gloria

I am a size 18 in a dress but still would love to buy some nice clothes while I am over in France for Thanksgiving. Since a lot of Ameican tourist frequent Paris, I would think that they might cater to us plus size gals. Is anyone familiar with a French version of Elaine Bryant?

kavey

a couple of years ago i bought some nice trousers from a shop called Couleurs - their tag line was <BR><BR>etre ronde en couleurs - be round in colour<BR><BR>they have lasted very well and i wear them a lot and just bung them in the regular washing machine and dryer.

kavey

ps i am size 20 UK (18 USA).

francesca

Try Marina Renaldi, which is Italian. They are owned by Max Mara, though prices are a bit lower. Gorgeous stuff, though Italian, not French. There are several stores. Other than that, any store that specifies &quot;Femmes Rondes&quot; or spells out what sizes they carry (you will want something over a 46) will have what you are looking for.

sort

American sizes can be very confusing.<BR>I am a UK size 14 but found to my incredulous delight that in some American shops I was a size 10. Who do they think they are kidding?

Lynn

Gloria, you'll probably have to go the plus-size shops. I've found that many shops stop at the equivalent of an American size 16.<BR><BR>Sort of average, US and UK size clothes differently. What's your problem with that?

Oops

sort of - <BR><BR>If you were &quot;incredulously delighted&quot; it looks like one of the people they are kidding is you.

tim

I can tell you that if you want to go into the &quot;shops&quot; you'll definitely not find a thing. we just got back (36 hours ago) after 8 days. we went to nearly all the arr's and the street shops could not accomodate my size 16 wife at all. i'd stick to the specialty shops that others have previously mentioned. even the BHV at the hotel de ville had nothing for her and that says alot in itself if you know how big that store is. good luck and safe travels. <BR>

Me

The very fact that you were delighted with being able to wear the size 10 means that their marketing strategy worked like a charm.

carol

Gloria,<BR><BR>Forget it. The French specialize in tiny sizes and don't have a clue about plus sizes--even though they do have a couple of stores there. I went to Etre Rond en Couleur and didn't find a single thing there that could compete with Liz Claiborne or Jones NY for plus size chic. I'm sure you'll still look around in Paris, just don't want you to be disappointed!

xxx

From a previous discussion, check out the site:<BR><BR>http://www.rondeetjolie.com<BR><BR>for a list of &quot;large size&quot; shops for women (and men).

Christina

This question has been posed on here several times within the past year or two with some good suggestions and comments, so you might want to search for prior posts (try a search on the word &quot;rinaldi&quot; or plus within France). <BR><BR>I gave several links to someone once who said they were very useful. One is a good article (Q&amp;A really) in the online newsletter paris-anglo.com on this subject:<BR>http://www.paris-anglo.com/dedent/dedent.php?request=guide/ask/shopping/147.php<BR><BR>The second was a French web site for larger-sized women which has extensive addresses of stores throughout France, which is www.rondeetjolie.com<BR>I think that is only in French, but you can find the store listings for Paris by clicking on &quot;Histoire de Fringues&quot; on the right-side, then you'll get a page labeled &quot;Recherche boutiques grandes tailles&quot; with a search box by French departement -- select &quot;75&quot; for Paris. You'll get a long list of stores which should be clear -- just look for &quot;femmes&quot; after &quot;vetements&quot; for women's clothing.<BR><BR>Personally, I don't think you should go to Paris to buy plus-sized clothing. The selection will not be good and the prices high. YOu can Marina Rinaldi in the US at certain dept. stores, for example. Sizing is just a number that varies by country -- it's not confusing, you just have to know that a 12 in the UK is a 10 in the US, that's all. I don't wear plus sizes, only US size 10-12 and find it difficult to find anything that big in France that fits me very well, except for some sweaters or unstructured coats and things like that. Some blouses I've bought are too small in the armholes or back even when they fit elsewhere, for example.<BR><BR>I just think you'd be better off shopping for clothes in the US.

Nora

Gloria, I wear a size 10 in the US and it is hard for me to find chic clothes in even my size in France. I would suggest buy the basic wardrobe in the US and buy accessories in France. They have the best accessories in the world in my opinion and you can chic up a nice size 18 dress in French style.

don't do it

Gloria, they don't (cater to plus size gals, taht is). Honestly I wouldn't waste my time in Paris with this idea. Chances are not good and you'll just end up despressed (well I would anyway). I'm size 16/18 U.S. in large/women's sizes. I bought earrings and expensive sunglasses!<BR><BR>kindly, susan

Kayla

Gloria I would also spend your money on a purse,beautiful scarf or other accessories. First of all if you lose the weight you always have the accessories Second, it is rather hard to find good plus sized clothing there. I used to wear a size 18. Trust me on this I hope you have a great trip to Paris.

mimi taylor

Gloria, I belong to a forum Bonjourparis.com and there has been alot of posting on that. Check it out.

xxx

The original poster was asking about Lane Bryant type plus size stores. While, Marina Reynaldis' clothes are beautiful and well made, they are not cheap!!! this is high end designer stuff and a sweater can cost hundreds of euros. The other posters were correct in stating that the French generally cater to thin women. The accesories idea is a great one, as the selection is diverse and can be very affordable to ridiculously overpriced. To the other posters that stated she needed to lose weight, are you perfect? I didn't think so, we all have our own issues to deal with, no need to get judgemental.Happy friday

also

I think that the average lady was being ironic in her delight. I used to be a US size 12 and found that I took a UK size 14. Recently US sizes have gotten smaller and smaller. Shopping takes longer because you don't know what will fit you. I got into an 8 the other day. There's NO WAY I am an 8!<BR>BTW, 12 is pretty average not fat.

Lost A. Pound

I know alot of my friends who are not in good health due to their overweight bodies. I lost 40 lbs and my blood pressure went down and my knees stopped hurting, so it is reasonable to think that Gloria would want to lose some weight in the future and she would not fit into the clothes that she paid so much for in Paris. It would be for her own health, not for strangers.

silvana

gloria-<BR>in general don't bother.<BR>i even had a hard time finding SHOES in european locales like paris and rome. everything was supertiny. like other posters have said, don't waste your time, it's just depressing.<BR>you can probably buy clothes just as nice for cheaper in the states.<BR>i love europe, but not for clothes shopping.