As a tall plus size woman, I know all too well the plight of trying to find a quality, form fitting, not too short, and dare I say budget friendly costume year, after year, after year. Despite my usual love for Torrid's costume offerings, I am sure we can all raise our hands and agree that the selection from last year was positively atrocious as it featured nothing but outrageously priced plastic kits that in no way helped us fat babes out when it came to finding an actual costume. Many of us thought that 2013 would be the year that Torrid would surely redeem themselves. Unfortunately, how wrong we were. Take a gander below...
Gypsy Princess - $56 (Only available in size 1/2)
Cop - $50
Tantalizing Tabby - $54 (Only available in size 1/2)
Top Gun Flight - $70
Firefighter - $40 (Only available in size 1/2)
Wicked Wench - $50
Disney's Ursula - $90 (Only available in size 1/2)
Roaring 20's - $65 (Only available in size 1/2)
Disney's Snow White - $45
Arresting Officer - $55 (Only available in size 1/2)
Tux & Tails - $50 (Only available in size 1/2)
Royal Red Queen - $40
Blue Polka Dot Monster - $60
Vixen Pirate Wench - $50
Skulls & Roses - $55 (Only available in size 1/2)
Prom Queen Zombie - $65 (Only available in size 1/2)
Classic Flight Attendant - $55
Captain Swashbuckler - $70
Thief Of Hearts - $65
Bavarian Beauty - $50 (Only available in size 1/2)
Sultry Swat Officer - $45
Gretchen Bavarian Barmaid - $50
Combat Cutie - $50 (Only available in size 1/2)
Red Riding Wolf - $52 (Only available in size 1/2)
Miss Wonderland - $60
Daisy Bee - $46
Ladybug - $50
At first glance, one would think that Torrid has come out with a cute (albeit recycled) array of costumes this year. Upon second glance, this is far from the case.
Classic Flight Attendant - $55
Captain Swashbuckler - $70
Thief Of Hearts - $65
Bavarian Beauty - $50 (Only available in size 1/2)
Sultry Swat Officer - $45
Gretchen Bavarian Barmaid - $50
Combat Cutie - $50 (Only available in size 1/2)
Red Riding Wolf - $52 (Only available in size 1/2)
Miss Wonderland - $60
Daisy Bee - $46
Ladybug - $50
Traveling Gypsy - $60
Pretty Playing Card - $60
At first glance, one would think that Torrid has come out with a cute (albeit recycled) array of costumes this year. Upon second glance, this is far from the case.
Notice anything strange? Out of a total of twenty-nine costumes, not one of these are available to be purchased in store. I know that some of you might be thinking, "what is the big deal? Torrid has online exclusives all the time!" and while you may be absolutely right, this is a completely different ballgame. You see, not only are all of these costumes restricted to the website, Torrid has also put up a ridiculous "no in-store return" policy to go along with it. I for one, find it absurd to have to take a chance with ordering an already expensive costume (dare I say, overpriced) and if something is wrong, to then have to pay to send it back. And we all know that when dealing with costumes, anything can easily be too short, too long, or just ill-fitting as a whole. With the holiday season rapidly approaching, the time frame from ordering, receiving your item, sending it back, Torrid receiving it, and THEN crediting your money back could take up to three weeks! (Or heavens forbid, even longer). I can already see this turning out to be a grave inconvenience to those that order their costume closer to Halloween. I don't expect Torrid to carry all of the costumes in store (although they could) but I certainly don't expect for the entire selection to be exclusively online.
In addition to a non existent in-store selection, all of these costumes are produced by the Leg Avenue brand, whose plus size offerings are notorious for running entirely too small. Whereas Torrid's past costumes offerings ran up to a 24 (the material could easily stretch to 26/28) Leg Avenue seems to just hit an 18 at its largest size.
The measurements for a size 20 on Torrid's website are: Bust: 47/Waist: 40 while Leg Avenue's measurements are: Bust: 40-44/Waist: 31-35. Leg Avenue's size 20 is the equivalent of Torrid's 12/14.
The measurements for a size 26 on Torrid's website are: Bust: 53/Waist: 46 while Leg Avenue's measurements are: Bust: 46-50/Waist: 35-39. Leg Avenue's 26 is the equivalent of Torrid's 16/18.
While our smaller plus size lovelies are still covered by this fiasco. I ask Torrid, why would you completely eliminate your size 20+ fat babes from purchasing a costume?
