Plus Size Marina Rinaldi

Jody wrote:

Hi Karen,

I’m new to your site. Thank you for all the great information you provide here. I’m not sure if you’ve done a post about this in the past, but I recently found that a few companies are now offering a size 0X for those of us who are in between a misses size XL and a plus size 1X. This is a godsend for me, as I often find that a 1X is too large for me through the bust and shoulders. I am smaller on top than on bottom, and I always find it very difficult to pull together outfits when having to shop in both the misses and plus size departments. And it’s impossible to put together a suit! Can you do a post about which companies and stores are offering size 0X to fill that much needed gap between sizes?

First of all: thanks for taking the time to write, Jody!  It is much appreciated and your suggestion is an excellent one because I’m sure you’re not the only person in the “smaller on top than bottom” boat and it’s a much bigger problem for women when they’ve got a “missy top” and a “plus size bottom”.

Another problem is what one considers to be a Size 0x – when you’re talking about well known designers carried in Department stores such as Calvin Klein, and Anne Klein their Size 0x is roughly the equivalent of a Size 12W-14W but if you visit Catherines.com they consider a ox to be a Size 14W-16W and if you visit Kiyonna they consider a Size 0x to be a 10-12W!  Are you dizzy yet?

Okay, let’s try and break this down:

I recently found that a few companies are now offering a size 0X . . .

Hopefully Jody will come back and let us know which companies because from my experience while manufacturers may still offer size 0x a lot of retailers chose not to carry it and to be honest I cannot say that I blame them – Since I’ve been in the business of selling plus size overstock for several years now I can very easily see what sells and what doesn’t and I cannot tell you how often I used to visit what used to be my biggest supplier and I would see something hanging amongst the rows and rows of clothing and I would go flying over to it only to find they only had it in a Size 0x.   Now what that says is: the department store was able to completely sell out in Size 1x 2x and 3x yet there were several size 0x left over that they couldn’t sell and they were going to take a major loss on all of those unsold 0x garments.  As the years went by I would see less and less 0x and that’s because a lot of department stores stopped carrying them and if they do carry 0x in their stores they don’t carry it online.

A good example is Dillard’s: Karen Kane used to make Size 0x (and I believe she still might) but Dillard’s only carries 1x-3x and it’s the same story with Citron: they make 0x Dillard’s just doesn’t carry it online.

BUT, I’m sure Jody doesn’t want to hear about my sympathies for those who don’t carry 0x so let us continue:

I am smaller on top than on bottom, and I always find it very difficult to pull together outfits when having to shop in both the misses and plus size departments. And it’s impossible to put together a suit! Can you do a post about which companies and stores are offering size 0X to fill that much needed gap between sizes?

I don’t know what style you prefer (classic, trendy . . . ) or what your clothing budget is (or isn’t) so I’ll cover a few of the options here:

When it comes to separates:

When it comes to stores that still do carry 0x your best bet is probably Macy’s as they carry a fair amount of Calvin Klein, Anne Klein and International Concepts in Size 0x whereas Nordstrom tends to not stock much 0x anymore and I didn’t see any during my quick check at Bloomingdale’s other than some Calvin Klein tops.

Another option for separates is J. Jill as their Size XL tends to be cut larger than most manufacturer’s Size XL and if the XL doesn’t work than you can go with their Size Large.

When it comes to suits:

I can really see where this would be a problem because even manufacturers that do offer Size 0x like Anne Klein start their suits at Size 14W whereas a Size 0x basically equals 12W-14W but they don’t offer 12W in their suits.

So what is a gal to do?  What a lot of women wind up doing: turn to Talbots

Talbots is one of the few companies I know of that does offer Size 12W when it comes to suit separates so being able to put together a suit is not out of the realm of possibility and the wonderful part is Talbots plus sizes tend to sell very quickly when they’re marked down with the exception of . . . you guessed it!  Size 12W – so you can get some fantastic deals and as bonus they also carry 0x – although they simply call it “X”

Talbots Seasonless Suit (Click Image To View Or Buy)

If Talbots is a little too staid for you part of what makes Eileen Fisher so popular is how easily her pieces can be mixed and matched and if she makes something in a plus size she also makes it in a Missy size so paring a pair of 1x pants with a Large or XL large top should do the trick.

A final “designer” possibility is Marina Rinaldi.  While Salon Z doesn’t carry much online and it’s out of the reach of many they do produce a Size 21 which is the equivalent of a Size 12W.   Want to know if there is a Marina Rinaldi boutique near you?

Marina Rinaldi Store Locator

A more budget friendly option is Spiegel which does a decent share of their “Signature Collection” which includes suits and outfits in both Missy and Plus Sizes:

Was $89 - NOW $64 (Click Image To View Or Buy At Spiegel)

Link To Matching Pants

A final recommendation I have is to check out MyShape – they carry both missy and plus sizes and you enter you measurements and the type of styles you prefer and they make recommendations based on both.

Being A Missy on Top And Plus Size On The Bottom (or vice versa) is a problem I’ve heard over and over again over the course of all of my years selling plus size clothing and I can’t believe I didn’t think to address it before so thanks again, Jody and please comment and let us know what brands are working for you.

Obviously since there are no standards in clothing when it comes to sizes Size Charts are your best friend.  One companies size ox is another companies 1x.

For me personally (an again I too am small on top and larger on the bottom) I’m all about Eileen Fisher – And of course: If anyone out there who deals with this problem please take the time let us know how you try to deal with it by leaving a comment.  Thank You!

Tagged as: Plus Size Eileen Fisher, Plus Size Marina Rinaldi, Plus Size Talbots