Selfridges provokes anger by dropping clothes ranges for larger women

By Sean Poulter for the Daily Mail
Updated: 04:26 EST, 21 December 2009

Selfridges has risked alienating a large section of its female market by dropping its fashion range for larger women.

The retailer is no longer offering the Marina Rinaldi range, which has sizes from 14 to 26.

As a result, the largest size available on many fashion lines is now a 16, although there are a very few size 18s on the rails.

The decision suggests the company does not believe larger lady customers, who often struggle to find clothes in their size, are good for its image.

The clothing range, an Italian label founded in 1980 for 'curvy women', was taken out of stores two weeks ago to make space for slimmer lines.

Any decision to reduce the size range available flies in the face of nature and the policies of other leading fashion stores.

There is a huge amount of evidence that the nation's women are getting bigger, taller and rounder, thereby increasing the market for out-size ranges.

The National Sizing Survey has found a remarkable change in body shapes over the last 50 years.

The average waist for a woman went up from 27.5in to 34in, the hips were 1.5in wider at 29in and the bust increased by the same amount to 38.5in.

Women were also 1.5in taller at an average of 5ft 4.5in against a background of the fact the nation is eating more and exercising less.

Shopper Karen Segal, 51, said: '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.'

Cheryl Hughes, who runs plus size modelling agency Hughes Models, said: 'Half the country need size 16 or bigger. It's disgusting that Selfridges won't sell them.'

Anita Barr, Director of Womenswear and Childrenswear at Selfridges said: 'It’s true we no longer stock Marina Rinaldi, however Selfridges is constantly updating its brand mix.

'This is also reflected in the sizing we offer. At present customers can find sizes up to a UK 18 in store.'

Marina Rinaldi, an Italian fashion label, was founded in 1980 as part of the Max Mara group. It states its fashions are specifically for 'curvy women'.

It said: 'Up until that time there were no companies making clothes for women with a few extra kilos to help them satisfy their desire for fashion.'

Today, fashion stores are generally much more willing to provide larger sizes to reflect the reality of their customers.

As long ago as 2005, Topshop chiefs admitted they had been forced to inflate their sizes in order to cope with the fact that Britain's young women are 'blossoming'.

An executive revealed that one of the secrets of its success was that its standard size 10 and 12 had been 'super-sized' to cope with changing body shapes.

As a result, its top-selling fashions were made wider around the waist, hips and bust.

Marks & Spencer has made a virtue of changing its sizes, which included moving from size 12 to a larger 14 as its standard.

At the same time, it increased the waist, hip and bust sizes on the size 14 to reflect the changing shape of women. The firm's Per Una fashion range goes up to an 18.

The fashion label Kookai  introduced a size 16 into British stores to reflect the fact women were getting larger in 2004, while many others now do the same.