Community Shopping. Community Editor's Pick. Community Events Featured. Community News in Brief. Throughout East Asia, thin has always been the primary beauty standard and Vietnam is no exception.
Despite the growing acceptance of body positivity, bigger bodies are still considered undesirable across the country, with products catering to plus-size women still limited. The issue is a major problem in the fashion industry.
Heavily influenced by Korea and America, the fashion industry in Vietnam is diverse, with trends ranging from cute girly looks and minimalism, right through to retro and edgier looks such as punk or y2k. But the same cannot be said when it comes to sizing. Women with larger bodies invariably struggle to find clothes that fit.
Lan Nguyen, an articulate year-old college student, feels her achievements have always overlooked because of the strict beauty standards in the country. They just make a bigger version of an item for a smaller body and expect it to look the same on a bigger body. Phuong Nguyen, another college student, dresses in a girlish style with a touch of chic.
However, it is hard for her to find items of her liking in her size, and she largely has to buy clothes from stores that sell free-size clothes, mainly T-shirts and trousers.
