Thanks, voluptuousrobot, for posting the link!

The clothes at Daphne are MY TYPE OF STYLE, and the fabrics are NOT ALL POLYESTER! Yippee!! :)

This is a great book for inspiration: Plus-sized sewing.

DISCLAIMER: Sewing sizes are not the same as ready-to-wear sizes. I often wear a size 22-24 in ready-to-wear, but I can use a size 24-26-28 pattern size (usually having to adjust the bustline, or some other adjustments).

All the major pattern companies have plus-sized patterns. Simplicity’s is especially stylish for plus-sizes: Simplicity plus-sized patterns. (Look past the Halloween costumes. There are some cute, trendy styles there.)

Vogue (always my favorite in the past) has a line called “Today’s Fit” that doesn’t do regular size numbers, but goes by letter designations. I think the largest size equals something like a size 28 or 30 in ready-to-wear: Vogue Patterns. Vogue also has many stylish (even “designer”) patterns that go up to size 24 (pattern size, which is maybe a size 20 in ready-to-wear) but with some clever adjustments, you can make them fit you if you’re a size 24-26+ in ready-to-wear. (The sewing book I link to above gives tips for adjusting “regular” sized patterns for plus sizes. The author seems to be around a size 30-32 herself.)

Butterick has a lot of Connie Crawford patterns (some of which I find a bit dull, but you could spruce up with the right fabrics) but they also go up in size (her pattern sizing seems more similar to read-to-wear—in her sizes, I would be a size 18-20 in the hip, which is strange.) Butterick Plus-sized patterns. Crawford goes up to size 42-44W.

You can buy a used sewing machine for less than $100 (those old metal Singers made in the 50s, 60s and even 70s can be excellent and are cheaper to repair than current models). I buy inexpensive cotton on sale and have made myself several “lounge pants” already that cost me maybe $7 each to make, and they fit well and are COMFY. I save a lot of money by sewing and spare myself a lot of the frustration of trying to shop at plus-sized stores. Gah!

I just mail-ordered some fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club: http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/ You can make yourself a fabulous outfit with maybe 5 yards of fabric, at $5-6 a yard, you do the math—not bad! And it’ll fit you and be in a style that you like.

(Hope these links work, and pardon me if I’m repeating something that is oft-discussed. I’m just a big advocate for sewing!)

J.Lo/Sweetface, for example, had a very foxy plus-size line through Kellwood, as did Emme, but when Kellwood decided the lines were no longer a profitable aspect to their companies, they canned them.

Russell Kemp and ECI do just the opposite, letting desinger name plus-size lines put their labels into what are essentially mass produced clothes for the woman’s market.

Another prominent plus-size line, DKNY Woman, has also come and gone due to these types of deals, coupled with the fact the line was launched without fanfare or marketing and as a result performed poorly at retail.

Anna Scholz, the highest end of highest end plus size designers, has done design work for Lane Bryant in the past, because they were the only one hiring people with her expertise.

Plus sizes are a strange animal for both retailers and customers for a whole host of reasons. Department stores, which are usually part of large public companies, are held to strict standards for sales goals, turnover, and profit margins in order to satisfy shareholders. Stores such as Lane Bryant/Charming Shoppes have actually perfomed fairly well, but I have seen places like the Avenue and Rainbow Plus Sizes close a slew of their shops recently, which is very upsetting.

Further, many plus size women outright refuse to spend money on clothes at moderate/expensive price points for reasons with which we are all familiar.

So a lot of the consumer gap between buyer and seller starts from the top and travels downward at a significantly distressing clip.

As to B and Lu, it would be helpful to shoot the clothes on actual people. I have to say, I don’t like to spend $50 on something, plus $10 for shipping, and then have to send it back. (I can live with buying crap from Old Navy because it’s so cheap and shipping is free for me on their stuff..) So I’ve never bought anything.

I’ve also heard concerns about the quality of the clothes on fatshionista, which keeps me from buying. I don’t mind if the quality is cheaper if the price is cheaper (like Old Navy), and I don’t mind paying more when the quality is outstanding (hello, Michael Kors plus-size stuff..although to be fair, I always buy when there’s a little bit of a sale on, or scour Nordstrom Rack for it!) But I don’t want to pay $40 for an Old Navy-quality top..

I mean, maybe it’s a bad rap..I don’t know, but it does keep me from buying..

@jmars, it’s worth checking out some of your higher end department stores (like Nordstrom’s). Although the label tells you they go to a 24/3X, when I was a 28-30, I’d often find skirts that fit just fine (bias-cut and a-lines, I don’t do straight skirts). Stay away from Jones New York though, I love them but they run small..

Thanks for the links. These might be good for non-meeting days (and I did see a couple of other items on LMP that might work), but what I’ve never really understood is why can’t things like these be made larger than size 24?

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=322160&CategoryID=35284&LinkType=EverGreen

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=246781&CategoryID=34087

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=319798&CategoryID=34833&LinkType=EverGreen

Arwen, thanks for your suggestion, too. I actually started looking into some custom made stuff … I’m going to have to see if there are any seamstresses where I live who can make whole garments (as opposed to just fitting pre-made stuff).

And in a funny way, your comment about something fitting right but not being flattering is part of the issue for me. I’m sure that the stuff at LMP would be more flattering (and comfortable, too) than those suits I linked to, but, in that weird corporate culture kind of way, what I need to do isn’t necessarily to look good … it’s to look the same as everybody else!

Thanks, ladies!

Anyway, she whips out the tailored suit for Super Big Impression days when she needs the extra professional, and jigs it around with accessories, and makes do with other stuff the rest of the time. So she’s not feeling like she’s wearing the same suit all the time.

The other day I stumbled on Just My Size blazers in polyester for cheap — but I thought they might be more basic and shaped than at a lot of other extended size places:
http://www.jms.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce/ProductDisplay?prnbr=20489&cgnbr=20L1000000

And maybe, if you were brave or knew a non pro-seamstress, you could rip one of these apart and use it as a pattern for good fabric once you’d picked a style you like? I mean, then you can try it on ahead of time. Because with a taylor, the thing that freaks me out is that it might be a perfect fit but totally unflattering.