With the advent of the plus-size models returning with a bang, but now called “Women with Curves”, the lingerie industry has also gone back to the original lingerie designs as per the history of Plus Size Lingerie will show.

Starting in the 1800s, as back then the curvy shape was considered the real thing.

As fashion dominated the made to order industry, therefore causing only plus sizes fashion to be available even though there were many women with smaller bodies into fashion.

It was only in the 1900s when the new technologies came into play for the industries of clothing manufacture that clothes of fashion were to become available for the smaller figure and creating the market name for the fashion for curvy females to be called Stoutwear, which did go down to well with the plus-size ladies of the day.

With this in mind by 1904, Lena Bryant (aka Lane Bryant) started up the first exclusively Plus Size Retailer and thus bringing the more acceptable term for the curvier woman back.

With this new retailer, specializing in the bigger figure, the release of the then taboo considered fashion garment called Lingerie, made its appearance on the Plus-Size market as a maternity dress.

And so with Bryant meeting up with a mechanical engineer, Albert Malsin whom she ended up marrying, together they studied thousands of women of plus size to create and move forward with the production and retailing of Plus Size Lingerie.

When the 1940s fashion market changed and America wanted to become a superpower of fashion as well they changed the image of their models to represent American women as tall and slender with no curves, thus forcing the plus size fashion to left by the wayside.

Only to be returned to the limelight in the 60s as the new scene was freedom of expression and especially for women and causing the fashion revolution of wearing what makes you feel comfortable no matter what your size.

This did not last long as by mid-sixties the fashion moved back to the small petite models like Twiggy, thus once again pushing the plus size into the background.

By the late 80s, the new scene included fashion for the Plus Size Woman but not in the modeling world, thus reviving the PLUS SIZE name but to be known to worn by Real Women which is still the way it is today.

This fashion sense included the Lingerie and sexy underwear market and with it a rush of Real Women jumping on that market which pushed up sales to a new high which made retailers reconsider selling only “Model Size” lingerie.

So since that time until today, we have a huge, excuse the pun, market for lingerie for the PLUS SIZE WOMAN or REAL WOMAN as was later called.