Women's Plus Size Clothes in UK/Europe
 

Does anyone have any knowledge of any particular stores in Europe or the UK which offer plus size clothes for women? I come from a smaller city in Australia and find the choices rather limited here and thought an overseas trip may be an opportunity to look elsewhere. I'm youngish (32), prefer casual clothes in natural fibres, but wear cotton shirts and polyester pants to work. I never wear skirts or dresses as I don't feel comfortable in them. I'll be visiting cities including Zurich, Venice, Munich, Cologne, Paris and London. I don't expect anything will be available in Paris! What's the name of that book? "French Women don't get Fat"..

Hi Speckles

Marina Rinaldi is the division of Max Mara which makes larger sizes. They have stores in Sydney (Chifley Building) and Melbourne. Their clothes are beautifully tailored with European flair. The pants are very long but unhemmed. (I'm tall). The downside is that they are expensive. I buy from the Sydney store when the sales are on and off eBay as well as Iknowmy sixe. Put Marina Rinaldi into the search button in Ebay to look at the styles. I am looking forward to visiting their stores in Italy. I may be being very optimistic, but I hope the prices are cheaper. I'm sure the range will be wider.

There is also a chain of stores called Evans in London that has inexpensive plus sizes. There is one on Oxford Street. Be careful becuse the UK 22 is roughly equivalent to the Aussie 20. Oh with MR, their size 29 is an Aussie 20.

Hennes & Mauritz, a Swedish chain with stores in many countries has inexpensive young casual clothes, also in large sizes.

The major plus size chain in the UK is Evans, which is on every High St and major mall.

Long Tall Sally (www.longtallsally.com There IS a store locator tucked away on their home page) is for talls (though they define that as 5'9" and up if you still understand proper measurements downthere) rather than wides. It went bust and got re-financed a year or so back, and has imported some good management. Mrs F isn't plus size, so I've no reports yet of how good the reborn business is turning out to be.

www.fashion-era.com/plus_sizes.htm seems reasonably up to date for the UK. A number of the nicer operations might be a bit tricky to find if you're staying in central London, and you might want to organise enough time to trek out to one of the big out of town malls. If you do that, check Matalan, George at Asda and Primark as well. All a million times cheaper, and these days going up to bigger sizes than they used to.

There's a shop on Oxford street called Ann Harvey. My SIL bought some nice things in there. I THINK there is more than one location but this shop is easy to find. 266 Oxford Street. Also, the major department stores have plus size as I understand but we never got to looking there. I had noted Liberty on Regent Street between Oxford and Piccadilly Circus.

Hi Speckles, If you don't hit paydirt in Europe, and plan to shop on-line anyway, why not try some USA companies. I can recommend: Talbots.com, who have Women (that's their plus dept.) and Petite Women, in case some of those blouses go to your knees. There is also Elizabeth, a division of Liz Clairborn. Their Sigrid Olsen line is very colorful and funky. Saks and Nordstrom have extensive depts. and for the lower end of the price scale (probably not as trendy as Evens in the UK, but similar quality) is Dress Barn Women. There is also Catherine and Lane Bryant at the less expensive end. Our need in the States is great and as they say in the UK, "I resemble that remark!"
Happy shopping.

Marks and Spencers Plus collection go up to UK size 28

You'll probably get the best selection in the London Marble Arch branch.
You can see what's on offer at http://www.marksandspencer.com/

For Paris, my Where to Wear? 2005 Guide lists the following shops that include larger sizes, in addition to Marina Rinaldi and H&M (which have already been mentioned):

The listings below seem to go from moderate to expensive:

Devernois. The description says it is a Lyon-based chain that stocks business and casual clothes, with a preference for knits. A bit conservative but feminine and figure-flattering. Sizes from 38-50. 8-10 outlets, including shops on rue Saint-Honoré (1st arr), rue de Rennes (6th arr) and ave Victor Hugo (16th arr).

Elena Miro sounds promising. The descriptions says it is a line of clothes in sizes 42-58 for women who find Marina Rinaldi too conservative and/or expensive. Outstanding Italian tailoring, plus a good selection of tanks, twinsets, tunics, dress, trousers, jeans and skirts. Locations on 195 rue Saint-Honoré (1st) and 14 ave Victor Hugo (16th).

Bob Shop doesn't specifically focus on plus sizes, but the trousers (house specialty in linen, silk and cashmere) go up to size 48. Locations at rue Cambon (1st arr) and rue du Four (6th).

Johanne Riss is a Belgian designer is firstly a wedding dress designer but also does skirts and trouser suits in sizes 36-54. Location at rue du 29 juillet (1st arr).

Cazak is a boutique assembling dressy and business-appropriate labels in plus sizes. Listed as moderate to expensive (depending on the label). Located on swanky avenue Montaigne (8th arr).

