Not everyone has access to thrift stores stocked with vintage goods. Thrift stores can be notorious for having little-to-no plus size options, and it's work to sort through the stock. But that doesn't mean finding sick threads had to be difficult!
Here are some slow fashion brands and vintage/ thrifted sellers for curated options.
"Big" Brands
These are well-known brands that produce ethically made new styles and clothes. Price points are typically higher due to the rigor and standards necessary to ethically produce new garments.
Tunnel Vision: "Clothes for Deadbeat, Lowlife Weirdos!"
Tunnel Vision is a cool, small indie brand with both vintage options and new, house-designed clothes. Their styles range from 90s, y2k inspired, to e-girl and general punk.
The website's about me says Tunnel Vision is mostly run by two people: founder Madeline Pendleton and Kenna in L.A., California.
They have:
Original designs.
Small batch runs to reduce waste.
SGS or WRAP certified sweatshop free manufacturing.
Sizes that range from XS to 4X.
The brand also makes monthly donations to the BLM Los Angeles chapter and Equality California.
Their vintage clothes are rescued and repaired rag house rejects. Rag houses are the end of the line for clothes; secondhand shops will send their unsellablesto rag houses to either be turned into industrial rags or sent to landfills.
Founder Madeline breaks down the cost of their garments in this TikTok.
Snag Tights : "Clothes and tights that fit"
Snag Tights is a British brand that sells hosiery, swimsuits, safety shorts, and clothes in a variety of colors and styles in a wide range of sizes and fabrics.
Carries US sizes 2-36.
Uses diverse customer photos from people of different styles, sizes, abilities, genders, and ethnicities for marketing purposes
Pays living wages.
Has carbon neutral production.
Uses recycled materials, recycled water for dyeing, vegan dyes, and mostly animal free (Their Merino wool is organic and muelsing free.)
Offers discounts on bundles for affordability, but no sales.
Never uses single plastic.
Big Bud Press: "Made in California"
Big Bud Press is based in Los Angeles and also produces their clothes in LA. The brand overall has vintage and 70s aesthetics.
The Big Bud Press about page says the brand is a "fast-growing Los Angeles-based clothing label specializing in unisex, everyday goods. We pride ourselves on our ethical and local manufacturing practices."
BBP is sweatshop free.
Sizes range from XXS - 7XL. Each type of garment on their site has its own size chart to ensure good fits for all bodies.
Uses NAFTA certified, domestically grown fabric (predominately cotton, recycled yarn), or deadstock fabrics for limited edition collections to reduce environmental harm.
Uses low-impact and nontoxic dyes and recyclable polybags.
Fairly pays their workers.
Their price point is higher. However, if you sign up for emails, Big Bug Press will do sample and second sales of slightly defective merchandise at a discount.
They also have a program/sale dedicated to making their clothing more accessible, and put aside retail quality garments for people who can't afford their pieces at retail cost. Keep your eyes peeled for those sales if their usual price point range is out of budget!
Independent Shops
Shops from people like you who did the gem-hunting, upcycling, and curated thrifted finds already!
Heavy Duty Vintage"Vintage & secondhand treasures for fats & queers"
Heavy Duty Vintage is a one stop shop for plus-size femmes. The brand is a secondhand Instagram and Etsy shop run by Kim/Croptopgoth (they/she). Their shop sells a little bit of everything under the rainbow from 80s, vintage styles, lingerie, formal wear, bold patterns and prints all in plus sizes.
A limited selection of her wares are also on Etsy.
Shop Raddicus Finch: "Genderless clothes from a genderless binch"
Mia (they/them) runs Raddicus Finch where they sell thrifted, reworked, and vintage finds in a variety of styles and sizes, predominately for mid-to-plus size people. They are based in California and have been selling clothes for around nine years.
When I asked Mia why they started their brand, they told me "Growing up poor, I’ve always been used to digging through thrift stores. In high school I learned that there’s a market for reselling so I started curating my own pieces to sell. As a larger person, I’d often get annoyed over the typically-not-great plus size options in fashion, so I made sure to mainly curate plus size vintage for my shop because everyone of every size deserves cute and comfortable clothing!"
They sell lots of 90s pieces, trousers, and vintage styles.
Anticouture Clothing: "Welcome to anti"
Anticouture clothing is a brand that upcycles and customizes secondhand garmets with bleach dyes, embroidery and ironic/sardonic quotes with pop culture figures and anime characters. The shop, run by Indiaspence, has limited runs and drops. Following the Anti couture Instagram page is the best way to hear about drops. The brand also does custom orders.
What are some other shops we should pay attention to/ look out for? Let me know your favorite sustainable and alternative brands in the comments!