SeniorsSkiing.com’s Correspondent Yvette Cardozo Tells Where To Get Decent Clothing For Plus-Size Women.

This is a story of success and failure. And progress. Sort of.

I am not svelte by anyone’s measure. But I ski. I cycle. I scuba dive.  And I once rode my bike across the state of Florida … 174 miles in one day. The average temperature was 95, by the way.

 Many, many years ago when I got into serious cycling and wanted shorts, I was laughed out of the shop and resorted to cutting off polyester pants. Those of you of a certain age will remember those pants. They had a hideous seam down the front and stretched horribly when wet.

 Sadly, it rains a lot in South Florida, where I was living at the time.

 My ski wear consisted of men’s very large sizes tailored to fit. Eventually, someone came out with skiwear for “fat ladies.” The coat was neon pink. Be real guys. Nobody that size is gonna wear something that makes them look like Lake Superior. And it had hardly any pockets.

Women’s sportswear back then was notorious for not being technical. Fat women’s sportswear? You can imagine.

Enter Obermeyer. Go to the company website, click on women, then plus size and you actually get a choice. Mine that season boiled down to a pant called the Birmingham with all sorts of nice techie add-ons…fleece lining, storm flaps, high back, scuff guards, sturdy zippers, pockets. POCKETS!

By the time I decided to get them, the only color left in a size 20, yes, I am a size 20, was white. That is not a color someone my size EVER wants to wear in public. Sigh.

But they arrived, and they were four inches too large. I put them on, held them at the waist, let go and they fell to the floor by themselves.

Which is when I discovered another thing about clothing. The more expensive the clothes, the smaller the claimed size at a particular measurement. In other words, two pants that measure the same might be a 20 in something less expensive, an 18 in a mid-range and maybe even a 16 if it’s REALLY spendy.

Being rich, I guess, means you never have to admit to one of those embarrassing fat sizes.

There were none of my first choice left, but in my next choice, I was a size 18. Yay.

These things have style. They have pockets … lots of pockets. They fit. I could actually bend and squat in them while still managing to breathe.

Then, off I went to Mammoth Mountain in California to put the pants through their paces.  And yes, they did the job. Our first day, despite the April date, it was still full on winter with enough wind to close the top of the mountain. I wondered if it was possible to get frostbite on your tongue (you pant a lot at 11,000 feet).  But the pants survived and kept me toasty.

Then the next day, spring arrived, with 50 degree temps. I expected to sweat my knees off. But, oddly, I did not. Somehow, I stayed cool while diving into Mammoth’s famous Cornice Bowl.

I finally have a smart, technical pair of ski pants.

Now all I need is a jacket.

With lots of pockets.

Editor’s Note: Sourcing athletic, technical clothing for plus-size women is a real problem.  A recent Washington Post article describes the frustration and discouragement women feel when they can’t get decent, well-made technical clothing for sports or business wear.  What is available is not stylish, ill-fitting or wildly expensive.  We thank our new correspondent Yvette Cardozo for telling us, with humor, about what must have been a exasperating search for competent clothing. Have you ever experienced this? What is your solution? Are you a retailer or manufacturer? What’s going on?