As some of you may have noticed in the past couple of months, I have been working very closely with Meijer. I have spent time in a variety of their stores here in Illinois, and I have even visited their headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During these visits, I met with the company’s style and merchandising team who have repeatedly expressed their devotion to offering stylish, on trend, and affordable plus size clothing. They said “style at every size” was one of their top priorities.
But today, they announced that they are getting rid of their plus size section entirely. That’s right. The Wall Street Journal broke the news, and I couldn’t be happier. You may be asking yourself, “Wait. Why?” I’ll tell you why: Meijer is eliminating their plus size section because they are integrating it into all of the other sizes. YES. In one rack, you can find dresses, shorts, and blouses, whether you are a size small or a 3X. Plus size women can now find clothes that fit them and make them feel beautiful alongside their straight size counterparts.
There are currently 15 Meijer locations with size integration, but each of the retailer’s 230 stores will become fully integrated by early 2017.
I have expressed my wishes for this to happen, and I have been very vocal about it and how brands should not turn away the plus size customer or make them feel secluded or isolated. It makes no sense to me why a brand can make clothing in an extra small, but can’t simply extend those sizes to include plus size women. Instead, most brands create a plus size section devoted to full-figured women, and oftentimes, these plus size lines are way behind the trends and don’t provide plus size women with what she WANTS to wear. As a full-figured woman (and I have been all my life), I have always wanted to wear what my slimmer friends were wearing. I didn’t want to shop in the dark corner of the store where clothes seemed more like pajamas. But now, I can shop with my friends and with EVERY woman, thanks to Meijer.
You guys, I am absolutely beside myself, and so proud to say that I know and love Meijer to the moon and back for this. I hope that other retailers and brands will follow suit, because THIS IS THE FUTURE. My goal as a blogger is to bring light to these issues and inequalities that plus size women face in the fashion industry. One day, when I have a daughter of my own, I hope she gets to grow up in a world where she is encouraged to love her body and wear whatever she wants because the media, society, and trendy retailers aren’t telling her that she shouldn’t.
Thank you Meijer, for leading the way and for truly making a dream of mine come true.
