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The Market for Plus Size Clothing: The Factors That Made it a Billion-Dollar Business

The plus size clothing industry used to be a forgotten sector in the apparel trade. Designers, retailers and distributors spare this line of business only the occasional cursory glance; not bothering to exert enough effort to create products particularly tailored to this segment of the market.

But all that has changed now. The plus size industry has risen from being a minor sector into a billion-dollar business. In Great Britain, where studies focusing on the sector have been conducted, it has been estimated that the market for extra large clothing is now worth $5 billion. This figure is slightly lower than in Canada, where the extra size clothing sector is estimated to be worth $6 billion.

The growth of the clothing business for larger people can be attributed to several factors. First, the worldwide problem of obesity. This problem has greatly contributed to the increased number of people seeking extra large clothing. Second, the baby boom generation has aged. Members of this generation have reached their 40s and 50s and most of them have become overweight. Third, thanks to a number of full size celebrities, bigger people are now more conscious about the way they dress and have become more demanding in terms of styles and choices.

Extra large clothes are offered in various ways. They can be extensions or larger sizes of standard size ranges, dedicated ranges or those specifically designed for larger people and brand or designer ranges. The last category is mostly available in boutiques and fashion chains.

The market for big size clothes catering to women is relatively more profitable than the unit catering to men. Women are more conscious of fashion and they like dressing up more than men. Because of this, the choices for upsize women consumers are wider and more varied. Fashion designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano have already introduced extra sizes in their fashion lineups; emphasizing the growing importance of bigger people as fashion industry consumers.

The plus size clothing industry is set to reach even higher grounds in the coming years. Wherever the fight against obesity will lead to, the sector will continue to grow. It will be aided by the increasing number of bigger consumers who have awoken to the fact that they too can be fashionable and dressy like regular size people.