Is it time to update kids’ husky and plus sizing terminology?
For years, the terms “Husky” and “Plus” have been the standard in childrens’ clothing sizes intended for kids who are larger than average. These terms are pretty much used by every clothing designer that offers extended sizes – though some brands, like RealKidz, are now offering an intermediate “above average” size.
Today, I ran across a recent editorial in the HeraldNet out of Washington State in which the writer admonished JCPenney for continuing to use the term “husky”, stating that it was outdated and insulting. She proposed using S, M, L, and XL. Unfortunately, those sizes are already in use and have their own meaning.
The Gap, for example, offers both regular size S, M, L, XL, and even XXL as well as husky size M, L, XL, and XXL for boys tops. The fits differ. If Gap were to remove Husky sizing, they’d be left with either changing the fit of their existing regular sizes (to acommodate a wider range of measurements perhaps) or increasing the range of regular sizes to include XXXL, etc. The alternative would be to leave the larger than average sizes in place, but change the term used to describe them.
The questions is, what contemporary term would accurately and sympathetically replace the word “husky” while still conveying that the clothing sizes are larger? This is not a question that I have an answer to, so I’d appreciate your insights.
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