14 DAY TRIAL // The upscale department store in the UK, Selfridges, has come under serious fire these past few days after discontinuing all ranges for plus-size women without as much as bothering to let them know. Today, customers can find at the flagship Oxford Street store a size 16 at best and only if they’re lucky and patient enough to do some digging, News of the World informs.
In a country where a size 16 is now almost the average size (half of the women in the UK are either a 16 or above), the move is certainly uncalled for, especially since it also implies denying curvy women the right to be fashionable if they so desire, angry customers are saying for the aforementioned publication. Again, because it comes to happen in a country where obesity is a genuine problem, this puts Selfridges in the “snotty department store” category because it no longer caters to the real woman, but to some model-sized lady who one can rarely, if ever, see walking down the street.
“I am a size 22 and I loved Selfridges’ plus size collection at Marina Rinaldi. But they closed it down. I was told they wanted to change their image. They are saying plus size clothing doesn’t fit their image – and therefore neither do I,” one upset buyer tells News of the World. An assistant at the London store confirms that, saying, “The biggest we sell in Selfridges is a size 16. We stopped our plus size range a couple of weeks ago.”
“It would seem Selfridges have become so high and mighty they want to dictate the look of their customers. What next, a door policy? Forty-seven per cent of women in the UK are a size 16 plus and Selfridges should know better than anyone that there are plenty of plus size female role models, like Beth Ditto, out there. Come on Selfridges, don’t be so bah humbug, let’s celebrate size... especially during the festive season when we all put on a few pounds,” Fashion Director for Fabulous Magazine Tracey Lea Sayer says for the same publication.
And, while Sayer brands the move to pull all plus-size ranges off the shelves nothing short of “ridiculous,” Selfridges is defending itself saying that the offering is being constantly “updated,” which would mean that any shortage of plus-size items is only a temporary glitch. Selfridges employees, though, are singing a different tune, as also noted above, saying all items are off the rails for about a fortnight – and only some size 18 clothes can be found in boxes, but will never be displayed again.