Plus-Size shirt for under med student lab coat

July 11, 2006 9:48 AM

I'm looking for the perfect shirt for a plus-size woman doing med school rotations

Asking for a friend, who is too busy studying for pharmacology to shop for herself. Alas, I am terrible at buying clothes for myself, let alone being drafted to be someone's personal shopper, so I thought I'd ask what you all know.

Here's the deal: She starts rotations this fall, and needs to find the perfect shirt to wear. Here are the guidelines she sent me:

it needs to have no collar, bc i have a collar on my lab coat, which i must wear at all times. it must be light so i don't get too hot. it must be easily washable and not too wrinkly after the dryer. it must not look like just a t-shirt. it must be short, or regular t-shirt length, not tunic-length... so it doesn't stick out from under my short coat.

My additions:

It needs to come in sizes up to 3X or 4X.

And, since her plan is basically to find the right thing and buy a bunch to wear with neutral trousers, I suppose it should ideally come in several colors.

OK, all you plus-sized clothes-horse medical professionals, find me this shirt!

posted by not that girl to clothing, beauty, & fashion (19 comments total)

The Brooks Brothers no-iron, wrinkle-free shirts worked great for my partner, but I have no idea what their sizing options are.
posted by jmgorman at 10:15 AM on July 11, 2006

Tall order. How about this? I don't know if 26/28 is 3-4X.
Lane Bryant linen/cotton shirt.
posted by LoriFLA at 10:18 AM on July 11, 2006

I just bought several of these v-necks, if that's not too t-shirty for her (here's the cotton version). I also got this one, which looks a little weird without a jacket but might be perfect with her coat. She might also just want to buy some shells if she's never going to take her coat off.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:27 AM on July 11, 2006

What about the wrap style blouse on this page? It comes in four colors. Torrid has some nice things. They also have a simple tank top that comes in a ton of colors. It has wide straps and looks comfy and has a nice basic style, and could be dressed up or down easily.

Note - I don't wear Torrid clothes but have a friend who does and she likes their quality.
posted by iconomy at 10:29 AM on July 11, 2006

A collar under the labcoat looks much more professional and doctor-y than an uncollared shirt (my observation & opinion). If your friend should change her mind, these are very nice and would fit the bill as not needing excessive amounts of care, and come in lots of patterns/colors which would look sharp underneath the white labcoat. (Like LoriFLA, not sure how these sizes translate to 3x/4x)
posted by contessa at 10:30 AM on July 11, 2006

I have a couple of the Eddie Bauer no-wrinkle shirts in 1X and they are great. They are standard collared work blouses and come in a lot of colors and white. They go up to 4x.
posted by matildaben at 11:02 AM on July 11, 2006

P.S. That linen-cotton shirt that LoriFLA links to will wrinkle like all get-out.
posted by matildaben at 11:03 AM on July 11, 2006

Without any specific recommendations, here are some guidelines:

Try to stick to cotton or predominantly cotton garments. Unfortunately, a lot of 'fat-friendly' clothes these days are polyester/rayon/spandex because of the stretch factor, which does not always translate to breathability.

Check out Catherines, The Avenue, and Lane Bryant (though LB's stuff has been getting more and more casual and inappropriate for work). Those are fat lady stores (I am fat so I can say it before anyone snarks) and a 3X/4X is generally around a 24/26. Other places (Eddie Bauer, Land's End, etc.), that don't cater to fat women specifically, don't make 3Xs as big as they should be, if that makes sense.

When you buy stuff, make sure you can return it if it doesn't fit or meet your friend's specifications.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:08 AM on July 11, 2006

A lot of places carry more sizes in catalogs/internet than in their stores, so you might definitely look up the websites for Eddie Bauer, etc. rather than go to their stores.

Otherwise, everyone I know who is that size shops at Lane Bryant. Everyone. Go there, but if you are not the same shape as your friend, be prepared to deal with the repulsive stares of people who believe (in accordance with the store motto) that you are not a real woman. Meh. I guess teh internets is another good solution.
posted by dagnyscott at 11:23 AM on July 11, 2006

I'm 1x and my favorite shirts have come from Talbots. They go to 24W and don't run small, in my experience. They have a lot of cotton and are big on no-wrinkle. And they last for years.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:37 AM on July 11, 2006

Also, I can't stand Lane Bryant's fashions. I've had better luck at Macy's and Nordstrom, though you couldn't guess it from their websites.

I like Torrid's fashions, but I haven't found their quality to be good, and if your friend is curvy, rather than egg-shaped, she's going to have a harder time there.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:41 AM on July 11, 2006

100% cotton wrinkles easily and require constant ironing. Despite the Fat Lady Stigma, I find cotton/poly/spandex works fairly well for me.

Lands' End No-Iron shirts seem to all have collars, but they truly are non-sweaty and wrinkle-proof if that takes higher precedence. You can usually find them at Sears, if you want to try on first. I agree the sizes run small, but if your friend is a shorter woman they might be worth a look.

I'll also second Macy's and Avenue. As Lane Bryant's fall collections start to come in, they might be worth a look online -- they can't push halter tops forever.

(dagnyscott: You do realize that fat women often get the same repulsive stares in "regular" clothing stores, right? Not to condone the behavior at all, but it's certainly not limited to LB.)
posted by gnomeloaf at 12:43 PM on July 11, 2006

What about Old Navy Women's Plus? Right now they are kind of lacking in the button-downs department, but they have some comfy & inexpensive Polos. The Avenue also has some great options, like these button downs (that come in a bunch of great colors) and these boatneck shirts.
posted by tastybrains at 1:25 PM on July 11, 2006

These sound like great suggestions, but if you want to take it the "experts" you can join the Live Journal community Fatshionista, which specifically deals with plus size fashion. People ask questions like this all time.
posted by kimdog at 1:38 PM on July 11, 2006

My two favorite online/catalog retailers for plus size are: Making it Big and Junonia. Both focus on natural fibers (tho' Junonia, being more sports-oriented uses Spandex in some). MIB clothing is mostly made in the USA. Both are a little pricey but the quality is excellent and the sizing is accurate. MIB is very suitable for work and has many cute collerless tops in cotton, rayon, linen...etc. The swimsuits from Junonia are great, flattering and long-lasting.
posted by agatha_magatha at 3:07 PM on July 11, 2006

According to the website this J Jill shirt comes in 3x & 4x. The crosover shape is flattering to larger women and it comes in a lot of colors.
posted by Sara Anne at 5:03 PM on July 11, 2006

Ulla Popken has some nice stuff.
posted by Addlepated at 7:19 PM on July 11, 2006

Tell her to check out Decent Exposures. Wide variety of colors, and you can have them customize the length. Not cheap, though.

Lane Bryant is lovely, and my store of choice for clothes, but probably won't be much help with this request.

She might also consider the combo of pattern/fabric/seamstress, if she's going to be wearing them that often. Bad clothes suck. Bad clothes on your feet for many hours doing rotations suck HARD.
posted by booksherpa at 8:28 PM on July 11, 2006

Just a note - I have to be honest, if I wore the shirt that Sara Anne linked to, people would be asking me if I was pregnant. I am very large-chested, and thus the shirt would hang out over my stomach. I know because I own two shirts of the exact same style.

I am just barely plus-size but I have had bizarre luck at Jones New York (both regular and outlet stores, and in the big department stores). My mom is a 3x and she wears a lot of their clothes quite well. My mom does a lot of shopping at QVC, as well, and loves Denim & Co., Quacker Factory, and CitiKnits for their light, breezy, and fun styles. And, you can shop by clothing piece and style!
posted by MeetMegan at 9:18 PM on July 11, 2006