It’s so hard for me to break down my internalized fatphobia. Especially because it’s so embedded within my family. I’m 20 but anytime I see my parents they talk to me about how I should diet and stuff. At one point in my teen years I didn’t eat for months and lost 20 pounds, my mom told me “I’m no longer embarrassed to go out with you” I’ll never forget it. She told me to keep up whatever I was doing and even when I told her I wasn’t eating, she wouldn’t comment. I used to suck in for years and it bothered my sister. At one point she told my dad to tell me to stop because it’s not good for you. He said it’s a good work out… My sister is super skinny and so are my brothers. I’m the odd one out. But whenever I see a Jessica Blair video, I at least try something on that shows my stomach. It feels weird every time, because of course fat women are made to feel almost slutty for showing off the “horrendous” tummy. Even if I don’t wear it out, it’s something I’d never try otherwise. Breaking down fatphobia within yourself isn’t fast or easy, but Jessica Blair makes me feel beautiful nonetheless.
i’m so sorry you have to experience that, especially from your parents. no parent should treat their child like that, but unfortunately fatphobia is SO ingrained in people that they literally don’t care *how* people lose weight or what’s actually “healthy” for you, but rather just that you are/look thin. i’m so glad you’re slowly trying to combat your internalized fatphobia and are starting to wear more of the stuff you like!! you have no idea how much that means to me 🥺💗💗🫶
“ Fatphobia “ you mens your family wanted you to be healthy ? And not grow up to have weak knees and etc from being fat ? Fucking ridiculous praying my child doesn’t end up a whole mess like youse lot
@@asatanicmechanichow you look literally tells you about how healthy you are 🤦🏼♀️ no one should be model skinny but a good weight for there height and toned being fat isn’t healthy I don’t care how much you work out it isn’t healthy
@@r.1.336is is going to be a long comment and you probably wont care. But maybe i can teach you something or open your mind. I also wont be responding to any comments after this so if you want to engage in an argument or discourse i’m not going to. i see 17 comments of yours on this channel, spanning across multiple videos, and all negative and judgmental and not helpful constructive or really having any point. you clearly don’t like fat people and don’t think they should exist and you want to bully them out of existence in the guise of “health.” So why do you keep coming back to her channel to be negative? For someone who supposedly cares about health, you sure are engaging in an activity that isn’t good for your own mental health. Just leave this channel and leave this girl and other fat people alone! Your physical appearance CAN be a judgement of health (like having a yellowish tint to the skin could be jaundice) but it is NEVER the full story and you will NEVER be able to tell if someone is healthy or unhealthy just by looking at them. Take body builders. Surely these people with such incredible physique are healthy? Nope. Talk to any bodybuilder and they will tell you the hell and physical and mental anguish they go through to get their bodies in that shape. That’s just one example of many that we as people should not judge or make inferences on people’s health based on their outer appearance. Anyone who has ever struggled with their weight, health, or relationship to food knows that losing weight is not quick or easy. People of all sizes deserve to wear clothes they like and feel like they can express themselves. And they deserve to make videos like this, critically examining the fashion industry and sharing their experiences. Plus any behavior change expert will tell you that being mean and bullying other people or yourself into changing is only going to lead to an unhealthy cycle of short term motivation leading to burnout and relapse. Kindness and genuine care for one another is the best way to initiate sustainable change in your life. I don’t understand why people waste their time over and over, hate watching content and insulting strangers. It’s not good for your health so if you actually care I would stop that❤
My great grandma, and my grandma are both bigger women, always have been, I always get pissed anytime someone says “everyone was skinny back then” because people like my family exist
I think it's partly because fashion focuses so much on "city people". Both sides of my family were farmers and on pictures almost all of the women are plus size for the time.
