‘Waited my whole life': Sad reason woman broke down in tears while shopping

News.com.au

6 days ago

A young woman in tears has exposed just how far Australia has to come with size-inclusively in 2025.
Kate Elizabeth, 27, amassed over 300,000 views on social media by sobbing as she explained why she was overcome by emotion while shopping at the retail chain City Chic.
The store stocks sizes from 14 to 16, and the average Australian woman wears between a size 14 and 16.
'I've waited my whole life to feel seen in a store,' she wrote.
'Plus-size people are stylish. We're trendy. We deserve spaces that reflect that.
Not tucked away corners – real, beautiful stores that feel like us.'
Ms Elizabeth wears a size 18-20. Speaking to news.com.au, she explained that the moment was overwhelming because she has struggled to find clothes in store since she was a teenager.
The 27-year-old said she's always had a 'pretty negative' experience when it comes to shopping.
'Especially when I was younger. There's been some improvement, but it's still a fight just to feel included,' she said.
She explained that walking into stores and finding nothing above a size 16 is hurtful and often feels 'defeating'.
'I've heard 'we don't have the budget' too many times – it's not about budget, it's about choice,' she said.
'Some brands are trying, which is great, but sizing is often off. A size 16 is the average woman in Australia, yet extended sizing is still treated like a niche.'
Ms Elizabeth argued that it simply isn't fair to people who don't fit into standard sizing to be forced to shop online.
'I'm a tactile shopper! I love building outfits and feeling confident in the moment, not just hoping what I ordered online fits,' she said.
She's also unimpressed with brands that offer extended sizing online but don't stock those sizes in store.
'Keeping extended sizing online-only still feels like a quiet exclusion,' she said.
'I just think it's important to talk about how isolating it can feel when plus-size people aren't seen in-store. It's not just about having the sizes — it's about making us feel welcome, too.'
Ms Elizabeth's viral TikTok comes after Brittney Saunders, who owns the size-inclusive fashion label Fayt, has called out other Aussie brands for not extending their sizes.
Ms Saunders, 31, appeared on the new fashion-focused podcast Style-ish, and explained that her brand, Fayt, starts from a size six and finishes at a size 26 because it makes good business sense.
'I don't understand when brands say they don't sell and that is why we don't do them. It is like, yes, they do.' she said.
Originally, her brand launched with sizes six to 14 on offer, but she extended her size range because she could see the demand was there.
'I added a 16, and an 18, and then I thought maybe I could do a 20? And it was just a climb through every size until I got to where I am today,' she said.
Ms Saunders said she was inspired to keep extending her sizes because they were 'selling' and customers appreciated it.
The process of becoming a size-inclusive brand has also made her realise that 'bigger brands' that don't offer extended sizes really don't have an excuse not to.
'I would say, come on guys. I often look at them and think, if I can do it, just me and you're this hundreds of million dollar company, and you don't. Like, what are you doing?' she argued.
Ms Saunders said that, as someone who has done the maths and worked out a profitable way to offer sizes up to 26, she believes that brands that aren't size-inclusive are sadly not interested.
'They don't want to. I can't think of any reason other than they don't want to. It can be done,' she said.