Update by Elegant Plus Magazine:  The article below was written in 2005.  Since then things have become at once slightly more complicated and simpler at the same time.  The Lane Bryant Catalog, owned by Redcats, has changed names to Woman Within.  Sometime in 2007, Charming Shoppes, the owners of the mall based Lane Bryant, will be launching a catalog by that name.  They are also the owners of the Lane Bryant Outlets, although reports have been that unlike traditional outlets, merchandise is actually different than the main store. Only time will tell if the merchandise in the store and the catalog will be the same or similar.

Also our comments about model size and use of mannequins deserves an additional look.  While most of the critiques still stand, a display trend which seems to be gaining momentum in the on-line catalog world has us puzzled. Since Lane Bryant (Charming Shoppes) appears to be testing this method it is worth further examination.  What is up with real models with their heads cut off?  Our experience is that unlike models depicted in real-life settings or in high fashion style shots, this presentation style leaves customers as cold as mannequin and off-figure dispay - probably at twice the cost to the company using it.  This type of presentation makes it impossible for the consumer to project themselves into the role of model and envision themselves wearing a garment.  No doubt the rationale is to show a larger, more focused shot of the clothing but headless people is somewhat jarring and impersonal.  We’d love to see numbers proving this tactic effective, but our’s say otherwise.  So while we applaud Lane Bryant’s tentative shift to real plus-size models within the catalog pages rather than simply in the “look book” and landing pages, let’s see their pretty faces!

 Lane Bryant Ruminations

(June 9, 2005, ElegantPlus.com) One of biggest points of confusion for plus size consumers right now is understanding that Lane Bryant the store they see at their local mall and Lane Bryant the catalog they receive in the mail are, in fact, two different companies. Both are available on line.

So what’s the difference?

1.) Lane Bryant- the contemporary to trendy plus fashion retailer you shop at in the mall: Owned by parent company Charming Shoppes, this Lane Bryant joins it’s sister retailers Catherines and Fashion Bug to make up about eighty percent of the plus size apparel market in the United States today.

Currently available in traditional brick & mortar outlets and on-line only, Charming Shoppes recent acquisition of catalog marketer Crosstown Traders will position them to move into the mail order catalog market in the near future. While they are at it, we hope they can smarten up the images of some of the Crosstown Trader brands like Bedford Fair and Old Pueblo Traders which also already carry plus sizes.

This Lane Bryant carries plus sizes from size 14 to 28W and larger plus sizes must shop at their sister Charming Shoppes store Catherines. While Charming Shoppes does a good job of using plus size models in their advertising campaigns, they have much to learn about on-line and catalog sales - currently preferring to display most of their offering on relatively skinny mannequins with less than inspired photography. I’m sure I’m not alone in my dislike of bland off-model apparel presentation in both internet and mail order catalogs. Maybe it’s a cost-cutting measure, and in some cases it may be something else, but the overall shopping experience in such displays is less than memorable or loyalty inspiring . Besides, in an environment where the customer cannot try a garment on, some idea of how it will look on a real body rather than shaped on an inanimate form is always a good selling point.

Furthermore the frequency in which they sell out of sizes, leaving nothing but Size 14’s on the virtual rack can be a little frustrating to the on-line shopper. A simple solution to this problem would be a “Size Finder” like the one available at trendy, plus-exclusive web-retailer alight.com (now if alight could just find some way to make accurate size charts available for all of its brands, we’d be golden!).

2.) Lane Bryant - the plus size apparel catalog you receive in your mailbox: Owned by French parent company Redcats, Lane Bryant Catalog belongs to a large mail order group including Jessica London , La Redoute , Roaman’s, Lerner, and Chadwick’s of Boston . As a catalog company, they were among the first plus size apparel retailers to transition smoothly to an on-line environment with the necessary back-end support of customer service and centralized order fulfillment centers.

Styles here are much more basic and traditional than those found in the Lane Bryant owned by Charming Shoppes, which often causes much customer confusion. Many plus fashion editors dis them entirely for poor style and fit, although they remain very popular with consumers based on sales figures. I, personally, have mixed feelings about them. They are an excellent source for some very hard to find items elsewhere - like bathing suits in super sizes and wide calf boots. Furthermore tucked away among ho-hum t-shirts and leggings can be a treasure every now and again - and heck, if all you want are some basic summer tees to wear out bike riding, why not? Furthermore, while the plus market is growing, it is still very difficult for the over size 24W crowd to find clothing. Unlike their Charming Shoppes counterpart, Redcat’s Lane Bryant carries sizes as large as a size 44W.

Perhaps the biggest on-going criticism of the entire Redcat’s plus size catalog group is the use of models who are much too small for the clothing they are marketing. Not only is this insulting to the consumer they are trying to serve, but frankly their clothing would look much better with a few curves filling it out. They are not alone in this out-moded marketing faux pas as most well established plus size cataloguers have been reluctant to change their modeling size strategies with the times. Of course, modeling agencies marketing size 8 and 10 women as “plus” to these companies is not helpful either, but that discussion is for another day.

Consequently, both these established plus apparel giants have a lot to learn from relative new comers to the industry. Small plus fashion houses like Kiyonna and Igigi are producing beautiful clothing, modeled by true full figured beauties with noteworthy photography - and they are both growing at a tremendous clip. Torrid is rapidly expanding its brick and mortar presence across the country while running an on-line outlet with curvy images of real plus women in most garments, again with noteworthy photography. Rounding out the trend of using truly curvaceous models combined with excellent photography for most if not all of their offerings are: Nordstrom , Lands’ End , Macy’s and Eddie Bauer which has the unusual system of providing two images with models for an article of clothing - one straight sized and one plus. If this trend keeps going - and I can only imagine and hope that it will - the plus apparel corporate giants are going to start to lose market share in the catalog and internet sectors if they don’ t take notice and make some changes.

Just remember the Lane Bryant mail order catalog and the Lane Bryant brick and mortar store are not the same - at least for now.

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