Denise Bourillon might be a little old and expensive, but you never know. She does trousers, sweaters and capes in Italian cashmere. Shop on rue du Bac (7th arr)

Lilith, while not specifically targetting plus sizes, is supposed to have quite a few designs that are particularly flattering for larger women. Style is described as Yamamoto volumes crossed with Gaultier's printed tulle and François Girbaud's weathered fabrics to produce a poetic, comfortable look. Expensive but with a loyal following. Shops at rue Cambon (1st) and rue du Cherche-Midi (6th).

You might also have better luck in German and Swiss cities than in Italy and France (and you might want to add Amsterdam to your list, too). It seems to me that the average body frame of women in Germany and the Netherlands is appreciably larger, and the clothing is often sized that way and cut more comfortably. By contrast, many French and Italian women seem quite small-boned/small-framed and prefer to wear more closely fitted clothes. I wear a US 6 or 8 but am broad shouldered and find that I often wear a size 42 in tops and 40 in bottoms in France (supposedly corresponding to American 12/10.

You should also have a look at the Landsend.com website and catalogue, which ships worldwide. They have an extensive collection of casual clothes in natural fibres, and the prices are a good value.

Thanks to all. I didn't expect to get such a great response, but appreciate it. I'll take some notes to do a bit of net surfing before I leave on my holiday in a few weeks.

Sarvowinner, I have vaguely heard of Max Mara, but assumed as a boutique they would not have larger sizes. I live in Adelaide and believe they have a store here in the city.

I am around the 5'8" mark, but still often find that plus size tops are more like mini dresses. They seem to assume the wider you are the taller you must be too. Glad I'm not shorter and trying to find plus sizes - it must be a nightmare.

Hi Speckles

Glad you hve got a great response. I’ve picked up some shopping ideas as well. Just one point, while Marina Rinaldi is a division of Max Mara, their clothing is sold in their own stores. I don’t know if there is one in Adelaide. If not, maybe call the Sydney store for stockists. Also beware of Marina Rinaldi in Asia - for some reason they are small sizes.

Based on what I've seen and on Kate W's very helpful post, the Avenue Victor Hugo in the 16th is a good place for someone to look if they want well-made, fairly conservative (but still stylish) clothes for women in Paris. Probably because it's an upscale residential area with many women over 40 who aren't ALL slim as reeds anymore.

One more for the UK list: Sahara. Many of their pieces are sold only as S M L XL, but having seen the XL clothes, I think they could easily fit a U.S. 18 or 20 and some up to a 24. They are flowy clothes in attractive, flattering colors and fabrics...also, they offer a lot of knits. Very comfortable and well made, perfect to wear with scarves or chunky jewelry. I've bought quite a few things from them (esp. from their shop in Marlow, and today's Marlow posts reminded of this thread). I've been very pleased with the way they feel, look, fit and hold up to repeated cleaning. Not cheap, but if you surf the sale racks you can find some bargains.
www.saharalondon.co.uk

I bought some really great stuff at Oltre, which carries the Oviesse brand (I went in Verona, but think there is something in Venice). If you are tall then I highly recommend looking in London. I am 5ft 10in and have bought lots of pants in London.

Pity you are not hitting Iceland. That is some great big and tall shopping.

For fairly cheap to moderate prices, the C&A dept. stores have large sizes in Europe. I think that is British, but they are all over -- I know they are in Paris and in Germany. Their regular sizes are even cut pretty large so that I wear a smaller size than I usually do most of the time. However, I noticed they do have a separate large size dept.

They have a lot of casual clothing and clothes for all ages. I just bought a couple linen blouses there a few weeks ago for 15 euro each, and a couple Tencel or linen skirts for 10-15 euro each, also. Those were all on summer sale, though.

C+A no longer operate in Britain: simply couldn't keep up on the fashion front.

They're actually Dutch, but their largest operation's in Germany.

I LOVE Marina Rinaldi - and always buy it in Europe as it is so much cheaper than in Australia and there's a much bigger range. There's a big store in London and a smaller - but excellent store in Venice (just off Piazza San Marco - exit the Piazza under the clock tower and walk about 25m, it's on your left). I'm not sure about the other cities you're visiting. In Australia they have stores in Melbourne (Toorak) & Sydney - but as I said it's very expensive in Aust and the range is usually poor.

I like Oltre as well ! It has very young and fashionable clothes, not the baggy stuff you find in many other plus size stores. Probably because they have smaller sizes as well. An Italian friend took me to a store in a mall near Bergamo. According to their website (www.oltre.com) there's a store in the Auchan mall in Mestre (that's the town on the mainland right next to Venice)

I usually think Marina Rinaldi is a bit too old, but their sports collection is ok.

I like some stuff in the H&M BiB (Big Is Beautiful) collection as well.

oops! Marina Rinaldi is on the RIGHT walking from the Piazza towards the Rialto. Sorry!

Thanks again. Only two weeks to go now.

Another chain is Elena Miro Persona...
lower priced than M.R.

Hi there. I hope you had a wonderful trip. I have a shop in Adelaide called WOMANLY which specialises in great clothes in sizes 16-22. www.womanly.com.au Do send me an email if you'd like to come and have a look!