Black women facing sizable challenges when clothes shopping

By Jane Mcbride
New York Times News Service

BEAUMONT - With an estimated $23 billion to spend on fashion and accessories, black women are a marketer’s dream. They have the money and the means to spread their income around.

But when it comes to fashions that fit well while reflecting both their cultural identity and individual style, finding what they want can be a challenge.

According to “The Buying Power of Black America,” a study published annually by Target Market News, a 16-year-old research and information company that specializes in tracking African-American marketing, media and consumer behavior, black households had $656 billion in earned income in 2003, an increase of 3.9 percent over the $631 billion earned in 2002.

You would think that kind of buying power would translate to considerable influence on the fashion industry.

Yes, and no, say representatives from the Black Fashion Designers Association, based in New York.

The BFDA was founded in 2003 to support and promote the professional growth of its 100 designers.

The support includes getting the word out about their work through marketing and promotion, said Cathleen Laporte, president and CEO of the association.

“The organization supports a number of emerging designers who felt that they needed assistance with legal issues, marketing and manufacturing. They had the design side down, but not the business.”

As for “black” style, there really isn’t one, Laporte said, although black women’s figures tend to be fuller.

“I have heard so many black women say they’ve gone into stores and tried on pants but they’re not fitted for women with hips or with a curvy derriere,” she said.

That difference is particularly pronounced in New York City, a fashion capital that worships thinness.

‘If you look at the average size for the fashion industry, it’s a 2 to 6. If you are an 8 or 10 or 12, you’re considered plus size,” Laporte said. “In the black community, you’re not a plus size unless you’re 14 or 16 and up. Black women consider someone a size 10 or 12 as small.”

That can make figure-flattering designer clothing hard to find.

The increase in economic power of blacks in the past few decades means more black women are seeking custom fits from designers, seamstresses and tailors, Laporte said.

In 2004, the wives of National Basketball Association players hosted a gala. Laporte saw an opportunity to bring attention to her designers.

“They have the financial ability to go in and purchase designer clothing, so we matched them up with black designers that fit the dresses for them. That was one way to assist with the viability of emerging designers and to bring business to them.”