Jigsaw slammed for not 'having clothes larger than SIZE 12 on rails'

Kate Middleton’s fashion favourite Jigsaw is blasted online after shopper claims staff at her local store said they are ‘discouraged from having clothes larger than a size 12 on the rails’

• Jigsaw criticised online for not having clothes larger than a size 12 out on rails
• The British fashion chain is a firm favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, 40
• Zoe Kleinman wrote about her experience trying to find a larger size than a 12
• People commenting on the tweet insisted the idea was a ‘horrible thing to do’ 
• Jigsaw said: ‘Due to the size of our range – we don’t always display all sizes in all styles on the shop floor. That is not to say we only put smaller sizes on the shop floor, far from it.’

Jigsaw has been criticised online for ‘discouraging staff from having clothes larger than a size 12 out on the rails’.

The British fashion chain is a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, a friend of the founders, who has often been seen sporting its designs and worked there as an assistant accessories buyer before marrying Prince William. 

But the brand – which has often been considered one of the beloved labels of Middle England – came under fire on Twitter last week after leading technology journalist Zoe Kleinman, wrote about her experience trying to find a larger size than a 12 in one of its stores.

The mother-of-three revealed: ‘I was told by staff yesterday in one of [Jigsaw’s] stores that they are discouraged from having clothes larger than a size 12 on the rails and that if people want to try larger sizes than that the staff have to go downstairs and fetch them – why is this?!’

Social media users commenting on the tweet insisted the idea was a ‘horrible thing to do’. 

A spokesperson for Jigsaw said: ‘Due to the size of our range – we don’t always display all sizes in all styles on the shop floor. That is not to say we only put smaller sizes on the shop floor, far from it.  

Jigsaw has been criticised online for ‘discouraging staff from having clothes larger than a size 12 out on the rails’. The store denied the claims

The British fashion chain is a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, a friend of the founders, who has often been seen sporting its designs (pictured) and worked there as an assistant accessories buyer before marrying Prince William

But the brand – which has often been considered one of the favourite labels of Middle England – came under fire on Twitter after leading technology journalist Zoe Kleinman wrote (above) about her experience trying to find a larger size than a 12 in one of its stores

‘We may have an 8 and a 10 in one style, and a 6 and a 16 in another style. This way our customers can see the range of styles that we offer rather than fewer styles in more sizes. 

‘Due to the boutique nature of our stores, our stylists are engaging and will explain that we will happily find alternative sizes if they need them.’

One individual commenting on Ms Kleinman’s tweet said: ‘Ah I thought they just never had bigger sizes so haven’t crossed the threshold in 25 years! Even when I was a skinny lass my boobs were too big for their stuff.’ 

Another person said: ‘That is so screwed up,’ while another simply wrote: ‘Horrible thing to do.’

It appears this isn’t the first time a customer has noticed the lack of larger sizes on rails in stores and asked staff about it.

One person wrote last year on Twitter: ‘Harrogate Jigsaw, bought stuff over the years… no size 14 on the rails! 

‘”Have u sold all the size 14s? Only 8, 10, 12 sizes out?”,’ the person suggested they asked staff, only to apparently receive the reply: ‘No, we can only put three of each design out, but can get size 14 from stockroom on most items!’ 

‘Really? Lost my money, poor business model,’ concluded the social media user.

According to 2013 figures, some 45 per cent of British women are a dress size 16 or more. 

Social media users commenting on the tweet insisted the idea was a ‘horrible thing to do’

It appears this isn’t the first time a customer has noticed the lack of larger sizes on rails in stores and asked staff about it. One person wrote last year on Twitter: ‘Harrogate Jigsaw, bought stuff over the years… no size 14 on the rails!’

The latest controversy comes after an ad for Jigsaw was banned in December 2021, for being likely to cause serious offence by objectifying women.

An advertising email from the clothing retailer in September stated in the subject line, ‘These boots were made for walking’, and included a picture of a woman climbing over a fence wearing a jumper, boots and only underpants on her bottom half.

Two readers complained that the ad objectified women and was offensive and irresponsible.

Robinson Webster, trading as Jigsaw, said the image was created by an all-female team and ‘came from a place of celebration and freedom’.

Jigsaw said the model was wearing a bathing suit, and no other body parts were exposed because the image was focusing on the boots she was wearing.

This ad from Jigsaw was banned late last year after the watchdog found it is likely to cause serious offence by objectifying women

Jigsaw said they understood that seeing the image in isolation and without the wider context might have led to it being perceived in a different way, which was not their intention.

They agreed to withdraw the image from any future ads.

The brand has always been relatively conservative and is considered one of the favourite labels of Middle England. 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said: ‘The model’s face was not visible and, given its focus on the model’s exposed buttocks and upper legs, we considered the low-angle nature of the image gave it a voyeuristic feel.

‘We considered there was therefore a sexually suggestive element to the image. We considered that her partial nudity was further highlighted as she appeared to be out for a hike or walk in the woods, where people would not ordinarily be undressed in that way.

‘For those reasons we considered that the ad objectified the model depicted and invited readers to view her body as a sexual object.

‘Therefore, because the ad objectified and stereotyped women as sexual objects, we concluded that it was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence.’

The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: ‘We told Jigsaw to ensure that future advertising did not cause serious offence by objectifying women.’

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