A new study hopes to serve as a “wake-up call” to the fashion industry by highlighting the disparity between the sizing of American women and what they’re being advertised and sold.
The majority (54.4%) of American women are considered “plus-size” (wearing a size 14 or above), according to new data from social-commerce platform Mys Tyler. Yet only 0.8% of the looks at New York Fashion Week AW24 were plus-size, despite the majority of women falling into this category.
“Despite making up a significant portion of the population, ‘plus-size’ women are still overlooked by most brands, and even in 2024, size-inclusive representation is heavily lacking on runways and in advertising,” said Mys Tyler founder Sarah Neill. “Our community continues to shares with us the challenges they face when shopping in-store and online.”
According to “Mys Tyler Insights – U.S. Edition 2024,” the most common dress size in America is size 16. Also, the average American woman has a height of 5’4″ and the majority of American women (58.3%) wear a D cup or larger.
Underrepresentation in the fashion industry not only has a negative impact on how women feel about their bodies, but it directly translates to an inefficient shopping experience, poor fit and high return rates — negatively impacting profits and environmental sustainability, according to Neill.
“We hope the industry sees this data and uses it as a call to action to help increase representation and size-inclusivity,” she said.
Mys Tyler is a body-positive fashion app designed to help women buy clothes online. A proprietary FIT Algorithm matches shoppers with fashion creators who are most relevant (similar height, shape, size, age and coloring) so they can see clothes on a body like theirs.