Movies and television say that shopping is the best form of therapy. Going to the mall is a highlight- It's fun and exciting. There's tons of stores with beautiful new clothes, shoes, and handbags. Shopping should be fun, or at the very least you should be able to go in and find something to buy even if just a shirt or a dress. But imagine being plus size and all these wonderful stores that took the time to style their manequins all cute, or have a great sale that draws people in, not having anything for you. Most malls have 1-2 stores that cater to the plus size girl. Lane Bryant and Torrid, to be exact. Imagine trying on dress after dress and finding nothing or, worse, going to store and bring told they can't accommodate you. This is the life of a plus size girl. We go from store to store shopping and most of the time we leave disappointed. Being a plus size girl and finding clothes has definitely come a long way. There's so many online brands and bloggers that have made brands to try and make things more inclusive. It's funny the word inclusive is used for more than just race, gender, or sexual orientation. Our malls don't cater to the plus size girl. Most stores don't have anything for us. So we have resorted to have to shopping online mostly to be able to stay trendy. I was ignorant and never realized how much malls and stores don't think of me as a customer. It actually wasn't until a couple weeks ago that I really dealt with this head on.

I'm used to ordering clothes online. It's kind of what I enjoy doing and I was okay with the process. I love when I receive and open packages to see what I ordered. It is fun and a little exciting. Until one of your packages isn't correct. I order from asos all the time- It's my favonte online retailer. I probably place an order once a month. Not once have I ever received an order that was incorrect or didn't have what I purchased....until now. I placed an order on a Sunday because I had a wedding to attend that Saturday. I spent over $200 so I could try on options and so I could get free 2 day shipping. If you are going to be like Amazon and offer 2 day shipping im going to use it. Two days later I check the tracking and it says 'damaged we are contacting retailer.' Im starting to panic a little because it's Tuesday and the wedding is Saturday and I have nothing to wear. I tell myself it's only Tuesday, I can place another order tonight and not have to worry it'll be here by Thursday or Friday at the latest. No big deal. I place another order this time i think it was $300+ because some of the other items I got before were sold out, so I had to find others. Girls like options, so I wasn't just going to buy one dress and call it a day. Thank goodness for a credit card! So I placed this order and and went to bed. The next day I woke up, checked my email, and saw that my items had shipped. Wow that was quick I said to myself, and I went on with my day. Later that evening I pulled that email up and it said my items will arrive ONE WEEK LATER. WHAT?!?! This couldn't be real! I had to have been imagining something.

The one store that I love and trust and recommend to everyone was seriously doing this when I selected 2 day shipping. I grabbed my computer and immedaity started chatting with someone to see what was going on. I didnt want to go shopping at the mall, but I knew I could if it was my last resort. Customer service didnt do anything, they just said they were busy and things were delayed; sorry. I knew my only options were to wear something I had: boring; or go to the mall on Friday. Friday afternoon came and that's what I did. I took my happy go lucky ass to the mall and come to find out that I only would be going to 2 stores. Lane Bryant and Torrid. I was instantly pissed and thought how did I drive all the way out here, not far 20 min, but still and theres NOTHING. Carsons is going out of business so that store is a tranwreck. Sears- are they even open anymore? H&M's plus size section is literally a clothing rack in the middle of the store. I wasn't trying to spend 200 on a dress at Macy's. Torrid was way to casual and even though there are times that I find things at Lane Bryant, today was not that day. I walked through the entire mall and spent a total of 30 minutes in there and I didn't find anything. I felt hopeless and wondered to myself how is this okay? With over half of US women being a size 12 or higher, how are there not more stores that cater to the majority? I left defeated and angry and realized the actual reason I don't go into the mall anymore. It's not that I dont like the appeal of it. It's that it doesnt cater to me anymore. I drove home thinking to myself if traffic isn't bad going to Chicago maybe I could go to Eloquii, as there's always something there; but of course Taylor Swift was in town and it was a Friday afternoon so traffic was horrendous. I just went home and to my suprise theres an asos package. The one I ordered on Tuesday that they said wouldn't be there until the following week. I open it up and there's only 2 dresses. Mind you, I purchased 4 dresses, and of the 2 dresses only 1 of them is correct. I have never felt so exhausted from trying to find a dress for a wedding in my life. Finding my wedding dress was easier than this. This isn't how things are supposed to be. I understand that plenty of retail stores are failing, I swear we hear about a new one closing every month, but everyone wants to blame the internet and online sales. No one wants to take the time to understand their customer or understand the point that I made earlier: that over half of US women are a size 12 or above. Make your clothes more inclusive and on trend, and maybe just maybe we will start shopping in malls again. 

One of the ASOS dresses that I got worked out and it was beautiful. I received so many compliments and loved the color and style of the dress. If only people knew how much effort trying to find this specific dress took. Due to all of this, I'm very aware of stores not selling things for me now. It's sad that it took all of this for me to remember why I do most, if not all my shopping, online. I know more and more stores are starting to carry plus size clothing, but it would be nice to go into a mall where the majority of the stores cater to everyone: men & women of all shapes and sizes. A girl can dream!