As a plus size teen in the 90s I wore mainly mens clothing. My choice to express myself through clothing was jeans, band t-shirts and stealing flannels from my Dad's closet in the mornings. Thank goodness grunge was in fashion! Lol 😝
Same! I also remember the late 80s/early 90s period when as a fat child I was encouraged to wear exclusively shoulder padded oversized tunics over tights 😅
There is so much survivability bias (items that survived time) with fashion and as a result this topic is always looked over!!!! This video is wonderful!!
there really is!! the only reason i even knew some of the popular plus size styles in certain decades was bc of the people who were selling old clothing catalogues on ebay and etsy :”) it’s so unfortunate
Lol remember back in the 10’s when it was so taboo for fat women to wear bikinis that they did the whole thing that men do with guyliner, manbuns etc and called them ”fatkinis” 💀💀
Imagine being a size 14 in the 1980s ! Everything was too matronly. I was lucky to find amazing things and become quite a hunter in thrift stores to create stylish clothing. FYI love Shiny by Nature and Nooworks. Both are women owned !
my mom was a size 10/12 in the 80s and growing up she’d always tell me how hard it was to find clothes but i had no idea how tiny a 10 or 12 actually was until i saw photos of her in her early 20s 😭 also i love shiny by nature! alex is so cool
I remember as a pre-teen I needed a new winter coat. This was back in the early 1980s. There were no plus size stores or options for women in our town or anywhere close. Not to mention the rest of my family were super thin and I was the odd one out so they had no idea how to handle this. I vividly remember going into a store with my mom to look at coats and the sales person looked at me and said….maybe try the men’s section for her. Omg I was so embarrassed. But that was my only option. No cute styles, colors like my sister got. The only cute clothing I had were bought for me by my aunt and uncle who lived in the Boston area which had a couple options. They’d send a box once every couple years. I think they felt bad that my parents didn’t even try to find me cute, feminine clothing. I’ve lost a lot of weight over the years but I am still a size 14. My largest size was 310lbs, size 28W. Lane Bryant was my only option as a teen, young adult. Very, very matronly back then. There are so many options now which is nice. I notice that to this day, and I’m in my 50s, I have this “hoarding” mentality when it comes to clothing. Meaning, if it fits me I tend to get this strong urge to buy it even if it’s not perfect or I don’t love it. I think I feel this because of how scarce things were for me as a child and nothing fit. I have to really talk myself out buying something. Now I leave it at the store and if I’m still thinking about it a week later I’ll go back, try it on again and see how I feel.
controversial maybe but I feel like there's a pretty direct connection between the decline of supportive and body shaping garments (ie corsets) and the rise of fatphobia, bad plus size fashion, and the diet industry. As long as the idea of a fashionable silhouette that changes every decade exists (which i suspect will continue as long as fashion more broadly exists), i would much rather live in a world where everyone knows that that silhouette is achieved through corsets and padding than a world where it's achieved through starvation, over-exercising, and high risk plastic surgery (and augmented by padding and shapewear anyway). i really think that there's a strong correlation and at least partial causation between the loss of corsets and the shift from "flesh is plastic" meaning it can be molded by clothes and "flesh is plastic" meaning size/shape is a choice and therefore can and should be controlled through any means possible (something we know is nearly impossible) that occurred in the early 20th century
Thank you so much for talking about this topic and just being you. As a plus size black women I always felt ignored and struggled with clothes. Finding you and so many others in the past few years has changed my life. Trying to love myself and my body everyday. Thank you 💖
firmly rejecting every label anyone else tries to put on me. i'm not plus size, i'm normal sized. my body is normal, my eating habits are finally normal, and my clothing size is normal. love this breakdown! great video!
I needed this 🥺 I recently went to H&M to buy a swimming suit. They didn’t go past a small XL where I lived. I couldn’t even get them past my hips and I just let in full tears for almost a day. Because I felt so ashamed. I shouldn’t have to feel like that. Bikini season and trying on clothes is literally so traumatising sometimes.
To be honest, I feel the same with H&M I’m in my late 30s and all the clothes are too big. I’ve cried after trying to buy clothes because they make me feel awful. They are not very inclusive on either end x
I was a plus size teen in the 90’s and would often just have to wear men’s clothes or Lane Bryant. Fashionable stuff in straight sizes then went to an xl (14) maybe. It wasn’t until the late 90’s/early 2000’s that specifically catalogues like Delia’s, Alloy and Girlfriends LA started offering juniors plus sizes.
thank you for ur insight!! that’s so interesting. the fashion industry 100% knew there was a market in junior/adult plus sizes but they fr just did NOT care (and a lot of them still don’t)
Maybe it's cuz I come from a family with larger framed and plus sized women who are confident: I think our bodies are so beautiful and powerful and we aren't the "less fortunate" body type compared to the now fashionable slim figure but rather just another body type that's beautiful in it's own way
Video essay is definitely your jam!! That was great, thoughtful, and extensive! Great job! Do more please!! And just know. As a woman in her 40s just now accepting her body, I just bought a tie to wear as a scarf because of your fashion choices!! Keep it up! And I 2nd Unique Vintage!
