TikTokers slam major retailer over alarming ‘dark side’: 'They would be shocked at what we are faced with'

In a rather biting TikTok video, Devon Elizabeth scrolls through H&M’s website, tallying up the number of Mickey Mouse garments marketed to plus-size shoppers.

“Not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE pieces of clothing with Mickey Mouse that are not sleepwear,” the 29-year-old law school student counts.

As for daywear options featuring the character available for straight-size women? Just one — a striking comparison, Elizabeth notes, considering that on average, H&M offers over 5,000 articles of clothing for straight-size women and carries just around 350 items for plus-size women.

Then, Elizabeth swiftly pivots her focus to another major name in the plus-size fashion world.

“We can’t be discussing brands’ insistence that plus-size shoppers crave Disney characters on their clothes without discussing the main offender — Torrid,” she says in the video, before showcasing fourteen garments and accessories emblazoned with Mickey Mouse listed on the company’s website.

“The industry is choosing fatphobia over profit”

The shortcomings of retailers in regards to plus-size fashion have been lamented by shoppers for years.

As brands continue to push toward greater size equity, many consumers are finding that the style, design (sorry, Mickey), and quality of plus-size clothing on the market pale in comparison to the more stylish options widely available to straight-size customers, who can freely shop for trendy clothing, while plus-size shoppers are often confined to buying wrap dresses, cartoon T-shirts, and, of course, billowy, shapeless garments.

Elizabeth told In The Know that she first started experiencing the “dark side” of plus-size shopping when she began fitting into a size 18. She quickly realized that although 70% of women in the U.S. are a size 14 or higher, most stores were only offering up to a size 16 — and the few options they did carry were seriously lacking for one reason or another.

“The industry is choosing fatphobia over profit,” she explained. “Plus-size women are expected to cover and hide their bodies as much as possible, and so much of that is reflected in the options available.”

“For young plus-size shoppers, this is incredibly frustrating,” she added. “We want fashion-forward, edgy, sexy, clothes and the options we are provided are giving us early-bird special.”

“There is still so much missing”

The problem is prevalent enough that Elizabeth, who regularly creates body acceptance and fat liberation content on TikTok, has an entire series where she asks her over 308,000 followers to guess whether a garment is “sleepwear” or “just plus-size fashion.” (Hint: The answer will surprise you.)

Elizabeth, who describes fashion as one of her favorite pastimes, says she got the idea for her series after scrolling through ASOS’s plus-size section and realizing that “item after item looked like pajamas.” She visited a few other websites and realized the problem was more widespread than most would imagine.

“It made me think about how plus-size women are constantly given leisurewear and sleepwear and told it is our fashion,” she explained. “So, I decided to ask people if they could tell the difference (between daywear and pajamas) — and so many could not. I just wanted to challenge the way people think about plus-size fashion, and I found that comedy was the best way to do that.”

Sarah Jane Kelly, a 27-year-old plus-size model and content creator from Australia, frequently posts on TikTok to bring attention to similar issues she has encountered while shopping for clothing. As she watched her follower count balloon to over 87,000, she quickly realized she was not the only one plagued by these issues.

“I started using social media to keep myself accountable on my journey to self-acceptance and recovery,” she told In The Know. “Suddenly, there is this whole online community around me who have the same frustrations.”

Although Kelly noted that plus-size fashion has come a long way over the past decade or so, she, like Elizabeth, still feels that companies have a tendency to sell shoppers the same few options over and over again — like, say, floral wrap dresses, which she jokingly called “the bane of my existence.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love a good floral wrap dress,” Kelly clarified. “But I’d also like on-trend clothes and options that don’t look like my mother’s wardrobe.”

“For so long plus-size options have always been florals, wrap dresses, tent-like smock dresses or outrageously loud prints,” she added. “I’m lucky that my generation has had more options in brands like Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Fashion Nova. But there is still so much missing.”

“Brands want our money but don’t want to see us or deal with us”

Beyond struggles with limited styles and options, plus-size customers are also finding that their sizes can cost double what straight sizes are sold for, part of the insidious phenomenon dubbed the “fat tax”.

“Plus-size shoppers are the majority group with access to a minority of clothes,” Elizabeth explained. “More people going for fewer options means brands that do cater to plus-size shoppers set high prices for low-quality clothes, knowing full well we only have so many options. These high price points for low- to mid-quality clothes are even worse when considering the fact fat women are often paid less than their thin counterparts. Paid less to spend more. The cycle is exhausting.”

Adding insult to injury, the pricier plus-size options are often only available online and not in stores. This robs consumers of the chance to try them on before purchasing. Some brands have even been caught using thin models to advertise plus fashion, making virtual shopping nearly impossible.

“As a plus-size model, I see this first hand, especially when a brand does have extended sizing but only uses a size 8 model,” Kelly noted. “I can’t relate to that because it’s not going to look like that on my body.”

Elizabeth echoed the concern, noting that most women modeling plus-size clothes “have flat stomachs and the classic hourglass shape” and do not represent the look of an average consumer.

“For a majority of plus-size shoppers, this gives us no idea whatsoever what that item of clothing would like on an actual fat, big-bellied, plus-size body,” she explained. “I have come to rely heavily on companies that offer free returns for this reason.”

“It feels like brands want our money but don’t want to see us or deal with us,” Elizabeth added.

“Extending sizes requires additional investment”

The demands of plus-size shoppers like Kelly and Elizabeth are relatively simple: they want on-trend options created with their bodies in mind.