Old Navy Goes Woke

Embrace BODEQUALITY!

Old Navy eliminates its plus section.

Old Navy is a place we only occasionally shop at. Admittedly, their jeans are among the few brands that will fit our son in terms of length and waist size. And I sometimes find a piece I like there, but this move truly puzzles me.

In the effort to be more inclusive, I guess, they have decided to eliminate their plus section. Instead, all the women's clothing will be sold in all sizes from smallest to 0-28, on the same rack. Now to me, having worked retail and done softlines, this is stupidity. Unless OId Navy is also planning to replace all its clothing racks, they've just announced that they are also limiting their inventory. You only have so much space on each rack in which to display a range of sizes in each style.

Usually, you are only displaying up to 16 or so, but now Old Navy has decided to cram on 20, 22, 24, 26, and 28 in addition to the rest. Racks already are pretty full, so the sizes that are popular will not have as pieces in them in favor of including those additional sizes, meaning sizes the sell fast will also disappear sooner leaving dissatisfied shoppers who cannot find what they want. Or the racks will be so jam packed full of clothing that shoppers will have a difficult time working through the racks to find what they want (I saw this side of things at a Justice store when I was working an inventory job ... not pretty! It had to be a mess for the clerks to clean up too as nothing stayed on those racks, they were so packed).

At any rate, I cannot think in what world this makes any sense from a merchandising perspective beyond the marketing ploy of attempting to make fat women feel less fat because their clothes are now on the "normal" size racks.

a reply to: ketsuko

"It's perfectly healthy to be 250 lbs at 5'2 girl!!!!

Don't let them haters get to you!!!

We here at Old Navy support your fast food habit!!"

:::3 fingersnaps in a Z pattern:::

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought a seperate section was appreciated because it includes styles that are different and more comfortable for plus sizes?
Who wants to sort through a multude to find just the right thing. I get frustrated enough on the regular racks because my size is the most popular and sells out first.

a reply to: AccessDenied

I am with you.

It's hard finding my size on racks as it is.

But I guess the message is that no one better tell the heavier girl she won't be comfy in every style.

a reply to: ketsuko

Every retailer does this now....for along time. There havent been 'plus size' sections in a long time. But the sizes have gone up and up and up and up.

ETA......What HAS changed (at least in the world of women's clothing retail) is that they are including plus size models in everything, including lingerie and swimwear.

a reply to: shaemac

There are still plus sections in the stores around here.

As far as the measurements of the standard sizes changing, I can agree with that.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: shaemac

There are still plus sections in the stores around here.

As far as the measurements of the standard sizes changing, I can agree with that.

Well, I meant, they keep adding more sizes to the regular lines....like you mentioned....
It used to stop at say 14...now they go up into the 20s

a reply to: ketsuko

I'm sure the work from home and gyms closing dynamic has played a part in this.

America is very unhealthy in general.

I ride my bike about an hour per day, the only people I see excersiging are people that are already fit. As a big corporation they also know this, they pay people a lot of money to follow the trends in sales of certain sizes ect.

This isn't a reaction to a problem, this is a planned pivot in their business strategy.

a reply to: litterbaux

Yeah, I was looking at Kohl's boys clothing today since kiddo needs some school stuff, and of the three models on the page, two were chubby meatballs.

My 10-year-old is a black belt with that physique, and I'm fit for mid 40s myself.

I guess we don't have clothing made for us anymore. But you have to wonder if more people might be inspired to lose weight if all they had made for them was shapeless tent muumuus.

a reply to: ketsuko

maybe they should strike a deal with AC DC and use this song.

whole lot of navy




or maybe island girl

she's a big girl, weighs about 350
get her jeans at old navy

a reply to: hounddoghowlie



Fat Bottom Girls

Look, large women can look good, but not everything is cut for every body type.

I’ve never really understood women’s sizes.. I wear a 30x30 pants .. 30in waist and a 30in inseam and a 15 32/33 shirt.. what the heck is a 0 or 28 for women? Is it like a small, medium, or large for T-shirts?

Women are getting larger. My GF is a designer and importer dealing with more plus sizes than ever before.


www.livescience.com...

a reply to: uggghhh

I've never understood it myself, drives my wife nuts. Male sizing is so much easier as I can order something online and 99% of the time it'll be the right size. It's always the guessing game with her stuff.

a reply to: Hypntick

Men are also less curvy. There is usually less variability between a man's chest and waist and hip measure than there will be on a woman thanks to boobs and the way our hips and butts tend to develop.

So generally a man's size can be cut a little more simply.

I can usually get away with a man's tee just fine since I was not overly endowed up top, but there are plenty of women who cannot because they have ample busts. In fact, I had to wear men's sizes through most of high school and college if I wanted to have long sleeves that fit my arm length because I have albatross wingspan for a woman. Helped make me a great athlete, but it made clothing painful.

originally posted by: olaru12
Women are getting larger. My GF is a designer and importer dealing with more plus sizes than ever before.


www.livescience.com...

Shame on you! Where's your body positivity? With the healthy at any size movement, ads like Gilette's and trends like the one I'm pointing out in this thread, there is less pressure than ever for women to stay at a healthier weight and instead to embrace being big.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Hypntick
I can usually get away with a man's tee just fine since I was not overly endowed up top, but there are plenty of women who cannot because they have ample busts. In fact, I had to wear men's sizes through most of high school and college if I wanted to have long sleeves that fit my arm length because I have albatross wingspan for a woman. Helped make me a great athlete, but it made clothing painful.

I hear you there, there's plenty of company in the Girls With Broad Shoulders boat. I'm in there myself, where while I don't have massively wide athlete's shoulders, I have what everyone used to dub "swimmer's shoulders" when I was growing up. My shoulders are just wide enough where womens' sleeved shirts are tight at that shoulder seam and are just plain uncomfortable. Quick addition: I've all but defaulted to sleeveless shirts (tanks, blouses) just so I don't have to worry about the shoulder fit anymore. Even in the middle of winter, I'm in a tank top under that heavy winter coat.

My youngest has my husband's even broader shoulders herself, her shoulders are wide enough to stretch shirts that fit her trunk well, but miss the mark at the shoulders. Right now, she's wearing mens' smalls in t-shirts just to have the shoulder room. It also doesn't help her any that she's a very tall & lean kid -- the measurements balance can be a royal PITA.

Nvm.

Let me see if I'm following the outrage du jour...

Old Navy, a business, recognizes that the United States is filled with fatty fatsos and is trying to sell them clothes?

That about right?

originally posted by: shaemac
a reply to: ketsuko

Every retailer does this now....for along time. There havent been 'plus size' sections in a long time. But the sizes have gone up and up and up and up.

ETA......What HAS changed (at least in the world of women's clothing retail) is that they are including plus size models in everything, including lingerie and swimwear.

Uh...Target? Walmart? A lot of people still do this. I have no skin in the game, but its definitely still a thing.