Excellent. I grew up in the 60's and there was ZERO plus size clothing. For teens. If you wanted a rib knit top or bell bottoms, you had to learn to sew. A popular retailer then was Jay Jacobs and they didn't carry much over a size 11 (much smaller than today's sizes). Fat or curvy people just didn't exist outside of "mom styles". A friend of the family was a buyer and would find clothes in NY for my mom and me. Even then it was hard. A lot of people were forced into sewing. The first time things eased up was with Wonder Woman and curvy was in again. Liz Claiborne was the first to have thousands of women show up for individual measurements for each size (rather than add an inch all over) and I think was one of the brand pioneers in extended sizing (size 18). I'm sure I read articles about this. DVF wrap dress was marketed for "every woman" (meaning larger sizes) at the time. Tim Gunn might be an interesting person to tap for more history. You missed the fact that Oprah Winfrey had to have her clothes custom made and the year she had nothing to wear on the red carpet. That deserves a special mention on the timeline. But in the 60's and 70's I had to make peace with wearing men's clothes, sew it or fit in (which wasn't an option because I have curves at any size). Progress has been made, but it's pathetic how much. Not when the average size is 16. That means 50% of women are left out of "fashion". I have no use for any designer or house that's not inclusive and 90% of them aren't.
Well that’s makes sense why high waisted pants where called “mom jeans” for a long time. and weirdly enough an SNL skit is what made the name “mom jeans” more well known
Hiya, I grew up in the 2000s (born in 1994.) I would also add that at that time, it was unthinkable to be wearing any pants other than low-rise/hip huggers, including fat people. If it wasn't already low-rise, we'd roll down the waistband until it was, or cover it with a cami pulled down low past our regular shirts. I think I had 1 or 2 pairs of jeans that were higher rise, and I would be MORTIFIED if my shirts ever rose up too far haha! It was like that for sooo long, I think it started around 2000/2001 and lasted right up to 2013 or so, when high-waisted began to take over. So for us, the perception was quite literally that high-waisted and midrise jeans were the kind of unfashionable thing you'd only see your mom wearing, as a relic of the past. So I think the association of fatness with motherlyness is real, I also would say a big part of it is just that low-rise was such a MASSIVE inescapable trend!
Your style of presentation is so engaging and informative! I can really see the passion you put into your research. I always look forward to your videos
I remember when Penningtons/Addition-Elle became more prevalent in Canada in the early 2000s. It was so liberating! I was a teenager in the 80’s when being size 16 or 18 meant you couldn’t shop in the same stores as your friends - because clothing sizes for young women stopped at a size 15. My mother made the clothing that couldn’t be found off-the-rack. I wore a lot of jersey knits (t-shirt material). If there were ladies “big and tall” stores - my friends’ mothers weren’t taking us anywhere near them for back-to-school shopping and my mother didn’t know where to find them. I was so happy when Torrid came to Canada…Penningtons had become the land of frumpy styles for old ladies and Addition-Elle was missing the mark entirely when it came to fashion for aging goths. Now, though, we can shop between these stores and hopefully find basic fashions that can then be modified to suit. I’m sorry there still seems to be a lack of trendy fashions for younger folk, but at 50, I’m finding I have more choices than ever before. (Right when I’m going into the me-made wardrobe trend, of course 😂) Now if we could just get underwear manufacturers to acknowledge that bra sizes don’t stop at a DD…
The point is No matter what, be healthy mentally and physically Wear whatever makes you fele beautiful. If having extra weight has not affected your health or threatened your life and you are ok by having them, then there is no reason to lose them to fit in. If someone disagrees that's not an issue as long ad they do not spread negativity and try to demote an overweight person on the internet because "it ruins their aesthetic" while watching them is THEIR choice. That is not freedom of speech, it is bullying. Keep up with the great wokr
Gotta tell you, I grew up in the 80’s so if you thought that the 2010’s sucked, imagine the horror of my existence; at least with imagination you could create an insane wardrobe. Seventeen magazine recommended that I shop the mens section-yep-1986/87/88-somewhere in there. Absolutely unbelievable! I’m so grateful for the options now but it would really have been nice to have the mindset and fashion availability in my youth-but ageism is just another seat on the Titanic for us. Love your channel!❤
Longtime shorts viewer, but this was the first time full video of yours that I've seen. This is amazing, you are so well-educated and talented at sharing information effectively! This was upsetting to hear but definitely necessary and gave me important background information for consuming more of your content in the future. Gotta unlearn the social biases!! Keep it up ❤
Hailey Reese also says "hi angels" in the beginning of her videos, and I've never heard of Mina le?? until today reading this comment... there can only be so many ways to do a thumbnail and entro? What's she supposed to say hey shit bags!!
