A plus sized woman went into five popular retailers and asked if plus sized clothing was sold in-store. She wasn’t able to buy extended sizes at any of the stores.
In a TikTok posted on Friday, user Samyra (@samyra) shows herself asking employees at Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret Pink, H&M, Old Navy, and FashionNova if the store’s location carries plus size options. Each employee is heard giving Samyra a different answer, but the end result is the same: Forever 21, Pink, and H&M employees told her their stores sold items that are XXL. While an Old Navy employee told Samyra that select items went up to a 3X, the largest size she could find was XXL.
“How is that fair to plus size shoppers?” Samyra wrote in her video’s overlay text.
On Monday, Samyra’s video had over 3 million views.
@samyra This is ridiculous…ALSO an XXL is NOT plus size nor should it be considered the pinnacle of inclusive sizing‼️
♬ original sound – Samyra
Samyra clarifies in her TikTok that XXL is not plus sized. Previous reporting by CNN and Refinery29 on the subject reveals that the difference between straight sizing plus sizing is unclear. The consensus seems to be that any size over a 14 is plus sized. To Samyra’s point, whether or not an XXL garment will fit someone who is a size 14 or larger is a case by case basis.
She explains the difference between an XXL, which is straight sizing, and a 2X, which is plus sizing, in a follow up TikTok.
“They are cut from two different models,” Samyra says. “[XXL] does not account for curvier hips and the shapes that come in a larger body. But a 2X does.”
As explained by The Sun, XXL clothes are an extension of straight size (think sizes like XS, S, M, L) clothing, so the entire garment is larger and longer. But plus sizes, like 1X, 2X, 3X and so on, are made from a different pattern that accounts for larger mid-sections, but not longer torsos and/or arm lengths.
In another TikTok, Samyra says that the widespread difficulty of finding plus sizing in stores makes going to the mall an upsetting experience.
“It is their fault,” Samyra says of stores that don’t carry plus sizes. “It is not our fault.”
Commenters on Samyra’s viral video said they felt her pain when it comes to finding clothes that fit them in stores.
“This is why shopping can bring me to tears,” one commenter said. “And makes me so stressed out.”
“I’m over getting told to ‘order it online,'” another said. “If you know there is a market why not have it in store too.”
“We exist,” another commenter said of plus size shoppers. “We deserve to be included!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Samyra via email.
