A guide to plus-size shopping in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - As the old adage goes, you can be whoever you want to be, as long as you’re dressed for the part. I couldn’t agree more. Fashion is one way to express yourself and to show the world who you are without having to utter a word. That’s why I personally believe that every woman should use dressing up as a way of boosting their self-esteem, character and confidence. As one-half of the local plus-size fashion blog, Plump Pinay, we want women to let their beauty and personality shine through fashion.

Being “fatshion” bloggers, we have discovered and promoted plus size clothing shops which are brands we believe in and love. These are very stylish boutiques which want plus-size women to enjoy fashion just as any other woman would. We know how shopping can sometimes be a drag for us because of the apparel sizing in the country, but luckily, these brands offer plus size clothes from US12 to US20 clothes. We believe shopping for a plus-size woman is fun too, as long as you know the style you want for yourself and what pieces suit your body best.

As advocates of body acceptance and plus-size models, we have embraced our bodies and decided to use fashion to our advantage. We don’t have to be fashion victims or lousy dressers because of our size. With this, we try to be stylish and fashionable “curvspirations” to show that confidence, sexiness and appeal aren’t limited to a certain body type. 

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Danah Gutierrez is a 22-year-old wannabe makeup artist, frustrated Beyoncé dancer and plus-size model. She is a body-image warrior who advocates body acceptance and body love. She is one-half of the twin bloggers behind ThePlumpinay.com and believes she was a unicorn in her past life. Follow them on Twitter @theplumpinay or email theplumpinay@gmail.com.

Work wear glam

With most Asian boutiques having smaller ranges of sizes, my sister and I turn to US and European brands because these stores usually produce clothes for our size. Dorothy Perkins and Marks and Spencer have a wide variety of high-quality and very classy, fashionable and sophisticated clothes for the independent, working woman. Based on their designs and styles, we can say both international brands’ target market are women in their mid-20s and up. Expect to pay a couple of hundreds more for a purchase in these stores; but with their perfect sizing and quality clothes, it’s worth every penny.

Dressy chic

For dresses that flatter the curvy body, we love the designs and cuts from F21+. The clothes are always up-to-date and trendy and you don’t have to dread going in the fitting rooms because they have clothes ranging from XL to 4XL. Locally, Tomato has just recently launched a line called Double Delicious where they upsized some of their regular clothes to 3XL.

Casual

Locally, more entrepreneurs are realizing that the plus-size demographic is a market hungry for fashionable and stylish clothes. For online stores, there’s Exztra Plus (@exztraplus), an Instagram shop that has some of the trendiest apparel produced locally. Almost all their pieces cost below P500, so everything’s a good steal. The cut and designs of their clothes are sure to bring out the curvy fashionista in you. Also, other Instagram shops we love are Curve Couture (@curvecouture) and Plus Shop (@plusshopph) which both offer a lot of up-to-date plus-size clothing from super cute skater skirts to casual tops to sexy party dresses.

Swimwear

Our plus-size line from the local luxury swimwear brand I Love Koi is a big hit. I Love Koi collaborated with us a couple of years ago so this is already the second batch of our collection. We made sure our designs make the curvy woman look smokin’, but at the same time still marketable for women of all sizes. Our pieces come in XS up to 3XL.