| Shop | Size range | Need to know | Telephone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessorize | Accessories Shoes 4-8 |
Fantastic jewellery and evening bags. The best kept secret is their swimwear. Always drop by when you’re at the airport. | 0870 412 9000 |
| Claire’s Accessories | Accessories only |
Teen paradise for cheap trinkets. Be careful you don’t buy so many goodies that you end up looking like a wannabee schoolgirl. | 0121 682 8000 |
| Clarks | Shoes 3-8 Half sizes, and size 9 available in some styles. |
Wide fittings in the K range and wide leg fittings in some boot styles. | 08705 785 886 |
| Coast | 8-16 |
A few stand-alone stores and many concessions in department stores around the UK. Great for coats and evening wear. | 01865 881 986 |
| Dorothy Perkins | 8-22 8-20 in the Petite and Maternity ranges. Lingerie 34A-38D |
Not always well made, but each season they will produce ten great buys | 0845 121 4515 |
| Evans | 16-32 Lingerie sizes 38B-50H Shoes 4-10 |
Specialising in sizes for big girls. They have tall and petite ranges as well as offering wide fitting shoes and wider calf legs on boots. There is also an in-store bra measuring and fitting service. Sadly their designs tend to be quite safe and a bit dull. | 0845 121 4514 |
| Faith | Shoes 3-8 (size 9 in a few styles) |
Visit once a month to be sure of snapping up the latest amazing styles. Their ‘catwalk inspired’ range is Faith Solo. | 0800 289 297 |
| Gap | 4-18 |
Great for useful basics but ultimately all a bit samey and bland colours. | 0800 427 789 |
| George at ASDA | Main range 8-24. G21 range - 6-18. All sizes available in all stores. |
We sometimes go seasons without finding much and then they have 20 great buys in one season. Worth checking out and fabulous prices. | 0500 100 055 |
| H&M | 8-16, a few pieces go up to 20 Big is Beautiful 16-30 |
Shockingly inattentive staff. Presentation of rails has the air of a jumble sale. On Saturdays we need a flamethrower to get through the crowds. But here we find the most fab dresses, trousers, jacket, t-shirts and accessories and most are under £29.99 | 0207 323 2211 |
| Hobbs | Shoes 3-9 Half sizes available. Clothes 8-16 |
We always recommend their great flat boots with a sturdy 2 inch heel which go over most chunky calves and make all lower legs look extremely skinny. | 020 7586 5550 |
| Jigsaw | 8-16 (some styles only go up to 14) |
The staff are second to none for thoughtful and polite service. Very flattering cuts for disguising flab in unwanted places. Stores are immaculate and everything well presented. Colours tend towards the drab aubergine palette | 020 8392 5600 |
| Karen Millen | 8-14 |
Don’t be put off by the Footballers Wives image. The clothes come to life when you put them on | 0870 160 1830 |
| Mango | S - XL |
Sizing for anorexics but some funky young looks. | 020 7434 3694 |
| Marks & Spencer | Main range 8-22 Petite 6-22 Plus 20-28 Limited Collection 8-18 8-22 in most lingerie ranges 32A - 38 in all bras going up to 40DD in theirBody range. M&S also do a DD-Grange. |
Famous for their high quality and ‘no questions asked’ returns police. The standard bearer for quality underwear and bras for every woman. Always worth checking out their leather goods and shoes. Lots of different clothing ranges spread through the store can leave us a bit confused about where to look for a particular garment. Of all the high street chains, M&S seem to be making the most genuine effort to stock goods that are ethically and environmentally responsible. These are variations of the bras in each of the collections adapted to fit larger sizes. |
0845 302 1234 |
| Matalan | 10-20 (some styles in 8 & 22) Rogers & Rogers range in selected stores 18-28 |
Jeff & Co range designed by Jeff Banks is available in some stores | 0845 330 3330 |
| Monsoon | 8-18 (up to size 22 in a few styles) |
Still tend towards a heavy emphasis on the ethnic influences. | 0870 412 9000 |
| New Look | 8-18 ‘Inspire’ plus-size range 16-28 |
The accessories here are particularly fab. We seem to use them constantly in our column in the Sun. Summer seasons are usually stronger than winter ones because whilst the styles are amazing, the cut in tailoring can occasionally look a little cheap and naturally there are more tailored items for the colder months. | 0500 454 094 |
