Outrage as New Look imposes '˜fat tax' on plus-size clothing

High street retailer New Look has come under fire over an alleged "fat tax." Picture: John Devlin

The claims come after a shopper spotted a pair of trousers from New Look’s fashion brand Curve’s range being sold for 15 per cent more than an indentical pair in the store’s main collection.

Maria Wassell, a retail supervisor from Kent, is vowing to boycott the chain after noticing the differently priced items at her local Ashford branch.

The mother-of-two was said she was “absolutely disgusted” to discover New Look’s Green Stripe Wide Leg Trousers were being sold for £22.99 in the Curves range but just £19.99 in their standard range.

In full: The Scottish New Look stores closing down

She told the Sun: “It’s like I’m being discriminated against for being plus size when I’m only slightly bigger than average.

“The average size for a British woman is now a size 16.

“Plus size purchases are on the increase. If you look at the statistics, there’s more money being spent on plus size clothing now then there was even three years ago.

“Why should we be penalised for being slightly bigger? A lot of retailers do this.

“Some retailers have claimed that plus size clothes need more fabric and that’s why it costs more. That’s basically rubbish.

“I used to work for a plus size brand so I do understand a lot about how it works.”

She continued: “Retail at the moment is a really hard business to be in and they’re not doing themselves any favours. New Look are already closing stores down.”

Maria contacted New Look and claims she was told “some products appear similar but may be slightly different”.

The retailer also added that they are in the process of reviewing the pricing structure of its plus size collection.