Hailey Reese also says "hi angels" in the beginning of her videos, and I've never heard of Mina le?? until today reading THIS comment... there can only be so many ways to do a thumbnail and intro? What's she supposed to say hey shit bags! I'm sure Mina le doesn't care as much as you do
90s plus size fashion: my mother is 6' 1" and overall large framed. She was a size 12 and hospitalized for anorexia. Therefore, for my entire childhood she was plus size. It was awful. It was all stirrup pants and sparkly sweaters. She chose to usually wear men's wranglers and plain t shirt.
To add on to the 90s section: That was when I noticed a few new plus size brands emerging. Avenue technically started in the 80s but took off in the 90s, Fashion Bug was another big one, and then Lane Bryant was still the primary plus size store. Also with the internet still being new catalogs were the primary option if you didn't have a nearby plus size store. One big difference I've noticed in plus size brands between the 90s and now is that the standard plus size range in the 90s was size 14-28 or 30. While some major brands have expanded that to size 32+ now, a lot of the newer plus size brands, and plus size lines at straight size stores, stop at a size 22 or 24. So while there are significantly more places that offer plus size clothing, anyone over a size 24 usually shops at the big name stores still.
Please make more content like this, great to download and listen to when out (when people are more likely to feel self conscious and need to hear someone speaking sense 😅)
This was so enlightening. I see what my mom had to endure in the 1960's and 1970's being practically invisible. She really projected her fear and self-hate onto me. Videos like yours (and professional counseling) helps me undo this terrible programming. You are doing God's work with these videos. You are an angel.
I would argue that fatfobia in Europirian fashion, hat a massive growth in the victorian era. Which already began in the 1830s. Due to the industrial revolution (1760-1840) men started to work in entrepreneureship, and hat to leave the house more for work. Insted of land-owning and rank, that hat previously been the only indicator of status. This shift also meant greater dividing between men and women. Where women took on the female role know as "the Angel of the house". Victorian fashion empaside the tiny waist by use of a corset. And the small waist was further empaside by a crinoline (an underskith that grew in size, in the victorian era) and the invetion of the bustle in 1868. However the love for the tiny waist, and the small figure, goes Even further back. The corset was inveted between 1500-1600, which lead to women at the french court, idealizing the image of a small waist. I think it is Hard to pinpoint ecxactly when fatfobia in fashion started, since different parts of the world hat different body ideals at the same period of time. However, I think that the french (and orther Europirian countries, that where influenced by french fashion ideals) history of idealizing the thin figure goes a long time back... And I recommend this book "fashion the whole story" by Marnie fogg, which is my source. It doesn't discuss fatfobias history in fashion, but rather fashion history in general from different parts of the world, and the fashion trends that surrounded that period. The book goes from 500 bc-2020 Edit: Also worth nothing is that the look on fatness was probally very different between the court and citizens. If you where a normal citizen who suffered from povertry or limited resources you probally viewed fatness as a sign of wealth. But if you where at the court and hat wealth and resources you most likely viewed fatness accourding to wathever the body ideal was at the time.
