“Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.”
This is just one of many sayings that litters the manifesto of Lululemon Athletica Inc.
While the words in the quote are easier said than done, Lululemon certainly isn’t helping plus-sized customers improve their outlook on life.
After the company’s unannounced decision to phase out size 14 women’s clothing from their shops and online store, plus-sized customers are now forced to shop elsewhere for athletic clothing.
At the Lululemon location in Rideau Centre, not a single sweater, jacket, tank top or pair of pants were in stock in size 14.
The only thing they did have in that size were a few basic cotton T-shirts that could be found for a third of the $48 price tag elsewhere. The T-shirts were also nowhere in sight to customers and needed to be dug out of a corner of the store by a sales representative upon request.
While the effort showed satisfactory customer service, it makes shopping for size 14 clothing seem like a special request that takes extra time and offers a bare selection.
Lululemon’s decision to get rid of size 14 is also completely backwards at a time when more clothing companies are expanding their size options to accommodate more customers.
Nowadays, most mass-produced clothing companies, such as Gap , offer up to size 16.
There are also some high-fashion designers expanding the waistlines of their clothing to accommodate average women that are bigger than a size two, which continues to be the fashion industry standard.
While some might argue a size 14 woman doesn’t exactly fit Lululemon’s target demographic of thin, 30-something, high-income women, there is no justification to discriminate and exclude them from their stores altogether.
This only adds greater fuel to the twisted association with thinness as a primary indicator of beauty in the Western world.
While Lululemon has grown considerably since its flagship store in Vancouver first opened in 1998, this recent decision is a huge step backward in their evolution.
Even though much of the sayings in the company’s manifesto, as seen in stores, products, shopping bags and online, focus on empowering a healthy and fun lifestyle, none of the sayings empower customers to embrace themselves for who they are.
Women who wear a size 14 are just as beautiful as those who wear lower sizes. Wouldn’t it make more business sense to embrace the differences among customers and make clothes to fit them all rather than only fitting a segmented group?
Not all women come in the same package. A woman could conceivably wear a size 14 and still be completely healthy.
This is also strictly a women’s clothing issue as well, because most of the men’s clothing in Lululemon are available in extra large, which alludes to a double standard between men and women that should cease to exist in our times.
However, what is most concerning is the company’s launch of Ivivva Athletica, the pre-teen equivalent of Lululemon for girls, last month.
While Lululemon targets women who have had more time to embrace their bodies for what they are, young plus-sized girls will only feel alienated and disappointed when they can’t wear the same clothes as their thinner friends.
It is this disappointment derived from not being able to fit into the same clothing as everyone else when they’re young that sets the stage for poor self-esteem and eating disorders as girls get older.
While most women can simply look to other places for athletic wear and simply stop shopping at Lululemon, the decision to exclude plus-sized girls from their stores will have much deeper consequences.
Hopefully, the company listens and smartens up.