Then Granger discovered Kids At Large, a Norwood, Mass.-based mail-order company that makes stylish clothes exclusively for large-size boys and girls. Founded five years ago by Copie Lilien and Kim Runyon, the company offers options to kids previously consigned to baggy jumpers. The catalog boasts acid-washed jeans, drop-waisted dresses and funky neon shorts. “It’s hard enough being heavy without worrying about having the ‘wrong’ clothes,” says Lilien. “We’re really selling self-esteem.”
According to Dr. William H. Dietz, a specialist on childhood obesity at Tufts Medical School, 20 percent of all American children are medically obese. When kids are bombarded with clothes they can’t possibly wear, they feel like misfits, he says.
For Erin, the Kids At Large clothes are a definite improvement. “They look better on me,” she says. “I like the designs and the materials.” She’s got lots of company: In the last year the Kids At Large mailing list grew from 46,000 to 130,000 names.
