A brief history of Plus size Fashion

Being plus size has never been easy, there have always been people who either have always been a little heavier than the general population, a little taller or both. Throughout history styles, trends and weights have fluctuated, but the desire to look and feel good in one's skin transcends time, below is a very short, brief history of some key moments in Plus Size Fashion history.



  1904 - Lena Bryant rented a small storefront on Fifth Avenue with living quarters in the back for $12.50 a month. There she hung her garments from the gas fixtures, and opened the doors.
Asked by one of her pregnant customers to design something "presentable but comfortable" to wear in public, Lena created a dress with an elasticized waistband and accordion pleated skirt. This would be the first known commercially-made maternity dress. This dress was welcomed not only by middle-class women, but by poorer pregnant women who had to work. The maternity dress soon became the best-selling garment in Lena's shop. Lane Bryant got it's name when a bank manager misspelled Lena's name as Lane.

1940's- Lane Bryant is at the height of their mail order catalog business.



Advert for Lane Braynt's "Chubby Sizes"


1950's Marily Monroe is touted as the sexiest woman alive and is a size 14-16 most of her career.



1960's Tight sweaters, skirts and hip hugging dresses of the swinging 60's give dad's and mom's heart attack throughtout the US. These fashions and the figures that wore them will late inspire the Mad Men craze.

1970's Twiggy explodes onto the fashion scene knocking the full figures of the 60's out of the spotlight and ushering in the new era of waifish, uber thin models.

1980's Hairspray is released and Ricki Lake sings her way into our hearts, Chubby girls everywhere take heart and dance around their rooms to "You Can't Stop the Beat."

1990's  Mode Magazine is in full swing, it will later become defunct when designers no longer wish to cater to the plus size woman.

June 2011 Vogue Italia put 3 plus size super models on their cover inspiring young women everywhere that you don't have to be extremely thin to be in vogue, hooray for curves!

This was a very condensed version of the history of each of these elements, there is a rich history to fashion in all it forms, art rarely fails to move and inspire life. We can only be inspired and uplifited that more and more of our favorite and most talented fashion houses like DKNY, Calvin Klien and Michael Kors are looking to the curvier figure for inspiration and not just as an afterthought.

Until next time lovlies-

CGINTW