Finding clothing in extended sizes is often a difficult task. But does that make it actually wrong for people to buy those sizes just because they want to, even if they don’t need them?
That’s the dilemma a woman on Reddit faced when her plus-sized friend got angry with her for buying a plus-size sweater just because she liked the look of it. So, she took her drama to the AITA (Am I The A**hole) subReddit for perspective.
The woman, who goes by the name ssandra-t on the site, asked:
“AITA for shopping in the plus sized section?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I feel like I am definitely not TA here, but maybe I am just privileged.”
“I was making my way through the clothing section at Target and literally everything was on sale. Most of the tops were cropped and anything I did like was no longer available in my size.”
“I finally stumbled into a clearance area that was overflowing with things. I saw a mock neck sweater that looked like the perfect oversize fit. I held it against myself since fitting rooms aren’t a thing anymore. It was perfect!”
“Checked the size… and it was an X. I told myself size doesn’t matter, it’s $12, just get it.”
“I got home and tried it on and I thought it looked really cute over leggings. I sent a pic to my friends to ask if they thought it looked okay. Everyone said it looked cute, except for one friend.”
“She said I wasn’t plus sized, and plus size options tend to be more limited. She went on to basically say that I was an a**hole for buying multiple sizes up from my own, and depriving someone from their true size.”
“In my defense, I dont think anyone even bought this shirt because size X-5X were all hanging together on the clearance rack for 50% off. It seems silly to me, and it hasn’t caused a huge rift, but I still think back on it whenever I wear it. So, was ITA?”
OP’s fellow Redditors were then asked to judge who was in the wrong here using the following acronyms:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
- NAH – No A**holes Here
And for them, this was not even a contest.
“NTA. You can buy from whatever section or range of a store you want.” —Academic-Panic
“NTA. Yup, tell her if she’s that concerned for plus sized people to head over to that Target and tell them to put all the plus sized stuff in a locked bin that only opens if you step on a scale and it says fat af, so then no one can buy them except those who need them. /s” —Dr_Snow_Nose
“There are plenty of big girls who wear clothes that are two sizes too small and no one says sh*t to them. NTA.” —_lucidity
“I literally laughed through this. Who cares what size you buy? I’m technically a size extra small, but I don’t like my clothes tight so I buy mediums. It’s your money girl, buy what you want. NTA” —AbbreviationsCheap87
“As a fat girl turned skinny girl after 4 years of a massive diet overhaul I say you do not need to defend yourself here. The clothing market is first come first serve. It is as hard to find size 2s as it was to find 2XLs. Buy what you love, wear what you buy, raise others up by complimenting their style when you love it, keep your damned yap shut if you don’t like it and carry on. NTA” —slydog4100
“Also a fat girl turned average! By OP’s friend’s logic I’m depriving plus-size women by keeping my old sweaters and wearing them as oversize instead of donating them. Ridiculous.” —Pioneeress
“Fellow former fatty here and I completely agree. If anything, the more people buy items of that size, the more that size will be produced and easier to find to meet the demand. Manufactures don’t care what size the customer actually is, they just see sales.” —Issvera
“NTA – Granted it’s still early in the day, but that’s easily the stupidest thing I’ve read today. Whose mind even works like that? It’s not like it was the only item in stock and without it someone would go shirtless!”
“Wear the shirt and focus on how you like how you look in it, ignore the rest.” —Sneaky__Fox85
“NTA. Stores can replenish stock if an item is popular and target isn’t known for its “limited edition” clothing. The only place where I’d say not to buy plis size clothing if you don’t need it is a thrift store because there the stock is actually limited and won’t be replenished and plus sized people who rely on thrift stores because they can’t afford regular clothes will be directly affected” —anstillthesunrises
“You’re NTA but I think I know where her ire is coming from. There is somewhat an issue with skinny, women going into thrift stores and buying up a lot of the larger size clothing, altering it to their body and/or selling it on depop for highly marked up prices.”
“While there’s technically nothing wrong with that it is kiiiinda crappy thing to do given the limited selection of plus size clothing available secondhand. Like it’s not a huge deal and it isn’t a problem for a place like Target but I imagine that’s where her misplaced thought process comes from.”
“It does suck when you go to a thrift store that’s overflowing with straight sizes but almost no plus size selection. But a place like Target? Nah.” —missluluh
“NTA. It was on clearance, you liked it, you bought it. It’s not like you bought out the entire section (and if you had, ok). As someone who is plus size, I’m glad they’re finally making things that people not in that range like, because it means folks in that range are more likely to have currently fashionable clothes available.” —ellbeecee
“NTA. Your friends logic doesn’t even make any sense. What if you suddenly gained a bunch of weight and then bought the plus size clothes? Would you still be an a**hole for taking those options away from other people? Sounds like someone looking for something to get butthurt about.” —DisneyFoodie20
It seems in this case there really is such a thing as being a bit too sensitive.