Shopping for Plus-Size Clothing in Scottsdale

Aymie Rondeau

Posted on January 06 2020

Hey Curvy Girls! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely holiday season with your friends and families. 2019 was certainly a wild ride for The Curvy Shop, and we’re excited about everything 2020 has in store for us!

For the holiday season this year, I was fortunate to spend a month in Scottsdale, Arizona with my family. I’ve been coming down to the Valley of the Sun for my entire life, and I’ve been known to shop ‘til I drop on more than one occasion!

Since moving into plus-sized clothing, shopping in the Phoenix area hasn’t been as much fun. The department, outlet and consignment stores just don’t have the selection that’s available to straight-sized women. I was inspired by Maxey Greene’s recent Instagram post about her shopping trip in New Jersey, and I wanted to see what I could find for myself at Scottsdale Fashion Square and Tempe Marketplace.

I visited Macy’s, Dillard’s and Nordstrom at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Loft and Anthropologie both have stores in the mall, but sadly no plus sizes offered. Then I went to Tempe Marketplace to check out Nordstrom Rack, Lane Bryant and Old Navy. I was really happy to see a full range of sizes to 4X offered at Old Navy, but I honestly was too tired to try anything on at Lane Bryant or Old Navy at that point. Photos and links are below for everything that I tried on and purchased.

I haven’t spent this much time shopping in a mall for clothing for quite a while. There isn’t a lot to select from at stores in Calgary, so I end up shopping online for most of my clothing. In the videos I posted, you’ll notice that there are small plus-size sections in the department stores. I feel like all of the plus-sized clothing is shoved into a dark, dusty corner. The clothes aren’t displayed nicely and are generally pretty dowdy. I was exhausted at the end of the day digging through everything trying to find pieces to try on.

My advice for mall shopping:

Plan Ahead – I would suggest breaking up your shopping trips into shorter amounts of time if you’re able to.
Try It On – Be open and willing to try things on to see how they fit on your body.
Size Ain't Nothin' But a Number – Every brand sizes a little differently. Some fit big, others small. Focus on the fit and less on the number on the tag.
Buy It Because You Love It – Don't buy things just because they fit! I was guilty of this as well when I moved into plus sizes and felt like I could love fashion again. It’s fun to experiment with fashion again, but I was buying anything and everything just because they fit me and ended up with some pieces that weren’t long-term keepers. Thank goodness for Poshmark!

Did you have a chance to check out my Instagram story about my shopping trip? What did you think? Comment below! I’d love your feedback – would you like to see more stories like these in the future? What’s your experience shopping in-store for plus-sized clothing?

Here's everything that I tried on and purchased. This page contains affiliate links. Please read our full disclaimer here.

Macy’s:

My advice on Levi’s: I find that they fit one size small, so I recommend going up a size. I find that City Chic fits true to size.

Levi’s Graphic Logo Hoodie	Levi’s Camo Print Skinny Jeans


City Chic Studded Denim Jacket	Levi's Reese Fringe Trim Sweatshirt

Dillard's:

I found that the brands noted below all fit true to size.

Nike Windrunner Jacket	Cece Ruffled Tie-Neck Blouse in Royal Blue


Cece Ruffled Floral Print Blouse	Cece Polka Dot Jumpsuit


Vince Camuto Wrap Dress

Nordstrom:

I found that the brands noted below all fit true to size. The Caslon Draped Collar Jacket and Sanctuary Tie Neck Floral Top came home with me. The Sanctuary top was $89.00 US, which generally a little much for me to spend on a blouse, especially when you consider that us Canadians are adding another 25-30% in exchange. But I’d been eyeing this top for a while and just couldn’t say no!