There has been a lot of talk recently about plus size fashion and whether or not we should be referencing it as plus size or just as fashion. The point behind this discussion is whether plus size fashion should be sectioned off as its own niche within fashion or whether it should just be the same as any other part of fashion and thus not differenciated with its own name or sub-category.
#droptheplus
#droptheplus is a hashtag that started on twitter recently. The tag was started by Australian author and TV host Ajay Rochester after seeing model Stefania Ferrario refernced as being a plus size model at size 14. Stefania also agreed in response to the hashtag saying that she wanted to be refered to simply as a model rather than a plus size model.
It is a very valid point that has been brought up by Ajay – should a model be singled out as being plus size or is it just another unnecessary label that could cause harm or hurt? And I suppose the real issue comes when you try to categorize models into or out of plus size – what dress size is considered to be plus size? Leading on from this, it is easy to see how offence could be caused if someone was refered to as having a plus size figure but they themselves didn’t think that their figure should be labelled as such.
You can find out more about the origins of this hashtag on a post by the BBC here.
#keeptheplus
Despite the legitimate reasoning behind this hashtag there has been a powerful and immediate response from much of the plus size fashion community in the form of an opposing hashtag – #keeptheplus. It is most definitely the case that when you search for either hashtag on Twitter #keeptheplus seems to be in the lead.
Kellie Dawson of bigfashionista.co.uk, tweeted the following:
Want to #keeptheplus ? You don’t see companies discussing whether to drop the term petite, do you? You can read her full tweet here.
It appears that from a plus size bloggers point of view the term plus size is something that represents a lot of what they stand for and it is very much a possitive term that differenciates them within the fashion industry. We have the exact same opinion her at plus size womens clothing – we beleive in the fuller figure and we beleive that the term plus size is a positive term, it is something to be proud of and it references a specific community of people within the fashion industry.
However, it is easy to understand how some people would feel negatively labelled by this term and in particular how some models might not want to be restricted to the term plus size but rather just be seen as a model in their own right and be free to model any type of fashion that they choose.
Our conclusion
We don’t often beleive in black and white – the world is far too complicated for that. Perhaps both sides of the arguement are valid and perhaps “plus size” is a term that can be used by those who want to be representd by the label but should not be used to describe someone else – this makes it a personal choice whether you are branded as plus size or not.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic so if you have a preference either way please let us know by commenting below or by reaching out to us on social media.