WOMEN'S CLOTHING 'CURVY' The word fits

The new marketing message: Be proud of your plus-size.
By JOHN REINAN
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Like the diner who washes down a Big Mac with a diet soda, American consumers are wavering between thick and thin.
Even as weight-loss books dominate the best-seller lists and the federal government declares war on obesity, corporate marketers are urging consumers to embrace their plus-size selves -- and consumers are listening.
"I am a curvaceous woman, proud to be one," declares actress and singer Queen Latifah in an ad for Curvation, a new line of lingerie for larger women.
"Guess what, we're not all a size 6," says an ad for a new Always brand panty liner, made 50 percent bigger to fit women size 14 and above.
Those kinds of messages reinforce a growing attitude among consumers, especially women, that it's OK to be big.
"In the old days, larger-size people would want to look tailored and presentable and almost forgettable," said Mary Van Note, a partner in the Minneapolis consulting firm Red. "Now, you see these size-16 girls showing off their belly rings."
Getting comfortable
It's not news that Americans are getting heavier. Two-thirds of us are overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The average man is 30 pounds heavier than the average man of 50 years ago, while the average woman over that time gained 7 inches in the waist and 6 inches in the hips, according to SizeUSA, the first major sizing study of Americans since World War II.
Yet increasingly, consumers appear to be comfortable in their bigger skins. They might have long-term plans to lose weight and get healthier, but in the meantime, they're not apologizing for their plus-size bodies.
"When I was younger, I remember buying a size 10 dress and having it be sort of scandalous," said Dawn Orr of Lakeville, Minn., shopping for clothes at Torrid, a plus-size specialty store in the Mall of America. "I had to hide it under my arm."
Now 30 and wearing a size 18, Orr said she's happy with her body: "Things are a lot more realistic now."
Sales
That sort of attitude is an opportunity for marketers, especially in the apparel business. According to the consulting firm NPD Group, sales of plus-size clothing accounted for 25 percent of the U.S. apparel market in 2003, growing at nearly a double-digit clip, while clothing sales overall were flat.
Sales of plus-size women's clothing totaled $17.9 billion last year, while retailers rang up about $4.8 billion in sales of big and tall menswear.
Designers and marketers have shrewdly changed the terms of the discussion, said Susan Ashdown, an associate professor of textiles and apparel at Cornell University.
"To use the tag line 'curves' instead of 'plus size' -- that's excellent marketing," Ashdown said. "You're making it seem more womanly, and in that way more appealing."
Red's Van Note agreed, calling the whole size debate "a big emotional sinkhole for women. Marketers are trying to use that to their advantage and get away from the old terms."
Consumer attitudes
Also at work is a long-term shift in consumer attitudes about fitness and health, said Maggie Shea, another Red partner.
"In the past, diets were very short-term focused," Shea said. "A lot of people would hold off on purchases, like, 'I'm not going to buy new clothes until I get down to a size 8.'
"Now people are onto the idea that smart dieting takes some time, so you might as well do some things along the way. Buy yourself the more luxurious underwear, get some nice clothes that fit.
"It's two sides of the same coin. People are bigger than they have been and want to be, so they need to buy clothes that fit -- but they're still chasing the elusive diet."