I had heard about the struggles that bigger women faced when it came to buying clothes, but nothing could have prepared me for how dire it truly was on our streets till I gained a few kilos myself. With a wardrobe that has always looked like something between working dominatrix, performing drag queen, and sexually confused librarian, I was never really going to find everything I wanted in one shop, but little was I prepared to find a zero as fat as my ass in almost every shiny window I looked into.
I honestly don’t get it. According to surveys, we are an obese nation. Malta does not only have the highest rate of male obesity in Europe, but our females aren’t wobbling far behind, coming in at third in Europe when it comes to extra pounds. I’m not here to go into the merits of the whys and the hows of these statistics; however, what really gets my goat is that no one seems to be catering for most of the population when it comes to sartorial options.
I mean, I’m no expert on what women want, but I’m pretty sure that a pink and yellow polka dot dress that makes you look like a performing act at the circus isn’t it. It’s almost like bigger men and women are just expected to walk around wearing tents because universe forbid an ankle shows. This mentality is not only discriminatory, but it’s also pretty ridiculous. It should be up to people to wear what they want, not be forced to wear ugly, shapeless things because our market has stupidly decided not to cater to more than half of the population.
It’s also pretty dumb from a business perspective. With more and more of us shopping online because it’s faster and easier than circling to find parking for an hour, why wouldn’t you make it easier for potential customers to spend their money with you? The rest of the world has been embracing different body types for some time, and yet we have not moved forward in this regard despite our local reality.
I know that we are far from Christmas, but it would be nice if Santa delivered me a few shops that didn’t offer me clothes that make me look like a brown balloon whenever I need to leave the house. Who wants to wear brown anyway when they can wear an emerald green? I’m big, guys, not colour-blind.
For more Pink magazine fashion-related pieces, check out what this author has to say about skorts, and this piece about the Met Gala.
