Fat Fashion.

Plus size fashion feels bleaker than ever. Can it really change?

It’s no secret that being a plus size woman in the United States comes with challenges, especially in the wardrobe department. Ask any woman who has been plus size in her life, and she’ll likely have a few stories to tell about the struggles of shopping for clothing, dressing room horror stories, and how hard it can be to feel confident in cold-shoulder tunics.

Over the last few decades, we’ve watched plus size fashion cycle through waves of progress and regression. What is often referred to as the “body positivity movement” of the 2010s attempted to pull us out of the thin-obsessed, diet-culture-heavy world of the '90s and early 2000s. I was just coming out of high school at the time, and for a girl who loved clothes and was also the biggest one in her group of friends, it felt like there was a real shift happening. Finally, a loosening of the grip thinness had on us that was creating space for the world to let us just be and exist. Social media became a place to share love for our bodies and to reassure each other that it was okay to be whatever size we were. And we were even seeing more brands extend their size offerings. It felt hopeful, and like the kind of progress we needed.

But in 2025, as we’ve tumbled back into the depths of skinny-Tok and ED promotion on full blast, it feels like the inclusivity promises have been broken, and it’s no longer cool to remind people that it’s okay to have a belly and cellulite. Comparing where we were and where we are (and where we seem to be heading) highlights a deep contrast. Was it ever really about loving our bodies? Or was it just tolerating them and trying to sell that tolerance to ourselves and others?

Even when I think about some of the folks who were leaders in the showcasing of plus size fashion blogging and content during the 2010s, I can’t help but also acknowledge that a lot of them aren’t plus size anymore. Some of these folks were real movers and shakers in pushing for more plus size clothing options, for companies to be more size-inclusive, and for building real plus size communities.

In my experience, it can feel really disappointing and confusing when this happens. There can be a lot of emotions at play. I can’t help but feel a little abandoned by these folks who I once admired for their confidence and stance, owning themselves and their right to take up space. The ones who once stood so proud and boldly in their bodies, and now still do, but carry a different message. It’s hard not to feel let down by someone who built a platform and monetized a brand all about creating spaces that make plus size people feel seen, only to eventually remove themselves from those spaces. And then I feel frustrated with myself, because I really do believe that the decisions they make regarding their bodies (weight loss, weight gain, cosmetic fixes, etc.) are their decisions to make and theirs alone.

A hard truth I have to remind myself of is that ex-fat people know intimately what it’s like to navigate the world in a fat body. They know the struggle of finding clothes, the sting of stereotypes, the daily microaggressions. And yet, when given the chance, they’re often the first to distance themselves from fatness. And once they do, they don’t always remain allies to the plus size community, which can easily feel like being that fat friend who gets ditched by their bestie once they get the golden ticket to join the cool kids—a club most fat girls have never been invited to join.

It makes me think about a recent podcast interview that was being discussed all over my FYP. In this interview, a well-known influencer spoke openly about her decision to pursue weight loss surgery, after building a platform by spotlighting the realities of shopping as a bigger person. She became a loved and appreciated voice in the plus size community, as it was so easy to relate to her experiences. Personally, her content made me feel seen, and she had a way of making it easy to connect with others and laugh about an experience that can otherwise be really painful.

*And for anyone who is new to me and my spaces online, let me just clarify that I have nothing to say or condemn about her decision to get weight loss surgery. While I have my own opinions about weight loss surgery, I very much believe that you get to decide what is best for you and your body.*

While listening to this podcast interview, I kept thinking about how interesting it was that both the guest and the host had so much to share about their own experiences existing in larger bodies (although they are both thin now). They spoke about times they were treated differently than the thin people around them. About how people looked at them differently and spoke to them differently. About having far fewer clothing options. And yet, the conversation never went deep enough to acknowledge that these experiences are a part of a system that causes a lot of pain and exclusion. They were so close! Yet completely missed the depth.

It all makes me wonder if being a leader in this space was ever truly about celebrating the bodies we’re in? Or did they just not have a choice before, so now that we have modern ways to “choose” thinness, people are quick to seize the opportunity even if it means abandoning their community?

Back in the 2010s, many of us had come to a breaking point with our pursuit of the perfect body. We knew diets and extreme exercise weren’t working the way we were promised. We had to accept the bodies we had, because there weren’t other options. But now? Now we have medical interventions and procedures that promise thinness and are overall relatively accessible for a lot of people, even if they come with severe risks and complications.

It reminds me of a doctor's visit I had about eight years ago, where I was trying very hard to convince my doctor to sign off on some lab work. She not only denied my requests, saying that with some lifestyle changes I could probably feel improvements (AKA lose weight. Honestly, it feels like every doctor I’ve known thinks being fat is the root of everything that could be wrong), but then went on to suggest I consider weight loss surgery.

At the time, my initial feeling was shame and embarrassment. I wasn’t even there to talk about my weight. I was deep in the process of building an entirely new relationship with my body, one built on connection and love, and I was finally starting to accept myself. But now when I think on this, I get so angry thinking about the fact that she would recommend something so invasive but wouldn’t sign off on a few tests first. It felt careless and was so dangerous of her. And yet, regardless of how wrong she was to me, she is actually a pretty accurate reflection of how most people think about people in bigger bodies. Fat is the problem that trumps everything else. Fatness is the big, bad, gross, and ugly thing that deserves to be eliminated.

In the last few years, we’ve been watching the pendulum swing from size inclusivity and body celebration back to thinness as the latest trend and cultural ideal. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that the pendulum will keep swinging, likely using the momentum from the last swing to come back harder in the other direction, until something truly shifts.

