One of the largest retail chains for wedding attire is making a massive change to their pricing structure—at last.
David’s Bridal announced it will no longer charge higher prices for plus-size wedding dresses and bridesmaids’ gowns. “On average, the up charge for a plus-size wedding gown is nearly 15 percent, and we do not believe that a woman’s size should determine how much she pays,” Jim Marcum, CEO of David’s Bridal, said in a statement given to Glamour. “Since I started at David’s Bridal just over four months ago, I have made it my number one priority to serve all brides, making it our mission to remind every bride that she is beautiful.”
David’s Bridal has been size-inclusive—carrying size 0 through 30W—for some time, but now it’s also making sure the brand is treating all of its customers fairly when it comes to price, the deciding factor for so many brides-to-be. (The brand also recently announced the introduction of free returns and exchanges.)
“Going forward, all brides and bridesmaids will pay the same price for the same style, regardless of the size,” the statement added.
While equal pricing no matter size seems totally logical, it simply has not been the way the business model has worked previously. The so-called “fat tax” (or price parity) is not exclusive to the bridal industry and generally pervasive across many retail brands. (Airlines and spas have also been accused of up-charging larger customers.)
“Yes, it takes more fabric to make a larger garment versus a smaller one, which could be why some people want to put that back onto the customer, but that doesn’t seem like the right way to do things,” Chromat’s Becca McCharen-Tran told Glamour earlier this year, adding that designers can adjust wholesale margins based on the largest size they sell to offset expenses while keeping the price consistent. “If I were a designer working with leather or an expensive fabric, I would alter the margin to reflect the most expensive version. It’s offensive to charge it back to the customer.”
Hopefully more brands, bridal and otherwise, will follow suit.