| Nine West | 3-8 |
The shoes here look really expensive for their price. The sandals give Gina a run for their money and they always have a brilliant selection of fun vibrant colours. | 020 7079 7586 |
| Oasis | 8-16 |
Designs seem to have lost their flair lately Gorgeous underwear. Check out their Future Organic range using denim and jersey made from 100% organic cotton. |
01865 881 986 |
| Office | 3-8 |
Great shoes for every occasion. Music in-store is deafening. The hottest styles sell out instantly. Office Vintage is a range of retro inspired funky looks and this is probably the best place to get Converse trainers. | 020 7255 2410 |
| Primark | 8-18 |
Shockingly quick at producing great versions of the latest trends. Clothes are so cheap it seems rude not to buy twenty hot items at a time. Don’t expect them to last long though. Be prepared to queue for half an hour at the changing room and another half an hour at the till. | 0118 9606 300 |
| Principles | 8-20 Petite 6-16 |
Can make surprisingly well cut clothes. Not as classical as they used to be. Some great shapes for big boobs. | 0870 122 8802 |
| Schuh | 3-8 9 in a few stores |
Great for funky trainers. Look past the rather bland black chunky office shoes and tacky stilettos to find a few true gems including the gorgeous DHavz by Terry de Havilland | 0845 307 2484 |
| Shelly’s | 3-8 9 in selected styles |
If you want the best range of cutting edge styles, look no further. You will need to navigate the plethora of cheap and nasty, but boy do they come out with some winning designs. Go early as it gets busier to the point of madness as the day goes by | 01274 893 886 |
| Tesco | 8-20 Sizes 16 to 26 in the SIXTEENTWENTYSIX range available in some stores. Shoes 3-8 |
The great items featured in the magazines are infuriatingly difficult to find in-store. Having said that the Florence + Fred collection is always worth a look. They do great little waisted jackets. Cherokee is the more casual sporty range. The underwear section is ok but only for very basic cotton pants. | 0800 50 55 55 |
| TK Maxx | All designer garments are arranged by size so no need to waste time browsing clothes that won’t fit. It depends on the label but a good range of sizes across the board. |
Sell designer gear at discount prices. It’s a bun fight to find the jewels amongst the thicket of designer rejects but worth it when you dig up an amazing bargain treasure. Great stuff sells out fast but you can stay ahead of the crowd by subscribing to their email newsletter. Something for everybody. | 01923 473 561 |
| Topshop | 6-16 |
Don’t go on the weekend unless you want to feel totally old and fat. Lead the way in commissioning top designers to produce an own label range. Offer some fabulous services to take the stress out of shopping: Style Advisor (a personal shopper to help you in the store); To Go (they come round to your house with tons of stuff for you to try - this is great for parties!); Express (broken a heel? emergency dinner date? fashion crisis? - they bring 5 garments over immediately for you to try) and Style Alert (text what you desperately want to a style advisor and they will hold it for you). This is groundbreaking service, we hope that the other high street chains will keep up. | 0845 1214 519 |
| Wallis | 8-20 Also Petite 8-20 |
We have found very well cut trousers for over size 12s and a number of trouser suits and evening outfits that will add a sense of glam to a 40 somethingish wardrobe. They also always have the best tops for big tits and flabby tummies. | 0845 121 4520 |
| Warehouse | 8-16 Size 6 in a few styles |
The stores do need a total overhaul and the rails always feel over stacked but there are occasional good buys if you have the patience to find them. A great range of accessories. | 0870 122 8813 |
| Zara | 6-18 Some styles are not available in the whole size range |
Great versions of high-end designer looks. Generously long trouser legs. Labels are sewn on with irritatingly scratchy nylon wire. Mainly Spanish staff are exceptionally helpful. Generally they take an interest in customer comments and feed it back to be taken on board by the design team. We shop here more than any other high street store. | 0207 534 9500 |
