a plus size man with a tight fitting tee-shirt-Imagined by AI
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
A plus sized man can be seen walking along Harare’s First Street and one cannot help but notice how he is struggling with his tee-shirt which evidently is small for his big frame.
He tries by all means to cover his belly but to no avail, evident of the real life struggles which some plus size people face.
And he is not alone, as observations and interviews conducted by this reporter revealed.
Several online definitions revealed that when someone is plus size, “it typically means that they have a larger body type and wear clothing that is sized larger than the average size.”
And the Cambridge English Dictionary defines plus size as “designed for people who are larger than average, or used to describe someone who is larger than average in size.”
Some plus size people interviewed by this reporter revealed the struggle they face when it comes to getting the right sizes of clothes and shoes.
And in most cases, it was revealed that plus sizes are more expensive than the average, way beyond the reach of many.
“It is really a struggle to get the right clothes sizes because as you can see I’m big, so most of our local shops seem to forget about us.
“And for those shops that cater for our sizes, they are too expensive, I don’t know why this is the case.
“I have since devised a plan that I now have my all of my clothes tailor-made but that also comes with a huge cost, but I don’t have a choice,” said the man who identified himself as Adrian.
He added that some of the sizes in local shops though they may be identified as plus size, they are still not enough.
“The tee-shirt that I’m wearing now is written 5X but still look, it doesn’t even fit me well, but at the shop they actually said this is a plus size.
“So you notice that these sizes depend with the brand and even the country where they are coming from, hence I have seen that having my own tailor is best for me, but like I said, it comes with a huge price,” added Adrian.
Others said they rely on thrift clothes or second hand clothes (bhero) from Europe for sizes, because they have not been lucky with the local shops.
“If I need the right sizes and also at affordable prices, I have to go to South Africa, because there I can walk into a shop and I won’t struggle with sizes unlike in Zimbabwe.
“In Zimbabwe you are forced to go kumabhero, that’s the only place you can find ma sizes edu. If not kubhero the shops which have our sizes are limited and they will be expensive.
“You will get a pair of jeans for about US$40 or US$50 of which to me that doesn’t make sense, so I go kubhero.
“So in short, thanks to thrift stores, we sorted,” said a lady who identified herself as Linda.
Tinashe Kanyemba, a man who is big and tall, echoed similar sentiments of facing challenges but he said he mainly struggles with shoe sizes.
“I have challenges with shoe sizes mainly. Clothes trousers are a problem but Edgars sells sizes in both length and in waist, so you don’t have a situation whereby the length doesn’t fit but waist is okay and vice versa.
“To address the shoe problem, I just import from SA and Europe, they have sizes especially SA given the big bodied nature of Afrikaans people and the West Africans there,” said Kanyemba.
A visit to most shops revealed that their sizes only end at 5X at most and they will be small cuts.
One saleslady agreed that they don’t cater for the plus size but it is an important market which needs to be catered for.
“At most the maximum sizes we have here are only 5X and they are small cuts, so you will find that we don’t have anything for the plus size.
“This is a market we need to cater for, but I’m not sure if my boss will consider that.
“Plus size people come here because we have nice things but unfortunately our sizes are not for them,” said the saleslady who preferred anonymity.
A visit to a mall in Harare which specializes in thrift clothing painted a different picture, as several stalls had plus sizes and at fairly lower prices.
“We realised the niche and we made sure that we cater for this market so you will find that we have plus sizes, from jeans to jackets to shoes for both men and women.
“We are now relying on referrals such that whenever someone gets that what they need, they will refer their friends or family,” said a lady who identified herself as Mai Chipo.
As this reporter continued with his observations, his attention was drawn to a shop at Avenues Mall in Harare whose name is aptly called Big and Tall Zimbabwe, which has gone a long way to have sizes for both plus size men and women.
The owner of Big and Tall Zimbabwe said they had noticed that big and tall people encounter societal biases and body shaming, which lowers their self-esteem and confidence, hence they had to play their role in the clothing sector.
“Society tends to promote certain body types as attractive, which causes individuals on the opposite end of this romanticised image to feel inadequate and out of place.
“Living in a household with unusually tall and also plus sized members I watched their struggles to acquire correctly fitted clothes and large size shoes.
“As well when reading through social media groups, I noted many members expressing the difficulty they were experiencing in obtaining clothing that matched their shapes and particular preferences, owing to the fact that most merchants largely concentrated on conventional sizes, marginalising people on the opposite ends of the pendulum.
“This inspired me to perceive that there was a vacuum in the market that needed to be filled.
“Big and Tall Zimbabwe was founded to defy social preconceptions and celebrate the diversity of body shapes and sizes, as well as to promote body acceptance,” she said.
She added: “we seek to contribute to influencing society attitudes and promoting an inclusive notion of attractiveness with our diverse line of apparel and accessories that embraces and inspires the big and tall to celebrate their uniqueness.
“As such our motto is to Be Unique, Be You, in stylish clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident.
“At the very least, the market reaction has been promising, with returning clients who have made us their first choice for shopping experiences.
“We have also had new clients come in and request larger sizes than we have in stock, indicating that there’s still more we can do to reach our target.
“As a tiny startup firm, it is difficult to meet the different demands of our customers. Plus size clothing is typically more expensive, making a challenge to keep prices on par with ordinary sizes in order to service a large market sector.
“We have a broad selection of tee-shirts, trousers, joggers, vests, shorts, jeans, cargo pants, jackets, jumpers, sweats, tracksuits etc, made to fit particularly tall and large males, including those with large pouches.
“Tee-shirts we have up to 8XL, trousers and jeans currently at waist size 60/5XL. Some other things we do per order, depending on what the client wants.
“On shoes, we provide sizes ranging from UK 8 to UK 15, including a few wide fit choices. We also provide large-sized socks, belts, caps, and boxers.
“Our clothes sizes are truly for plus size people and sourced mainly from UK and other European countries such as Ireland, France, Poland and from Bangladesh,” she added.
While the struggle to find fashionable and comfortable clothing and shoes remains a challenge for plus size people, it is hoped that their plea is heard and local shops will provide their sizes at affordable prices.