It reminds me of countless conversations I’ve had with girlfriends about that cycle with a toxic ex: you know it’s bad, so you leave and set a boundary. You feel empowered for a bit, but then something keeps tugging at you, so you peek behind the door again to see if anything could be different. It feels fun and good for a moment, until you’re reminded why you closed the door in the first place. And that cycle will keep repeating over and over until you actually address the root issues and start building your own foundation of self-worth and love.

And coming back to the fashion piece of it all, similarly to these patterns with our exes, we’re not going to see real changes until we get to the root of the problem. I feel very confident that past this GLP-1 takeover era we’re in, we will see a strong push toward inclusivity and changes in the plus size fashion industry, as well as the way we treat bigger bodies. I think there is great potential that it could even be more progressive than before, and once it becomes trending again, big brands and companies will hop on board just like they’ve done in the past. However, without knowing the root of why we were able to slip back into the deep trenches of diet culture, even after spending so many years trying to pull each other out of them, we’ll always face the very likely outcome of repeating the cycle.

What we need is WAY more clothing options that go above an XXL. Actually, we need WAY more clothing options that go above a 3X or 4X. We need clothing that is accessible. We need clothing that fits. We need visibility and representation for bodies of all shapes and sizes. And we need to see bigger bodies as worthy of all of these things.

Brands like Rebdolls and Universal Standard have been challenging the industry and setting standards for years. Rebdolls is a fashion brand that provides trendy, accessible options up to a size 5X. CEO of Rebdolls, Grisel Paula, shared on social media her journey to get funding to keep her business open, and was candid about the very real challenges of getting buy-in for a size-inclusive company. Investors told her things like, “Smaller size people don’t want to shop from brands that also carry a size 24” (not a direct quote, but that was the general message). It sounds ridiculous, but I also can’t help but wonder if it’s true. Is size bias so bad that thin people actually do prefer to shop in places that only dress smaller bodies? Honestly, I could see it.

And Universal Standard has worked for years to be a leader in setting new standards for fashion as “the world’s most inclusive fashion brand,” offering clothing up to a size 40. Their Medium is a size 18 because that’s the average size of a woman in the United States, and they are have been able to target several common fit challenges by designing pieces with bodies of different shapes and proportions in mind.

What kind of world could we create if more clothing brands took notes from Rebdolls and Universal Standard? What would it look like for every brand to lead with providing quality, accessible, size-inclusive options? And most importantly, what would it take to get there?

The global plus size clothing market is projected to surpass $400 billion by 2033. And yet, it feels like there are fewer options than ever. If billions of dollars isn’t enough to convince the industry to care about us, then I’m not sure what will. But from my perspective, there is no value given to being plus size that would motivate people who are not plus size to care. So, as long as that is true, we will be fighting this battle.

We see it everywhere: in the systems we navigate, the biases we face, the stereotypes we’re reduced to—lazy, unmotivated, clumsy, greedy. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we get to be funny. But even the monetary value we could contribute is diminished and dismissed. I’m not sure how else that’s intended to make me feel other than meaningless. Society views fat people as a way to make thin people feel superior and powerful. So the only value we do have then becomes about helping those who meet beauty ideals shine brighter.

No matter how much people say they want better options, better representation, better inclusivity, beneath it all lies hatred, disgust, and at best, deep bias toward fat bodies. Even the thin people who love us, who tell us every day that we’re beautiful and hot and lovable, still feel DEEP discomfort about the idea of looking like us. And there lies the problem.

At the end of the day, I’m just a girl who loves clothes and asking questions, so I only have so many ideas as to how we can actually make a lasting and sustainable change to it all. But the reality is that the issues rooted in the plus size fashion industry are just branches off of the big daddy systems of anti-fatness and weight bias in our world.

Here’s what I do know: As long as thin, white bodies remain the cultural ideal, we’re stuck. As long as particular bodies are seen as more deserving of attention, celebration, or dismissal depending on what’s "in," we’re stuck. And as long as bodies themselves are seen as trends, and as long as there is influence over what bodies "should" look like, we’ll never have lasting, sustainable support for people who exist in bigger bodies.

Unless we notice this pattern and we’re conscious of it, we’ll keep getting trapped in the same cycle. Things won’t truly change until fat people aren’t seen as bottom of the barrel.

No matter how many GLP-1 shots get sold, no matter how much the culture pushes thinness, plus size bodies will never not exist. We have always existed, and we always will exist. Weight loss shots are not the cure for fatness, and there is no world where fatness doesn’t exist.

As I shop for my plus size styling clients, I feel the weight of the reality we’re in. Every season, it feels harder and harder to “make it work.” To find the right piece, in the right size, that fits well and is realistically affordable. And that just perpetuates the cycle we’re trying so hard to break out of—that we’re not worthy or deserving of feeling confident and hot and beautiful. It shouldn’t be this impossible. But it is.

I don’t know exactly what will break the cycle, and I definitely don’t have all the answers. But I do know that change won’t happen until we’re willing to look inward and ask the uncomfortable questions. Until we’re able to sit with dark truths, and we can name the things we’ve been taught to believe about bodies. Until we acknowledge that the systems designed to make us hate fatness are very real, and become the ones to push back against those systems.

Fat people need to be respected, loved, and seen as valuable, worthy, and fully human. Period. No conditions attached.

I know I’m not the only one feeling this unraveling, and I’m not the only one mourning what we seemed to be building. And I’m definitely not the only one angry, frustrated, tired, heartbroken, and determined.

But to all of my friends reading who are in bigger bodies and who are living all of these experiences, I see you and I have hope! I know what we’re capable of and I know the power we hold. Don’t let the pace of change discourage you from also holding on to hope that things can evolve. Transmute your anger into the passion and fuel that drives you to fight for better. Maybe one day we can all walk into a mall and shop with our thin friends, and not just be limited to looking at the accessories or waiting outside. And maybe one day we will be respected, seen, recognized, and valued as we deserve.