It isn’t fatphobia omg it just isn’t natural to be attracted to fat people it isn’t healthy , wanting a small waist is what everyone wants it just looks nicer full stop
This video makes me think about my Italian great grandmother. A beautiful plump woman. She immigrated to the US in the early 1900s and I can only imagine that she sewed her own clothes. She sadly passed away at the age of twenty six (seven pregnancies one after the other resulting in a cerebral hemorrhage with the last) She did not make it into the 1920s but her daughters including my grandmother conformed to the cultural norms. Actually both of my grandmothers were tiny, but my other grandmother had an eating disorder and later body shamed me as a child and younger teen. That grandmother was a talented seamstress and made my eighth grade graduation dress but refused to make it fitted. My mom recently gave me the pattern which was a 1986 Brooke Shields prom dress. My grandmother couldn’t stand that I had grown huge breasts and wanted to hide my curves. All of my grandparents were products of their time and the fat shaming was not limited to my grandmothers. I also wore a lot of vintage (1940s- 60s) during the 80s and early 90s and it was always exciting when I was able to find anything that fit. More often than not the larger sized vintage items are homemade.
this was really interesting and well put together, watched it all in one go! (which is saying something considering my attention span lol) it's kind of ironic how there seems to be more available info about plus size fashion in the 1880s than 1950s onward since yknow...the whole technology boom and the invention of tv and the literal internet?? truly wild. also the origin of mode's first cover is so touching yet sad omg 😭
thank you for this. i'm learning so much, video essays are definetely up your alley ! your voice is so nice to listen to, as well!!! thanks for all your work Jess 🌹💗
I deal in all sizes of vintage, one of the few people that do. Most of the plus-size pieces I come across are homemade. However, most of these pieces are colorful and fun
Such a beautifully made video & you’re absolutely gorgeous! The heroin chic era was interesting to note because even going further back a lot of housewife’s struggled with addiction issues (amphetamines) which had the added “benefit” of wiping out your appetite & keeping you thin
So in the late 60's and throughout the 70's you didn't buy fashionable clothes. You either tinkered with Butterwick or McCalls patterns or your wore polyester pull one from Layne Bryant. It wasn't until the early 80's that "interesting" clothing came about. The catalog Spiegel's had amazing choices. I still have a coat from back then. Liz Claiborne started designing plus sized fashion back then too. You could find her excellent but limited clothing hidden away on the top floor of Strawbridge and Clothing or tucked in some cramped back corner at Bloomingdales or Bamburger's. Her jeans back then were the best. Of course thriftng men's clothing or stalking Army/Navy stores was also an option. I'm 63. What a difference now.
That's the way I remember it too. Claiborne, Ralph Lauren, DVF were the first to extend size range. In the 60s and 70s if you wanted a rib knit tee shirt or bell bottoms, you had to learn how to sew. There was nothing.
OML your room is soo beautiful 🤩 so are you ^^ (not in a romantic way tho lol) you really have helped me feel more confident in my body I love your content and these videos fit you so well :>
27:50 Chubbies is also the word used for when there's a group of chub fish (yes, the species name is 'chub'). And considering chub fish are social creatures who live longer when they have friends... yeah, chubbies kind of works, because although I'm not plus sized, I can speak from experience as someone with an eating disorder: having other people around to give you a reality check that you're not grotesque and the media's standards of what a good-looking person is isn't realistic does a lot of good for your mental health. The great part about RU-vid is that now, you can be that for your viewers, who might otherwise not have someone.
I worked for Lane Bryant in Philadelphia from 1977-79. I worked shipping snd receiving. After the goods were received, counted and tagged we took them up to the floors. There was this one manager in the intimate apparel department. She’d always asked if we got taupe pantyhose in, because that ass would be in asking for them. I hated when she asked that! There was a floor that was called the tall and chubby floor. The chubby section was for children. I remember a model for their fashion magazine who the called The Big Beautiful Doll. I believe there was a short lived PBS show on Sunday nights called roundabout, it featured the Big Beautiful Doll in it. That was just before I stopped working for Lane Bryant.
as someone who is attracted to bigger ladies I would find this insane even if i lived at the time. i even liked big girls before it became more popular to publicise it around 2013-2015. People come in different sizes and shapes. its more about genes than it is about diet and I hope more people realise this. and there will always be a man for every woman and a woman for every man.
