I’ve been trawling through Taking Shape’s website this morning.

Given the amount of weight I’ve gained since I last worked none of my previous work clothes fit me. And – hoping I’d never work in an office again – I gave a heap away and sold the more expensive stuff just after my seachange. 

When I started work in a real office in February my mother was panicked about what I’d wear given I’d lived in nothing but ‘sweats’ or the equivalent for 3yrs.

Fortunately I only work part-time and don’t actually ‘see’ people other than colleagues most days so I’m able to get away with dressing pretty casually. Plus, it’s regional Queensland and a beachside town, so…

I already had few pairs of trousers which could pass for ‘work’ clothes (most of them black) so my big ‘returning to work’ investment only involved buying three new shirts (oh and two pairs of casual pants to replace the ones I’d be using for work!). Although because I bought the shirts / tunics from Taking Shape, that also required I buy a tank top for under those shirts because all were see-through and not as long as I’d like.

But now winter is upon us. I have a shirt I can still wear (which was extraordinarily big at the time) and I have a cardigan of sorts I can wear over my other shirts, but I probably need one or two shirts to carry me through winter as I’m pretty sure my 12yr old Nike sweatshirt is far from office-appropriate.

Hence the trawling through TS14+ website. There’s a store in Hervey Bay so I probably should go in there, but trying on clothes makes me cranky and irritable and bad-tempered. And yes… so bad-tempered it took three synonyms to confirm it!

Which eventually brings me to my point. And I must say… my rant isn’t limited to TS14+ (indeed I love their stuff and – nowadays – when out in public I’m dressed in their stuff from head to toe) but is common in plus sized clothing. And I’m wondering if I’m alone with these two plus size clothing frustrations:

1. Tops which are short at the front
Now… I like the edgy oblong hems and so forth, but what I don’t like is the fact that MANY shirts are actually shorter in the front than back.

This may well be practical so our bums don’t look big to those walking behind us, but I don’t see my bum when I look in the mirror. I see my wide thighs and crotch. So, unless I’m in a multi-mirrored dressing room I’m happy to remain in denial about my butt and would prefer the length in the front so that the hem falls BENEATH the fattest part of my damned body (hips and thighs).

2. Side pockets in trousers
A lot of bigger girls have wide thighs. Until I hit my mid 30s I was very hourglass-like. My waist and stomach weren’t TOO problematic. I carried a little weight in the top half of my body, but most of it from my hips down. So what I don’t get is WHY plus-size clothing manufacturers and designers make pants with side-pockets. The last bloody thing I need is additional padding in that area.

Because they NEVER sit flat. Never. They bunch up and add extra girth to an already girth-laden spot. And, do women ever use side pockets in their trousers? Other than to stick a hand into when taking selfies of course? Unless you’re a skinny minnie or, not well-endowed thigh-wise there’s no way in hell we’re adding wallets, phones or keys to our already-generous saddle bags.

Of course, I have to acknowledge how far we’ve come.

When I first started needing to wear plus-sized clothing it was the mid-late 1990s. I was only about 30 but had to dress like a 50yr old.

Now at least we’ve got some wonderful plus-size designers and stores and other designers extending their sizing. So, I do count my blessings. However… can we please ditch the side pockets?!

Any other plus-sizers out there want to buy into this argument? Or have other irks? 

I’m flogging my blog With Some Grace today.

*Pics from TS 14+ site.