Lane Bryant

I am a plus sized woman, and as such Lane Bryant has always been in the back of my mind whenever I needed to find clothing. Interestingly enough, I have never once purchased clothing from Lane Bryant for a multitude of reasons. I have purchased their lingerie in the past, but never in a LB storefront.
I don’t know if this is universal or if it’s just my location, but I feel nervous when I enter a Lane Bryant because I know a staff member will follow me around the store and comment on every single thing I look at to make me buy it. It comes of as fake, and like they’re driven by sales rather than customer satisfaction. I know this is probably true, but I’ve had the best experiences in stores where they let me look around by myself, but will offer assistance if needed. Another issue with their sales practices is that they’ll keep focusing on the promotion they have going on at the time, even if I’m not interested in what that promotion is regarding. For example, I kept getting harassed about their jeans even though I don’t like their jeans and wanted to find a dress for a wedding. They also pretty much force me to try on bras during bra sales even though my bra size is larger than what they carry and I’ve told them I’m not interested. The entire thing comes off as pushy, and makes me feel uncomfortable giving them any of my money.
Their clothing can also tend to be exorbitantly expensive despite the poor quality of their items. I wouldn’t mind paying $ 60 for a babydoll (lingerie) if the straps wouldn’t tear the second I put it on despite being a decent size for me. If I look at their websites right now, their sweaters range from $ 50 to a staggering $ 198 for a cheaply made sweater that is neither stylish nor comfortable. When I could fit into their bras and thought they were my only option, it was a frequent occurrence for me to have to go back and replace bras that stretched out prematurely, had broken underwires, pulled out hooks, or other unpleasant things that shouldn’t happen with brand new bras. I’ve since found better brands to shop from, and I’ve never had a problem with the longevity of my bras. I’ve had bras in my collection for a year and a half, but I’d only ever get 2 – 3 months out of a Lane Bryant bra at the same price point (about $ 60).
In my experience of trying on Lane Bryant clothing, I’ve found that very few options actually fit a «fat» woman well. This defeats the purpose of having a plus size store if the clothes don’t look good on the women shopping there. I always leave a Lane Bryant sweaty and embarrassed that I can’t make anything look good on me, and I can’t search the store for better options because the staff will hound me.
Another gripe I have with Lane Bryant is their #ImNoAngel and Real Women Dollars campaigns. At it’s core, it sounds like a good thing that promotes body positivity, but when you look deeper it’s not. #ImNoAngel is a direct stab at the Victoria’s Secret Angels, and Real Women Dollars is implying that thin women can’t be attractive or sexy. All women are real women. Ordinarily I’d ignore something like this, but it’s a little difficult when #ImNoAngel merchandise and promotional images are all over the store. I also take issue with #ImNoAngel because the women in the images do not represent the average Lane Bryant shopper. They’re claiming to celebrate diversity while they only show one cookie cutter body type in their advertisements. It definitely makes me feel like I don’t belong there.
If you like the idea of a plus size store that will provide a good experience, head on over to Torrid at Park City mall. It’s fantastic and does for plus size women what Lane Bryant never has.