'An honest letter to all the Australian retailers who don’t want me to wear their clothes.'

Dear Retailers,

Last year I stood in the middle of an enormous shopping centre and cried.

And not the pretty kind of crying that consists of a single delicate tear slowly sliding down one cheek, a tear that can be easily hidden by a pair of glamourous sunglasses. 

No, it was the other kind of crying. The one where your mouth trembles and your neck suddenly turns the colour of an overripe tomato.

It was the week before a big family wedding and I had finally found a formal dress that not only fit me, but one I liked enough that I didn't fantasise about it meeting a Carrie-style end and being doused with litres of pigs' blood. 

Which, as any plus-size woman would know, is quite the feat given the state of clothing currently available to any woman in Australia above a size 16. Keeping in mind that once you start looking above a size 24, you might as well forget about it and just start fashioning your own clothes out of leaves.

This unicorn of a dress did require a few alterations, but when I arrived at the tailors to retrieve it, I was informed that not only was one of the changes unable to be made (something about it changing the structure of the dress too much) but there had also been a mistake made with another one of the alterations. 

So now there was no way this dress was making its way to a winery wedding anytime in the foreseeable future.

I was standing in the middle of the store, still in a bit of a shocked daze over what had just happened, when my phone buzzed with a call from a friend who I was about to meet at a movie screening, and she excitedly asked how the dress pickup had gone.

I recounted the story to her with the same energy I had applied to debriefing on the Game of Thrones finale (even though this situation was much more dire) and she quickly suggested we skip the movie and just focus on finding me another dress.

After all, I was standing in the middle of Australia’s biggest city with cash to spend and some time on my side, surely this was a task that could be completed with (wine) time to spare. 

Instead, the tears started to flow.

Because even though I was staring down a seemingly endless stream of stores, they may as well have been filled with empty shelves. 

All because your brands and stores don't want me to wear your clothes.

I guess I can take some comfort in knowing that your indifference is not directed solely at me. 

Any person looking for women's clothing above a size 16 knows shopping involves an intricate planning process of carefully scanning the handful of brands available months ahead of when you might require the item, then waiting anxiously for it to arrive, all the while knowing there are no alternatives should it not look right. 

Like so many other women, when it comes to fashion I don't live in a world of personal style, of knowing what I love, what works for my budget, or even what pieces of clothing truly make me feel like me. 

I live in a world of 'this will have to do'.

So, retailers and brands available in Australia, how can we fix this standoff we currently find ourselves in? 

Because the truth of the matter is, I'm not asking you to do me a favour out of the goodness of your hearts. 

I would just love to give you my money, and I’m privileged enough that I have quite a bit of disposable income I would be just delighted to send your way. As would many others. 

"Any person looking for women's clothing above a size 16 knows shopping involves an intricate planning process that consists of carefully scanning the handful of brands available months ahead of when you might require the item." Image: Supplied 

Also, since we're laying all our hopes and dreams out on the table here, I'd love to walk into your stores, pull your lovely clothes from the racks and find my size. All while taking in the luxury of being able to try clothes on in an actual store. 

I dream of being able to peruse your websites and fill up a cart with a series of splurges and then pepper your Instagram accounts with likes and saves for more items I know I have to own. 

I’d be thrilled to wear your clothes to the many fancy events my job allows me to attend (full disclosure, everyone is looking at the actual celebrities in attendance, but still, the next time I awkwardly pose for a picture with an Oscar winner and then quickly sidle away, don’t you want it to be in your dress?)

Read more: "Their collections sell out SO fast." 16 women on the plus-size brands that never fail them.

I’d love to proudly mention your brand in our office fashion videos, spruik you on a podcast or, most importantly, just tell my fellow plus-size ladies they have to shop in your store and then watch them fall in love with the perfect new dress.

But judging by the majority of retailers available here in Australia, none of these moments are on the horizon for me anytime soon. In fact, it appears the offerings are becoming less and less.

Australia in particular still feels light years away from where other countries now are in the plus-size clothing space. 

But before you offer up nothing more than a sympathetic smile and a shrug that says 'that's just the way things are', I'm afraid I have to hit you with a bit of harsh truth.

Because this impasse we find ourselves permanently stuck in is not my fault at all.

It’s yours.

 "Like so many other women, when it comes to fashion I don't live in a world of personal style, of knowing what I love, what works for my budget, or even what pieces of clothing truly make me feel like me." Image: Supplied.  

The reality is, people are preparing to live in space yet you still think it’s beyond the realm of possibility to extend your range, even by just a few sizes.

I'm aware of the reasoning many brands have offered as to why they are unable to do this. Everything from the fact that they've tried a small extension before and it didn't sell, to the costs involved in changing their production process.

But the counterclaim to that is, as much as plus-size people want more clothing options, it's hard to buy clothes from a company that feels ashamed of selling them to you. Or fails to let you know they even exist.

Make your plus-size clothing options and then put them into stores along with your straight-sized lines, use plus-size people in your advertising and across your social media channels, and don't make the clothes you think plus-size people should wear (there are enough cold-shoulder slogan t-shirts to see us through an apocalypse, thank you, no need to create any more).

There's nothing that makes you want to close your wallet faster than walking into a store and being told in a strangled whisper that your size is only stocked online, if at all.

Or asking that same question and effectively being handed a compass and a day's rations and being informed you'll have to journey to a faraway corner of the store where you might find your size hidden in a dark corner.

Making your exact clothes in bigger sizes and stocking them in stores is not an unexpected plot twist when it comes to making money from size expansion lines - it's the only way to change this situation.

And I hope you do make a change, because I would just love to spend my money on your clothes.

Laura Brodnik is Mamamia's Head of Entertainment and host of The Spill podcast. You can follow her on Instagram here.

 Image: Getty/Supplied

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