Wide-Calf Boots Guide

by Elegant Plus Magazine

How To Measure for the Perfect Plus-Size Boots Before You Order

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NEW!!  Click Here for  Elegant Plus Boot Picks for 2007

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Boot season is coming up fast and every fashionista lusts after the perfect pair of stylish boots.  But, for those of us with plus-size calves that match the rest of our curvy bods, shopping for wide-calf boots can be among the most disappointing and frustrating experiences.  Fortunately retailers are getting savvy and beginning to carry more plus-size boot solutions.

But take care!  Average boot shafts are usually 14 -14 1/2 inches around. This means that boots as slender as 15 inches around can be referred to as “wide calf boots”.  But often 15 inches is still much too slim for the fashionable full-figured gal.  The good news is that 17″, 18′, 19″ and even the occasional 20 inch around boot is becoming more readily available.  Some are referred to as “extra wide” or super-size calf boots, but not all, with terms and descriptions inconsistent from shop to shop.  

So how do you know if a plus-size boot will fit you?    You might find that your leg fits at the low, middle or high end of that size range causing a boot ordered in a simple “plus-size” or “wide-calf” fit to be too snug, too loose or as Goldilocks used to say, “Just right.”   But nobody really wants to go through the whole long process poor Goldilocks went through to get to that last feeling of success.

Here are some tips for finding the perfect pair of wide calf boots and guarantee a good fit, right at the time of order!

1. Know your own calf measurement:

If you are to make sure that you can find a wide calf boot that fits you, you must know your own measurements first.   The measurement you need to have is the fullest part of your calf.

The easiest way to figure this out is to use a flexible measuring tape used by seamstresses. This inexpensive item can often be bought in the notions section of the supermarket, the sewing section of stores like Walmart and of course, sewing stores.  Place the measuring tape around the fullest part of the calf and make a note where the measuring tape overlaps. Then round to the nearest inch.  If you round down, look for boot styles with gussets or slight stretch for that added little give needed to get you the extra little bit.

Don’t have a measuring tape?  Take a piece of string and measure the widest part of the calf. Mark just where the end overlaps. Stretch it out against a ruler or yardstick.

2. Look for calf measurements in the boot descriptions:

 If the description states “wide-calf boots” or “plus-size boots”, always look for an actual shaft measurement.  The term “wide calf” covers a range of sizes beginning at a mere 15 inches in circumference all the way up to 23 inches around in super wide calf styles. Your boots should fit snuggly around the calf, without cutting off circulation. If a measurement is not stated, do not assume that it will fit you. If a boot’s shoe size is stated as  ”wide” or “extra wide”, do not assume that this also means that the boot shaft will also be wider also.  Some are, some aren’t.  Unless the description specifically states that wider widths include a wider boot shaft chances are it won’t fit you right.  Some boot shafts also gradually enlarge with shoe size. But again, this cannot be assumed. Always look for exact boot shaft measurements and compare them to your own measurements. They should be close.

3. Tips & Tricks:

Need to get an extra few centimeters? Some styles have a little more give than others. Look for lacing, side and back stretch gores, and stretch styles.  If your calf size is in the 15-16 inch range you should be able to wear stretch boots comfortably.  If your calves are wider, this style will not be comfortable and will feel too tight. Lacing offers the most comfortable option, but be careful that it won’t leave gaps. Those with 15 inch calves should be able to wear lace up boots with regular width shafts successfully, while wider calves shouldn’t rely on this feature in a non-wide calf style. Side zippers also make getting boots on and off much easier, especially for curvier calves.

4. Where to Shop

In an ideal world we would all have a shoe shop near or in our town that carried wide-calf boots, but this is even rarer than a plus-size clothes shop.   More and more cataloguers and internet retailers, however, are carrying a greater selection of wide-calf boots than ever before.  Stylish and fashionable boots are becoming more readily available at affordable prices, allowing full-figured women to indulge in boot fashions.  Follow the measuring tips above to minimize order disappointments at the shops listed below (some carry boots all year, while others only carry them in the fall and winter shopping seasons). 

Shop early for the most fashionable styles or the more difficult to find sizes.  Plus-size boots tend to fly off the shelves at most of these retailers and back-orders are not infrequent.

