"Oh, they were SO Small back then!"

Oh, please. Don't get up.

"Oh, they were sooo small back then!"

No they weren't.

People may have been structurally smaller years ago, but I can assure you that the waistbands were just as vast then as they are now.

Let's consider sizes offered in the catalogs of past decades. Men's and women's shoes in the 1930s were carried in much smaller sizes than they are today. Women's were available only up to an 8, and men's in a size 11. Plus, anyone that shops vintage clothing knows that the older shoes, gloves, and hats tend to be smaller. Really stinks for tall people like me that have a size 10 shoe...

I would argue, though, that some people have and will always be, plump. Whether you blame genetics or a lack of restraint at dinner, there will always be people of a larger size, and with that comes larger clothing from specialty stores or skilled seamstresses. So then, why is there such a glut of smaller size clothing and such an obvious lack of plus sized vintage clothing?

To answer this question, I would suggest an attempt at understanding why the clothing exists in the first place. Vintage clothing is only obtainable because there are people that hung onto things over the years, and luckily (for us), never threw anything out! But why hang onto a dress....or 30? Sometimes it seems that clothing has more memories attached to them than home videos and photographs.

Here's a peek at my philosophy.

1. "I'll fit into it!"

C'mon, admit it. We all do it.

Each and every person out there has that dress/sweater/jacket/skirt you bought on clearance because you know that "one day I'll fit into it." Then a few years go by.. and those few years turn into 40 and sooner or later a vintage clothing dealer is pilfering your closet as you lament over how you meant to wear that to your sister Anne's cousin's brother's niece's wedding in 1965... which brings me to my next point....

2. *sings* Memmmmmmmoriiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeessssss....

Most people would admit that they have hung onto at least one or two pieces of clothing from a special time in their life, or event. As a dealer, I can safely say that the most common pieces are prom dresses, wedding dresses, and mink coats and stoles. Every woman that has ever called my shop trying to sell a mink coat has acted as though she has a treasure beyond anything ever seen by a mortal eye. Unfortunately, furs are about as common as Singer sewing machines, and since they're plentiful they're worth just about as much...

3. An Ode to Youth

So yeah... this could possibly fall under the 'memories' reason, but for different rationale. These clothes weren't saved because they were tied to a special event, but more because they are an ode to your youth, and the former, thinner, and for lack of a better word, hotter version of one's self. You're never able to part with that dress because it's tangible proof that you were, indeed, a size 2.

These reasons may have highlighted some points as to why there is a plethora of small clothing, but it fails to account for the lack of larger pieces. As a full-figured woman that has come from a lineage of proportionately 'curvier' ladies I have insight that few petite women can share. Bluntly put, we buy less clothing and use it more thoroughly. Shopping for plus sizes is more limited and poses more of a challenge. Therefore, most larger people avoid this task and wear something they already have instead of buying a new garment for every event. The clothing is worn more, seams are ripped, buttons pop from the stress of buxom bosoms and eventually the garment is trashed, rather than saved. Who wants to remember any of THAT anyway? On a funny side note, I always joke that nearly every plus size dress I have gotten has had at least one food stain on the bust. I'll let you connect the dots on that little tidbit. :)

Okay grandma, where's your old clothing?

And for those beautiful plus size ladies with luscious curves, don't despair. There IS plus size vintage out there, and you WILL find it. Persevere and hunt. I once went to a Salvation Army store looking for Halloween costumes with a few friends and found an arbitrary array of 1950s dresses (all in my size!) hiding amongst the floral and sequins disasters of the mid-1990s. This can and will happen to you! If not, you can always visit my Etsy shop, stocked with beautiful plus size dresses at Buxom Babes Vintage.