Iowa State Bookstore Offers a Wide Range of Clothing Sizes | New

When looking at clothing sizes, finding the right size can be an issue for many people. The Iowa State Bookstore is working to resolve these issues by working with the community.

People are always welcome to call with suggestions, said Sadie Anderson, the clothing buyer for the bookstore. People call with suggestions all the time. A guy just sent an email this morning, wanting a gold polo shirt in an [extra large quad].

Anderson said that even though she was unable to meet this request because the Iowa state bookstore does not sell gold polo shirts due to poor sales, she is holding a log of all requested items so that when she is preparing to place an order, she can look back. to customer requests to see what it can do for the community.

She said that customers will always receive some sort of response from their staff, whether it is a yes, we can help you or they are unable to do so.

In the end, we're here to serve the university, said Gayle Mastbergen, assistant director of marketing for the bookstore. We are a university service, we are not for profit. Of course, students are our customers, but we also manage the alumni store, which also opens up a range of customers. Our students, teachers, staff, fans and alumni are the ones we respond to.

Mastbergen said the bookstore tries to target the middle and serve as many people as possible, but there will always be outliers that they also try to serve as best they can.

Anderson said the bookstore sells a wide variety of clothing types, both for men and women, as well as for infants, toddlers and young people.

We have everything from your basic T-shirts, Short-sleeved T-shirts, Long-sleeved T-shirts, sweatshirts, crewnecks, hooded sweatshirts, we have youth clothing, we have men and women, we have outerwear, we have more dress options, we have polo shirts, we have cardigans, "said Anderson.

Anderson said that, like most other clothing retailers, clothing comes in and out of the season, so some things may not be available year round or may only be in stock for special events, and sizes of these items may be limited if customers come later to sell these items.

The Iowa State Bookstore is more than a model plus a ", which means that it buys from a variety of retailers for its clothes, not just a or two.

We buy from several people, said Anderson. There are a few local screen printing and embroidery companies that we use here in town. I buy a lot from Hanes Corporation, which is Champion, Under Armor. We are a Nike high school, so we buy from Nike, we also buy from BCS. Many of our more dressy men's clothes come from Antigua Clothing.

Matt Laurich, director of retail for the bookstore, said that the number of retailers the bookstore buys from varies.

There's the core that Sadie talked about and then we like to have the option if she's at a show or if we find something and we want to try to bring it, okay, bring the company xyz and let's see how it works. If so, are they replacing someone? If not, fine, we've tried it and we know, let's move on. You should always be ready to try these things to see if you can improve things.

Due to the number of retailers that the bookstore buys from, the sizing may not be the same from one company to another, but it is then up to Andersons to find a way to balance these differences .

Just like sizing everywhere you go, a small one in this brand is not a small one in this brand, so it's nice to be able to change your size by supplier, because you sort of know that this brand is usually more or less, said Anderson.

Although differences in clothing sizes by brand may be present, Anderson said that she is trying to have a wide range of options available.

For women, we run a very small to [double extra large], then we have plus one, plus two and plus three, said Anderson. Plus sizes, when we order from a supplier, we have to hit a certain number before we can buy a certain item. For the plus sizes, we are very limited in what our suppliers offer us, so I am really trying if this is a good piece to bring the plus sizes because I know we have a market for it.

Anderson clarified that not all of the pieces in the bookstore are very small and that not all of the pieces are larger; most pieces for women are available in small or double extra large.

When it comes to male / unisex pieces, in general, I can buy small [extra large triple] in most things, said Anderson. We have some things that I can buy very small, that I bought smaller in unisex, especially in the past two months, as we are seeing a trend where girls of university age are turning to pieces unisex instead of women – specific pieces.

Anderson also said that there are specific cases where she can buy extra large quadruple sizes and extra large quintuples in some cases. She is also able to buy extra large talls, extra large double talls and extra large triple talls, but she said the tall pieces come from very specific suppliers.

While there is a wide range of sizes available, not all sizes are available in the same number as other items, such as the sizes on the extra large end or the end. ; extra-small end being limited.

I feel like we have a wide range that goes in all areas, that being said with our online ordering system, we have to have a number of each size for our system to recognize it as in stock because we don't want to oversell, so most of the time we can have two or three pieces in each size, but our system may not recognize us as actually in stock.

Anderson said that when this happens, people are interested in certain sizes that may read as out of stock can call the bookstore to check if there are items available in these sizes.

By all means, come tell us about everything, said Laurich. If there is a request and we hear about it, we will make changes or do what we can.

Although Anderson, Laurich, Mastbergen and all the staff at the Iowa State Bookstore do their best to provide the Iowa State community with the best possible options when it comes to clothing, not all retailers do, and this is part of what is called a slim privilege.

"Waist privilege, sometimes called slim privilege, is a byproduct of a culture's belief that the slim body is the norm and therefore the body acceptable and preferable," said Amanda Arp, a graduate student in English. "It refers to how people with slim or thinner bodies receive the benefits of being slim in a society that rewards and is designed for thin people. On the other hand, people with a fatty, thick or large body can often suffer harmful effects from being on the less privileged side of the privilege of size, like shame of the body. "

Arp said that thin privilege can affect people of different sizes in different ways.

"For example, a slim or average person could go to almost any clothing store and find sizes that would suit them. A person with a thin privilege might not know that they have that privilege," said said Arp. "On the other hand, those with the least privileged end-of-pruning privilege, usually those with larger or larger bodies, may experience sizing in the form of other people saying that he or she should lose weight, not buy certain foods, or not wear revealing clothes. " Size privilege can also impact access to certain experiences, such as flying in economy seats, wearing certain uniforms, riding a roller coaster in a theme park, or going to a movie where the seats don't not move. Because of the prevalence of such situations, people who do not enjoy the size privilege sometimes have to plan their lives to avoid or take into account restrictive situations. "

Arizona State University has created a Light Privilege Checklist based on an article written by Sharon Ridgway in Feminism Magazine. The list allows people who are unsure of this slim privilege to compare themselves to a list that presents examples of significant discrimination.

Arp said that a small privilege occurs in the state of Iowa, although it is not always noticeable at first.

"Based on the ongoing research study results that my research partner, Cassidy Boe, and I did, I would say that size privilege is sometimes a factor in the state of the state. Iowa, "said Arp. "For example, some flip-style desks with a limited area between the chair and the desk are inaccessible or uncomfortable for someone with a larger or larger body."

Arp said the thin lien can also go beyond desks and seats, but also into clothing, like the ones sold at the Iowa State Bookstore.

"The clothes vary in size and the stores vary in the sizes of clothes they wear," said Arp. "The taller and taller an individual, the more limited their options for clothing. Tall, short, curvy or extremely thin people can also sometimes have accessibility issues due to the size of clothing they need . "

Arp said that a slim privilege in clothing may seem to be unable to get the size you need. She gave the example of a student needing an extra large triple or extra large triple T-shirt, but the only sizes that exist are small, medium, large, extra large and double extra large.