I recently read the authorised biography of Hattie Jacques in which she reportedly said she had no idea what her statistics were. She could not buy clothes to fit her off-the-peg and employed a dressmaker to make all her clothes. In later life she managed to find a shop in New York that catered for outsize ladies where she shopped regularly. Apparently she received regular letters from women asking to buy her old clothes from her as they couldn’t find clothes to fit them. It just seems outrageous that such a large proportion of Customers was completely ignored by the fashion industry. Although ladies statistics are increasing globally at the moment, back in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s there must have been a sizable population of women that just were not catered for.
Hattie reportedly said
“don’t dress quietly, just to minimise your size. If you are big, you are going to look big anyway. And if you have a colourful personality, then for heaven’s sake play up to it.”
Well said Hattie!! That’s exactly our philosophy at Vida Moda. Hattie thought it was difficult to be fat and feminine at the same time. I think the clothing industry in Britain has moved on since then but it has been very slow and has along way to go. It is easy to understand why someone like Hattie was made to feel that way. In my opinion she was a beautiful woman who did dress femininely in beautiful silks and velvets but the majority of women would not have been able to afford a dressmaker.
While things have changed and progress has been made it is still challenging to find beautiful clothes if you are large and that’s why I opened a shop online, to give women like me the opportunity to have some “designer” choice!
Joanna
Excerpt taken from “Hattie” The Authorised biography of Hattie Jacques by Andy Merriman ©2007
