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Fear of a Fat Planet
Jun. 21st, 2013 02:08 pmI've been pondering this topic for awhile and on a banner week in which amongst numerous other less than funfilled events, the AMA has pathologized my body, this seems as good a time as any. Horror of horrors, I have a BMI of over 30 which makes me obese and doomed...despite having low end blood pressure, rapidly decreasing cholesterol and being for a middle-aged woman in a sedentary job, pretty damn healthy. But clearly not as healthy as I would be if I were yo-yoing my weight up and down with low nutrient diet choices and so forth with all of those related health side effects. To which I say, "Screw you, AMA! Your own committee couldn't agree on this decision and recommended against it."
But be that as it may, let's go back to that sedentary job, shall we? And finding clothes to wear to it. Fortunately, I'm in IT, which is not a "Yay! Let's wear suits all the time!" kind of field, at least not at my level or in my workplace. Even so, I'm here and I'm female, so I get judged by how I dress and what kind of condition it's in. Am I happy about this? No. But I need to work for a living and if costume choices help me get taken more seriously, I'm willing to make some effort. It is commonly assumed that large-breasted middle-aged women like themselves a brightly patterned or sparkly muumuu, based on what I see on display at the clothing stores which are geared toward my demographic. I am not a muumuu kind of gal.
I would prefer to wear clothing that a. is not made in sweatshops, b. does not sparkle or glow, c. is made under as green as conditions permit and d. is on the artsy/funky goth continuum. Which comes to why I'm posting this today as opposed to any other day. I bought a shirt and sweater that I love from a company that a friend told me about. They are comfortable, look great and fit perfectly. They are made in Turkey and China, respectively, which generally stomps all over points a and c above. Would I rather be wearing clothing that hit all 4 points? You bet. However, most ostensibly green, sweatshop free clothing companies diligently only carry up to size 14, maybe size 16, tops. I can count the exceptions. It's like a flashing neon sign of that lovely bumpersticker "Plants and Animals Die to Make Room for Your Fat Ass" on their websites and catalogs. I get to see this one on SUVs a lot, something that gives me a glorious grasp of what "irony" really means, just before the urge to kill someone takes over.
A couple of years ago, there was a green. fair trade clothing store right here in these Twin Cities, which focused on professional wear for adult women. They carried nothing above a size 14, at least when we checked it out. They are no longer in business, possibly because that kind of stupidity spilled over into other areas of business acumen. I was a size 14 for well over a decade, a size 16 for a decade after that and am now the amorphous 18-20. Guess what? When I was a size 14, I didn't have much in the way of disposable income, certainly not enough to drop $75 on a fair trade, organic blouse. Don't carry my size, don't get my money: it's as simple as that. So yes, it burns me that I can't always get the kind of clothes that I want when I want them. But in the long run, it burns these companies more.
Some women's clothing companies worth checking out:
Comfy USA
FLAX
IGIGI
Decent Exposures - I get customized pants from them and they're amazing
Deva Lifewear
edited to add recommendations:
Make It Big - 2X and up
Holy Clothing
Miss Ethnic
What do you recommend? I'll keep adding to the list.
But be that as it may, let's go back to that sedentary job, shall we? And finding clothes to wear to it. Fortunately, I'm in IT, which is not a "Yay! Let's wear suits all the time!" kind of field, at least not at my level or in my workplace. Even so, I'm here and I'm female, so I get judged by how I dress and what kind of condition it's in. Am I happy about this? No. But I need to work for a living and if costume choices help me get taken more seriously, I'm willing to make some effort. It is commonly assumed that large-breasted middle-aged women like themselves a brightly patterned or sparkly muumuu, based on what I see on display at the clothing stores which are geared toward my demographic. I am not a muumuu kind of gal.
I would prefer to wear clothing that a. is not made in sweatshops, b. does not sparkle or glow, c. is made under as green as conditions permit and d. is on the artsy/funky goth continuum. Which comes to why I'm posting this today as opposed to any other day. I bought a shirt and sweater that I love from a company that a friend told me about. They are comfortable, look great and fit perfectly. They are made in Turkey and China, respectively, which generally stomps all over points a and c above. Would I rather be wearing clothing that hit all 4 points? You bet. However, most ostensibly green, sweatshop free clothing companies diligently only carry up to size 14, maybe size 16, tops. I can count the exceptions. It's like a flashing neon sign of that lovely bumpersticker "Plants and Animals Die to Make Room for Your Fat Ass" on their websites and catalogs. I get to see this one on SUVs a lot, something that gives me a glorious grasp of what "irony" really means, just before the urge to kill someone takes over.
A couple of years ago, there was a green. fair trade clothing store right here in these Twin Cities, which focused on professional wear for adult women. They carried nothing above a size 14, at least when we checked it out. They are no longer in business, possibly because that kind of stupidity spilled over into other areas of business acumen. I was a size 14 for well over a decade, a size 16 for a decade after that and am now the amorphous 18-20. Guess what? When I was a size 14, I didn't have much in the way of disposable income, certainly not enough to drop $75 on a fair trade, organic blouse. Don't carry my size, don't get my money: it's as simple as that. So yes, it burns me that I can't always get the kind of clothes that I want when I want them. But in the long run, it burns these companies more.
Some women's clothing companies worth checking out:
Comfy USA
FLAX
IGIGI
Decent Exposures - I get customized pants from them and they're amazing
Deva Lifewear
edited to add recommendations:
Make It Big - 2X and up
Holy Clothing
Miss Ethnic
What do you recommend? I'll keep adding to the list.
