for e-mail sale alerts and coupons to make those deals even better. Check out their newest feature, “Right Fit” bottoms recommended based on your waist and hip measurements.
Avenue
www.avenue.com
Price Range: $14.99 to $159.00
Sizes: Clothing 14 to 32, Shoes 8 to13 including wide widths
The avenue has hundreds of items to choose from online including dresses, denim, casual clothes, business items, shoes, accessories, undergarments and bras from 38B to 48DDD. The selection of casual wear is large and they have around 50 pairs of wide width shoes at any given time. Recently added is the new boutique section with “trendy casual wear” and “elegant evening clothes”. I have always found their shipment to be prompt and the customer service helpful. Sign up for sale alerts online and watch for coupons offering up to 40% off a single item in magazines and your local newspaper.
Ulla Popken
www.ullapopken.com
Price Range: Sale items starting at 5.99, Regular prices start at $19
Sizes: Clothing 12 and up
Ulla Popken online has a nice mixture of casual, work wear and outerwear for plus sizes. Although the selection is smaller than some competitors (150 tops and under 20 bras for example) the items are high quality. Currently there are nearly 300 sale items in the sale and outlet sections with prices starting as low as $5.99. A print catalog and e-mail specials are also available.
www.oldnavy.com
Price Range: $3.99 to $92.00
Sizes: up to 30
The plus size selection of Old navy online is far superior to anything you can find in Old Navy retail stores. For example online you will find dozens of knit tops in a wide range of colors, tons of casual wear and bras up to size 46DDD. Also featured online are hundreds of clearance items and almost all of them are priced at under $20. Watch for frequent sales but keep in mind that items tend to run small compared to other plus size retailers.
Nordstrom
www.nordstrom.com
Price Range: $24 to $649
Sizes: 12 to 24 (1X to 3X)
The Nordstrom plus size shop features upper-end and designer plus size fashions. The 600 or so items available online range from high-quality t-shirts to designer evening dresses. Designers include Ellen Fisher, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Sweet Pea. The online selection of career and casual tops is the most populated section. Be prepared to pay more for featured brand names than other plus size retailers.
Torrid
www.torrid.com
Price Range: Clothing $15 to $220, Accessories $5 to $98
Sizes: Clothing 12 to 28, Shoes 6 to12
Torrid online is home to over 1500 apparel items and hundreds of accessories, shoes and intimates. The style features on Torrid is trendy, urban and focused towards juniors. The stylish items available include corsets, denim, t-shirts, club wear and brands like Baby Phat and Apple Bottom. The site is organized by brand, style or item type and there are hundreds of clearance and sale items at any given time. Clearance items start at under $3.
Alight
www.alight.com
Price Range: Clothing $4.99 and up
Sizes: 12 to 34
Alight is geared toward the under-20 crowd with a huge selection of up-to-the minute fashions. Online boutiques include “Club Chic”, “Hippie Chic”, “Hottest Party Dresses” and “Hottest Lovely Little Black Dresses. The site also has active wear, dresses, denim, knit tops, blouses, sweaters, outerwear, swimwear and name brands including FUBU, Rehab Jeans and SVOBODA. New items are added frequently and a section featuring sale items under $15 is always full of great finds.
Hippy Chix Shop
www.hippychixshop.com/plussizes1.htm
Price Range: Clothing $29 to $110
Sizes: Clothing 1X to 3X
Hippy Chix Shop is a small online retailer with a unique selection of plus sizes in addition to the regular sizes. The site has mostly knit tops and blouses with some dresses, swimsuits and shorts. The shirts are outside of the average find for plus sizes and certainly worth a look.
Kiyonna
www.kiyonna.com
Price Range: Clothing $36 to $206
Sizes: Clothing 10 to 32 (0X to 5X)
With boutiques such as “Workin it 9 to 5” and “La Bella Vita” Kiyonna.com is a fantastic site for chic, stylish plus size work wear. Although the products available from Kiyonna are limited ever single item is fashionable and picked out with the hip woman in mind. Prices average about $50 for a top, but watch for frequent sales and promotions. Also, if you are in the market for bridal wear take a peek at the bridal boutique.
Igigi
www.igigi.com
Price Range: Clothing $22 to $275
Sizes: Clothing 12 to 32
Igigi online is one of the best sites for plus size work wear and formal dresses. There are over a dozen formal gowns available and some dresses even feature a video to help you view the dress before your purchase. Igigi only has a few items at a time (20 tops and 20 bottoms, for example) but the items featured are classic work staples or difficult to find cocktail dresses. If you are in the market for a plus size dress or gown Igigi should be on your list of places to check out.
