In 2018, a Victoria’s Secret executive said that the brand didn’t hire plus-size models for their televised runway show because they aren’t part of the “fantasy.” Plus-size people, especially plus-size women, are no strangers to this type of thinking. We hear again and again that bigger bodies are not sexy. Historically, the plus-size woman doesn’t get to be in fashion shows. She’s not allowed to be anything more than the “dumpy friend” on TV. She’s supposed to buy into the massively lucrative diet industry and whittle down to a “sexier” size.
“We’re the thing people fear to be; the body people fear to have,” Caroline Quinn, a fat activist and confidence coach, tells SELF. “And so how can somebody who exists in that body feel sexy, or be sexy, or look sexy, or wear sexy things?”
Change has been slow and somewhat recent. Lizzo wears bodysuits and bikinis on stage and tells the world that she doesn’t care if you call her fat. Designers like Betsey Johnson are collaborating with brands built specifically for plus-size women. And we have mainstream lingerie brands created with bigger bodies in mind. These brands aren’t just selling everyday bras and underwear. They are giving us the kind of lingerie you’d see strutting down the runway at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show—all straps and lace, garter belts, and corsets.
“I want people to know that we’re allowed to be perceived as sexy and attractive and hot and that there are brands out there that are finally starting to realize that fat people want to wear something sexy in bed, or for themselves,” Quinn says.
Below, we’ve collected a list of places where you can buy sexy lingerie in sizes up to at least a 3X. And because sizing in the U.S. isn’t standardized, we’ve also included measurements in inches when possible.
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