What It’s Like to Plus-Size Shop in Los Angeles

For Samyra Miller, shopping for her size — 24 to 26, or 3X to 4X — in stores isn’t just daunting; it’s damn near impossible. Just ask the 26-year-old’s 2.3 million followers on TikTok and Instagram who double-tap the videos chronicling her searches in Los Angeles to find anything that fits and looks good. We tagged along on a recent Sunday, spending five hours shopping at three popular malls: Westfield Century City, the Beverly Center, and Beverly Connection. Ten stores later, the haul was unsurprisingly light.

We start at Nordstrom. At the Skims section, an employee assures her that all styles are available up to 4X. Then, she tracks down a pair of employees who direct her to the Topshop and Free People sections, telling her the ASOS line that Nordstrom previously carried — which had more plus-size options — is now … gone. After going through several racks, she grabs one of the first XL items she sees. “Now this is the kind of thing I would go up to and be like, Will it stretch? ”

A Free People denim jumpsuit catches her eye: “This is cute!” Alas, there’s nothing larger than an XL.

↳ Things found at Nordstrom: two different Skims bodysuit styles in a 2X. She doesn’t buy either.

Miller spots a Free People store in the mall and goes in to ask about the jumpsuit she saw at Nordstrom. Employees tell her the largest size the shop typically carries is XL. They can ship her larger sizes that are available online, but the jumpsuits only go up to XXL. (She can fit into a 2X, which is larger than XXL and commonly mistaken as the same thing. “I don’t wear an XXL. I’m just lucky I can squeeze into it,” she says.)

↳ Things found at Free People: zero.

At Zara, an employee says the largest size in stock is an XL but that Miller can order larger sizes online, where many items go up to an XXL. She’s out the door in 90 seconds.

↳ Things found at Zara: zero.

Approaching Aritzia, Miller says, “I’ve never been there before.” She steps inside and browses racks by the door: “Extra-extra small? That’s crazy. So where’s the extra-extra large?”

An employee named Maribel greets Miller with a huge smile. “You came up on my ‘For You’ page,” she says. Maribel explains that while Aritzia has only a few styles up to size 16 in the store, there are some XXL options that might work. She rushes to pull pieces from the back, leaving a cloud of optimism in her wake. “Period,” Miller remarks after Maribel walks away. “We love honest employees.”

Maribel returns with three tops, the only options she could find. One of them is dirty, and she offers to order another. Miller likes one of the others, but it isn’t available in a larger size. Without trying it on, but stretching it to see how much it will give, she decides to buy it.

While checking out, Maribel gives Miller her contact information and offers to pull styles ahead of her next visit. “I have never had that experience,” says Miller.

↳ Things found at Aritzia: three cropped tank tops in size XXL, all of which have stretch. She buys one marked 60 percent off.

At Nordstrom.
Photo: Gabriella Angotti-Jones

Next stop: Abercrombie & Fitch, where Miller sees a sign advertising “Curve Love” jeans. She asks an employee for the largest size the store carries online. “A 40,” says the employee, who didn’t look very confident in her answer. (A fact-check later reveals that the jeans go up to a size 37 and most styles only go up to a 34.)

“You’re using us in your messaging to make sales, but you stop at the average size of a woman in the U.S.,” Miller says. “If I can be in the mission statement, I can be in the size chart.”

↳ Things found at Abercrombie & Fitch: zero.

At Macy’s, Miller finds the first dedicated plus-size section — options, finally! — but the choices that greet her are shapeless calico tents and a sea of sequins. “Can I get a little shape, Anne Klein?” she says. “They just said, ‘Give them some fabric, make it big, put some sequins on it.’ You know you’re getting to the plus-size section when everything looks bland and confusing.”

By the time she spots a rack of plus-size Karl Lagerfeld, she’s had enough: “I have a bone to pick with him.”

↳ Things found at Macy’s: Anne Klein sequined muumuus in size XXL and a long-sleeved white button-up with illustrated graphics of Paris in size XXL. More options but nothing that suits her style, so she doesn’t buy anything.

An employee at Bloomingdale’s directs her to Aqua, which displays signs on almost every rack that read new extended sizes.

“I’m not seeing anything big,” she says. “There’s just one XL in this.” She later finds a few XXL options, none of which she likes.

↳ Things found at Bloomingdale’s: limited Aqua styles in a navy shift dress and several shirts. She doesn’t buy anything.

At Nordstrom.
Photo: Gabriella Angotti-Jones

Next, Miller heads to the plus-size section at the second Macy’s location of the day, where, again, plus sizes are tucked in the back, an array of tacky prints looking disheveled on the racks. “If y’all looking for a clown for the circus, it’s not us,” she says, flipping through racks of shirts with stripes and ruffle-tie collars. “I did not go to clown school, but apparently some of y’all did, ’cuz these designs are looking clownish.”

After wading through a flood of tropical prints, Miller reads the brand name “Island Escape” off a tag: “I need to escape from these clothes.”

↳ Things found at the second Macy’s location: A Miraclesuit swimsuit collection is the main plus-size offering. One of the tags reads “Look ten pounds lighter in ten seconds.” She passes.

At Nordstrom Rack, Miller plays her favorite game: Flip through a section marked “2X” filled with XXL items. “Would you look at that?” she observes. “Improperly marked.”

↳ Things found at Nordstrom Rack: many pairs of Good American jeans, a few in her size, and quite a few shapeless shirts from Madewell in an XXL. She doesn’t buy anything.

One of the final stops is Target, where Miller knows she can find options. It’s refreshing to see the plus-size section not far from the door. However, she’s greeted with an odd scene: a man posing with a plus-size mannequin as his young son takes a photo. Miller jokingly asks the faceless form, “Are you okay?”

↳ Things found at Target: several options from the Ava & Viv line, including shorts she already bought the last time she was there.