The sweater nears completetion!

Despite messing up so royally at my first attempt and then my youngest child providing me with 8 hours or work in un knotting the mess, I have done it. I need to finish a sleeve and the collar and cuffs. I should be able to have a picture of it up later today! Possibly even of me wearing it to prove that it really IS sized for big women, not just randomly increased in only length or only width with no care to the dimensions of a human body bigger than 38 inches around. I know you big, beautiful crocheters out there have come across plus size patterns that look more like a costume for circus folk once you've finished it. The ones that do fit usually have sheer shapelessness to credit. It's hard for a big square to not fit. Why must it always be something boxy or old and dowdy looking for bigger women? To be fair, I have the same complaint about the fashion industry in general - do big women hate looking nice? Looking at all of the flower and animal print on increda-stretch fabrics and shapeless, bead/sequin/gem studded tops one could be forgiven for thinking that there is a direct link between the clothing size and style or taste.
News Flash~ fat does not kill fashion.
I am no fashionista myself, budding or otherwise, but I do have a sense of style and taste for something other than elastic waists and kitten appliques.
I do have to be fair, crochet is bulkier and less flexible than knit and that leads to making a body look bigger than she needs to. Each person had different dimension so a pattern is never truly for the general sizes we give them. for instance a 22... could be a 22 short, a 22 petite, a 22 long or a 22 wide. Does the woman have an ample bust with a slim waist? Larger waist? What if she is smaller above and larger below? And what about those poor women who are bigger due to build alone, not fat?
Yes, I do have a heart for the dilema designers and pattern writes face. But I am still more miffed over the lack of clothing that fits my body. It makes me jealous of men, who get their clothing by inches and therefore can feel secure in the knowledge that they can walk into a store, pick up a pair of jeans off a shelf and they will FIT. Why don't women in the US do that? Maybe we're embarressed, maybe we're brainwashed, maybe it's easier to sell to us if every brand and each color of the same style shirt in that brand are all different fits and sizes. We'll stay for hours under the unforgiving glare of florescent lighting to try on countless articles of clothing in search of the one that makes us look good. It means we'll shop for more, possibly buy more because we can't decide or we are fooled by the mirror or even the misguided attempts to make us feel pretty from our friends and loved ones.
I love pretty clothes and shoes, HATE shopping. I vote we take the example of men's apparel and buy clothing by measurements, not the size number slapped on the tags of our clothing. It would make a big difference, I think.







um, wow. I really do have a talent for ranting and long winded conversations on barely connected subjects. Pictures later, cross my heart.