To add insult to injury with the sizing issues, twelve of these costumes are only available in the smallest size. Let me repeat that, twelve out of twenty-nine of these costumes are only available in size 1/2; I find this absolutely appalling. It is already hard enough for us fat babes to find nice fitting clothing, let alone costumes and lingerie. But, for a plus size company to eliminate and disregard a huge portion of customers by taking it's already size restricted costumes and making them even more restricted is just too much. I ask you why, Torrid? Why would you do this to your customers?
What kind of message does this send? Furthermore, what does this say to our larger fat babes? For a company to blatantly disregard its larger customers is not only rude, it is hypocritical. How can a plus size company boast a body loving philosophy while simultaneously offering size restricted items? The last thing that anyone needs is to be made to feel as though they are not worthy enough to wear a certain item of clothing whether it be a crop top, skinny jeans, leggings, or Torrid's idea of a sexy costume. I for one, am thoroughly pissed at Torrid for pulling something like this. This is telling us that despite all the money that we have given to this company, despite Torrid being one of the very few brick and mortar stores to offer trendy plus clothing, despite Torrid masquerading as a body positive corporation, those of us at the larger end of the spectrum are still not valued enough to have our sizes in stock.
Where does one draw the line?
Which brings me to my next thought, why would anyone, especially a corporation think that it is okay to market something culturally offensive such as their "skull and roses" also known as, Dia De Los Muertos costume. This is blatant culture appropriation and for them to take a sacred holiday and make it a mockery by turning it into a costume was a very, very poor decision. Whether you agree with cultural appropriation or not, things like this are crossing lines that are best left uncrossed.
For a brand that has been around for 12 years and counting, Torrid absolutely should have known better. As it stands, I can only hope that they take notice of the numerous complaints and do better from now on.
With all this being said, please do not take this post as bashing, I love Torrid but in my loving the brand, I am also able to call out when they've done something negative and unprofessional, and in my opinion for Torrid to do something like this was exactly that.
Let me know what you all think! How do you feel about the Dia De Los Muertos costume? Do you feel that it is (along with others like it) disrespectful? Leave a comment below.
If you're not familiar with cultural appropriation or want more insight on it, check out this article.
This post was edited on 9/8 to include new information.
The measurements for a size 20 on Torrid's website are: Bust: 47/Waist: 40 while Leg Avenue's measurements are: Bust: 40-44/Waist: 31-35. Leg Avenue's size 20 is the equivalent of Torrid's 12/14.
The measurements for a size 26 on Torrid's website are: Bust: 53/Waist: 46 while Leg Avenue's measurements are: Bust: 46-50/Waist: 35-39. Leg Avenue's 26 is the equivalent of Torrid's 16/18.
While our smaller plus size lovelies are still covered by this fiasco. I ask Torrid, why would you completely eliminate your size 20+ fat babes from purchasing a costume?
What kind of message does this send? Furthermore, what does this say to our larger fat babes? For a company to blatantly disregard its larger customers is not only rude, it is hypocritical. How can a plus size company boast a body loving philosophy while simultaneously offering size restricted items? The last thing that anyone needs is to be made to feel as though they are not worthy enough to wear a certain item of clothing whether it be a crop top, skinny jeans, leggings, or Torrid's idea of a sexy costume. I for one, am thoroughly pissed at Torrid for pulling something like this. This is telling us that despite all the money that we have given to this company, despite Torrid being one of the very few brick and mortar stores to offer trendy plus clothing, despite Torrid masquerading as a body positive corporation, those of us at the larger end of the spectrum are still not valued enough to have our sizes in stock.
Where does one draw the line?
Which brings me to my next thought, why would anyone, especially a corporation think that it is okay to market something culturally offensive such as their "skull and roses" also known as, Dia De Los Muertos costume. This is blatant culture appropriation and for them to take a sacred holiday and make it a mockery by turning it into a costume was a very, very poor decision. Whether you agree with cultural appropriation or not, things like this are crossing lines that are best left uncrossed.
For a brand that has been around for 12 years and counting, Torrid absolutely should have known better. As it stands, I can only hope that they take notice of the numerous complaints and do better from now on.
With all this being said, please do not take this post as bashing, I love Torrid but in my loving the brand, I am also able to call out when they've done something negative and unprofessional, and in my opinion for Torrid to do something like this was exactly that.
Let me know what you all think! How do you feel about the Dia De Los Muertos costume? Do you feel that it is (along with others like it) disrespectful? Leave a comment below.
If you're not familiar with cultural appropriation or want more insight on it, check out this article.
This post was edited on 9/8 to include new information.
Much love xo
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