Jamelia: 'High street shops shouldn't sell plus size clothing'

Your one, Jamelia, on Loose Women, has sparked some outrage by suggesting that high street shops shouldn't stock plus size clothing.

She thinks that high street stores are helping to promote an unhealthy image if they sell trendy clothes in bigger sizes.

The former pop star said: "I think everyone should have access to lovely clothes, BUT I do not think it's right to facilitate people living an unhealthy lifestyle.

"I don't believe stores should stock clothes below or above a certain weight. They should be made to feel uncomfortable when they go in and can't find a size."

When asked again after reading tweets out from viewers, Jamelia denied she had said that trendy clothing shouldn't be available for bigger women before repeating herself.

Explaining that clothing for bigger people should not appear in stores, even from a size zero she said: "It shouldn't be normalised in high street stores. They should have specialist shops."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/plus-size-clothes-should-not-5559151

I know little about her, hardly ever watch Loose Women, but found the suggestion seeming to lack any real insight, and I'd certainly have taken it more seriously coming from a bigger girl, who has a bit of a more first-hand clue.

Certainly comes across as quite the judgemental idiot.

I'm not sure what the means by plus size as such, given that some parts of fashion / modelling regard really low sizes (e.g. 14 upwards).

It's hard enough to find clothes in many high street stores. Primark as one example, it often feels like all they have in stock is 6 / 8 / 20... not literally, but basically that they maybe order the same amount of everything, then all the more common sizes are gone quicker, leaving the ones that less people need.

There's the other issues obviously that what is a 10 in one shop could be a 12 or 14 in another, since they all seem to make clothes differently.

I'm a 16 to 18, and have no problems saying that. I try to slim all the time, but have a problem with food, that is not that easy to combat, and I don't think just making everyone who's bigger feel more uncomfortable is the solution. Chances are many who are bigger already feel bad enough about it, are more likely to have self-esteem issues, so yep let's go with the tactic of fat-shaming them and making them feel worse, cos that'll help.

And nope I don't really see how high-street stores selling clothes that fit women is promoting a healthy lifestyle. It's just selling people clothes to wear.

EDIT: Much discussion has come out of this, not necessarily related to her comment or high street store clothes sizes. But for me this post says so much. Not about clothes specifically but about black-and-white attitudes, and willingness to try to understand fellow human beings, and I don't know empathise. Nothing to do with excuses or anything similar, just trying to understand and maybe show compassion and see beyond our own circumstances, and maybe see it's nothing to do with 'excuses'.