I was a plus-sized teenager in the 90s. Full stop. 😬☠ I LOVE this video so much that I want it to be a full-length, full color, hard bound coffee table book! I'm really curious about the pockets of missing info (like 70s and 90s decades). I haven't looked through your sources yet, but I'm wondering if there might be more info available in scholarly databases (sorry, I have a PhD in English and also teach, so that was bound to show up). And I'm so here for reviving MODE magazine! GAH! Like my brain is seriously spinning with this stuff. Have you delved into any further pursuits of publishing with your research? I'm here to be part of it!! Side note, did you ever watch the show Ugly Betty? The fashion magazine at the center of the storyline (which is set in NYC) is called MODE, I think. Coincidence?
ahh thank you! and i’m really curious about those pockets too. i have a sociology degree and did my senior research on anti-fat bias and the intersections between gender, race, and socioeconomic status so i feel 😭 i did use google scholar for quite a bit of my sources/info and i couldn’t find anything! i hope i’m wrong though and there’s an article i missed cause it’s such important history & it’d be so interesting to read :”) also i’ve never watched ugly betty but that does make me side-eye a little
@@lovejessicablair I can cruise through some databases and see what I can find (since I teach dual enrollment high school classes, I have full access to the college databases that my students get college credits through). If anything new comes up, I'll let you know! I'm going to be looking through things like JSTOR and the like.
Ghost Girl Goods is a small Canadian brand with pretty good size inclusivity. All of their stuff is super cute and they sell the same clothes for straight and plus sizes which I appreciate
I was a teen in the 90s in the netherlands and most stores didn't carry anything beyond a dutch size 42 (US size 10 according to a chart I just found on google), some even didn't carry a size 42. That was my size when I was mid teens and I remember going to a very new and hip store and could not find a size 42 in anything, then asking the store staff and the lady said "oh we don't carry that size" dripping with poorly disguised disgust. My mother was with me and we were both stumped. Nowadays the biggest size most stores carry in the regular size line is 44 (US 12), some even carry a 46 (US 14).
I am a plus size woman, currently a 20/22, I have always been plus sized. Imagine being a preteen and teen in the late 70’s and 80’s. We were relegated to wearing moo moos,literally…only grandma clothes! We have come a long way, I only wish that the prices now weren’t so high!
Heres the list of places Ive collected as a US22, not including the places you listed Anthropologie Lucy & Yak Shiny by Nature Madewell Nasty Gal Trash Queen Rebdolls City Chic Baltic Born Loud Bodies Aulieude Jessakae C'estd Asoph Tyler McGillivray Arula Mango Old navy does plus but we're beefing rn, same with Modcloth. Lulus also has a plus section
I was in college at the end of the 90s and worked at Lane Bryant for a couple years (1997-1999). There really was a mini-era of plus-size fashion positivity going on. Mode magazine was instrumental in that for sure. It was legit. Lane Bryant was pretty partnered-up with the mag and did somewhat of a re-branding and started selling stuff that wasn’t just ‘matronly’ old white lady style. It was heinously over-expensive to dress well but for the first time there were at least some options for regular people at the malls and such if you were willing to spend some $$. I had fun helping style the people who had no idea what to try on because they had been only wearing shapeless sacks or ill-fitting men’s clothes most of their lives. It was a real sisterhood vibe, having fun playing dress-up and feeling good trying on clothes when that wasn’t really a thing available before. The plus-size bump-up into higher fashion territory was sadly short-lived, just like Mode magazine, but I can attest to the good vibes and excitement of those few years. After that bubble burst it took quite a few years for the industry to regain that ground which was a total bummer to live through.
The lack of plus size representation during the great depression and war years was surely because of rationing. A lot of people became food insecure, so most wouldn't want to wear bolder garments that amplified fuller figures when those around them starved. Also there was many of articles about altering clothes as many lost weight in that era. Edit: spelling
my grandma was a plus sized woman but she was always dressed so nicely!!!!! i inherited a larger body since childhood too so its been a struggle similarly to you, but i wanted to thankyou for creating content like this as it has been quite lonely not being understood by ppl and their micro aggressions towards me haha
Growing up in the 60's, I had few places to buy clothes. Really wasn't a fan of the "Chubby Department" of Sears. Fat hate was strong, in my (white) culture - and in my home.
According to my aunt who was alive in the 70’s her solution was (and still is) loose dresses and kaftans Her tastes are a lot more on the hippie side of things than what that 67’ Lane Bryant catalog had on display
