Katrina Victims' 'Blessing': Clothes That Fit
Plus-Size Items Tough to Find Amid Donated Clothing
By ADRIENNE MAND LEWIN
Sep. 20, 2005 - When Hurricane Katrina hit, many people evacuated with just the clothes they were wearing. But for many women who made it to safety, finding plus-size clothes that fit them among the garments donated to evacuees proved to be difficult or impossible.
"There was nothing," Anaice Floyd, an evacuee from New Orleans, told relief workers in Houston.
The call went out over the television airwaves from shelter volunteers, politicians and celebrities like singer Macy Gray, as well as the women themselves: Send clothing in large sizes.
Enter Charming Shoppes, parent company of Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug Plus and Catherine's Plus Sizes stores. The company is donating $2 million worth of clothing, undergarments and shoes to Katrina victims who have been washing and wearing the same clothes for weeks.
"Not every woman is a size 2, 4, 6 or 8," said Charming Shoppes spokeswoman Catherine Lippincott.
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