• Anna’s Place Wide Widths

• Audition Shoes

• Cloudwalkers (on Avenue website)

• Eddie Bauer

• Footsmart

• Jessica London

• Lane Bryant Catalog

• Macy’s

• Nordstrom 

• Roaman’s

• Silhouettes

• Torrid

• Woman Within

•  Zappos

 Keep those boots walking!

Popularity: 59% [?]

News has recently broken that Old Navy will no longer be carrying plus-size clothing in their brick and mortar stores, although will continue to do so on-line.  They say the line has not done well, and as their parent company Gap, Inc. continues to struggle with its bottom line, this news follows on the heels of the closure of their Forth and Towne concept (which incidentally carried up to size 20) in an attempt to shore up their core company.  They are keeping The Gap and Banana Republic concepts open in addition to Old Navy.  The practice of carrying more extended sizes on-line than in-store is used in both these stores as well.

 On the surface this appears to be good business sense, but the announcement seems  to be setting off a firestorm of protest across the plus-size community.  Why?

Let’s look at some of the criticism of this business move:

1.  Although technically available in stores to try on, feel and purchase, the reality is that the Old Navy plus-size clothes line was only available in a very, very few locations.  Furthermore, the racks tended to be pushed back to small corners of these stores so consumers didn’t know they were there.  And marketing of the plus-size line was barely existent. How were customers to know that there were clothes available in sizes up to 4X at any of their plus catering locations?  Of course numbers weren’t good, in spite of a consumer population that could easily give them good numbers.

2.  Across many chat groups that are ablaze with the topic, the issue of fit keeps coming up.  It seems the Old Navy plus line didn’t hit the mark with fit, with many people referencing the straight size Old Navy line which goes up to XXL and is staying in stores as fitting better.  Since many full-figured consumers wear between a size 14 and 20, many of those customers have been sticking with the regular line for fit reasons.  The question then raised is the business problem not the “plus-size” concept but rather lack of understanding of the target customer’s needs?  Might a little more time and money invested in issues of technical design reap better sales and consumer confidence? Elegant Plus addressed this lack of understanding within the corporate apparel world in our article “The Sizing Thing” last year. It would appear, some things are slow to change, and Old Navy is a casualty of this faux-pas and mode of thinking.

Old Navy will continue to be available on-line in plus-sizes, along with extended size offerings at the Gap which are not available in stores (up to size 20).  To find  these listings and more in plus-sizes up to 34W, check out the Elegant Plus Classic Plus-Size Clothing Directory.

 If you wish to register concerns or complaints about this business decision you can reach Old Navy customer service two ways.  Enough negative feedback and backlash on this move may change their minds, but remember at the end of the day money is what talks.  Shop Old Navy plus-sizes and support them if you think they are doing a good job.  If not, let them know what would make you shop there and be specific and honest about how much money they are losing when you take your business elsewhere.  Call 1-800-Old-Navy or e-mail custserv@oldnavy.com .  Also, please  feel free to discuss, vent and comment below. The more open discussion about these issues from the consumers, the more things will change.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Wardrobe Must Have: Spanx Body Shapers for Women Who Love Their Curves

More full-figured body shapers in sizes up to 10X can be found in the Plus-size Shapewear Directory.

Popularity: 7% [?]

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.

Popularity: 22% [?]

Update: March 2007 from Elegant Plus MagazineThanks to all who participated, Cafe Press has now expanded it’s women’s t-shirt range up to size 5X!   Great job!!!  This will provide a platform for many of you to create t-shirts for your events and organizations!  

Cafe Press Plus Size Survey

Cafe Press - the fabulous spot on the net where you can design and print your own products - is about to expand their product offerings to include a full plus size line - possibly as large as 6X. In order to get it right, and find out what you - the user wants - they’ve asked us to help distribute a survey.

There are also extra opportunities to get involved for San Franciscans too…. who can help with fitting and modeling! So if you live in the San Francisco area and want more information include your e-mail address in the optional field.

Please, take a few minutes to answer their survey and help make plus size t-shirts in stylish styles available to print with your own logos and ideas! They might get more than t-shirts and sweatshirts in too….. but only if you speak up!

Link to Cafe Press Plus Size Survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=113533930E21912

Survey closes, Friday February 17, 2006.

Thanks to all who participate!

Popularity: 7% [?]