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How Do I Choose the Best plus Size Summer Clothes?

Kelly Ferguson
Kelly Ferguson

Finding the best plus size summer clothes is often a matter of trying on several different items of clothing to find the best, most comfortable fit. Summer clothing in general is typically lightweight, with short sleeves and pant legs instead of long ones. Comfortable plus size summer clothes should also be made of a breathable, perhaps stretchy fabric. It also helps if the clothing is light in color, both because bright, cheerful colors are popular in summer and because the clothes will tend to feel cooler than dark colored clothes.

Finding clothes that fit correctly can be a problem for everyone, because every person's body is shaped slightly differently. For someone searching for plus size clothing, it becomes even more important to find clothing that has been cut correctly for his or her body type. People tend to store weight in different areas of the body. Some people may store it in the abdomen, while others might have a tiny waist and larger hips. It is often difficult to judge how a piece of clothing is cut without testing it by trying it on.

Women who wear plus size clothing may find a greater selection online or through catalogs.
Women who wear plus size clothing may find a greater selection online or through catalogs.

The fabric that plus size summer clothes are made of typically is light and breathable, often cotton or something similar. Wearing non-breathable fabrics in the summertime can cause overheating and sweating, both of which are very unpleasant. Look for natural fabrics instead of synthetic, and judge if the clothing feels airy and breathable enough while trying it on.

In the summer, heat from the sun can be one of the most uncomfortable things to deal with. Wearing light colored plus size summer clothes helps reflect some of the light and heat energy from the sun, leading to a cooler, more comfortable experience. Conversely, wearing dark colored clothing can be very unpleasant because the dark colors absorb heat energy from the sun instead of reflecting it.

Some women enjoy switching to light, flowing dresses or skirts in the summer instead of hot, restrictive pants. This can be both a stylish and comfortable solution. Men can achieve a similar effect by wearing loose exercise shorts instead of traditional blue jeans or thicker materials. Both men and women can benefit from wearing sandals instead of closed shoes, because a lot of body heat can be released through the feet out of sandals, whereas regular shoes trap heat.

Discussion Comments

pastanaga

@browncoat - That's nice in theory, but when it is incredible difficult to get any kind of plus size designer clothes it can still get quite depressing. Even if you don't take it personally, you still have to wear whatever you manage to find and that can be humiliating.

Summer clothes are particularly bad for this. I remember a couple of years ago the "fat-kini" was modeled by a few women and suddenly everyone wanted to buy one. But there were none there to buy. Not a single store seemed to want to rise to this demand for a particular type of clothing.

I just don't understand why not. I mean, that's the way capitalism is supposed to work, right? If we have to put up with the rest of it, we should at least be able to buy the products we want and need when we want and need them.

browncoat

@MrsPramm - This doesn't bother me so much anymore, at least personally, because I finally realized that if clothing doesn't fit, that's not my problem. I used to get really depressed whenever I went shopping and I didn't fit the clothes. Now I just get annoyed. They are supposed to fit me. I'm not supposed to change in order to fit the clothes.

And it's bad for their sales. They just lost a customer if they don't have anything that fits me. I could care less what number they put on it.

MrsPramm

What really makes it difficult is that a lot of different companies shift their sizes depending on the impression they want to make on the customer. If they want to coax women into buy plus size dresses, they might make their sizes run big, so that women think they are fitting a smaller size. If they want to make their clothes "exclusive" they might make them run smaller, so they can shame who they believe to be the wrong kinds of women into not buying their clothes.

They really need to just have a standard, universal size and leave it at that.

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    • Women who wear plus size clothing may find a greater selection online or through catalogs.
      By: Hugo Félix
      Women who wear plus size clothing may find a greater selection online or through catalogs.