Body weight and body image are inextricably linked and in our looks obsessed culture, fat is looked at as a bad word. Designers make clothes for gloriously thin models. Even the waist sizes of mannequins in shop windows in India have thinned down over the years. Fashion trends in plus size clothing mirror trends in regular sizes, tweaked a bit, to give the customer a more flattering silhoette.

Keeping in mind the pressure to be slim, most plus size brands follow the slimming rules of fashion in their garments; a monochromatic palette, vertical lines, deep necks and long skirts, to create as much of an illusion of slimness, as possible. Stores for the Plus size category in India seem a tad conservative in their approach to fashion, but as the customer is changing, so is the design process.

The XL diary
I have no qualms in calling myself overweight, or to put it really straight - I am fat.
The tiny three letter word has a whole set of phrases, clauses, greetings attached to it which are hidden for the rest of the thin population. Every time I have walked down any ‘fashion street’ in Mumbai or a strolled down Janpath in Delhi, the clothes stall salesmen call out to me saying, “Aap ka size milega!”
I am filled with gratitude that these strangers have been so merciful to help me narrow down my search for a good fitting kurta. I grit my teeth and enter one of the tiny shops.
The earlier mentioned salesman will then get into a frenzy, pulling the elastic of a skirt to its limit, and then breathlessly say, “Dekho meine bola tha, this will fit you!”
You may ask why do I put up with these kind of situations? Maybe I should just give him a good old thapad! Right? Wrong! It is difficult to find clothes that fit you well, if you are over sized. I do not look obese, but what fits my shoulder will not let the sleeves reach my wrists. If I find something that fits my waist perfectly, will most probably pinch my thighs. It is only a European brand that normally comes to the rescue with a large size fit, but not everyone can afford to shell out Rs 800 for a t-shirt!
People associate being fat with gluttony. But the truth is I have been through a merry-go-round of diets, I have lost 10 kg the last two tears, but they have returned to haunt me again, my basal metabolic rate has slowed down, maybe my genes are flawed... but who is listening? All people see is a fat person. Thanks for the observation.
“Now can you please show me a nice body hugging black top that I can wear for a party tonight?”
This question has sales women, in various lifestyle stores look totally flummoxed. They hum ‘Mission Impossible’ while I wait patiently. I look at myself in the mirror and wonder if I am supposed to find a ‘freak’ looking back. My self confidence has been tried and throughly tested through elastic and XXL tags.
The saleswoman returns.
I smile.
Her hands are empty.
I was being hopeful, the store is just like the rest of them in fancy malls, “Sorry madam, we don’t have your size, can you try the stores that stock clothes for ‘plus size’ women?”
I leave hunting for that specific store, hoping it will have something that won’t look like I have donned a sack. Then I hear it again. A snigger.
If only people had mindsets with a bit of elastic too.

... contd.