Thefashion industry?blatantly?pays attention to plus-size women.A good fitis everything,stylists often counsel,but in assessing its market America'sfashion business appears to have mislaid the measuring tape.A frequently-citedstudy done a few years ago by Plunkett Research,a market-research firm,foundthat 67%of American women were“plus-size”,meaning size 14 or larger.

Thatfigure will not have changed much,but in 2016,only 18%of clothing sold wasplus-size,according to NPD Group,another research firm.

Designersand retailers have long thought of the plus-size segment as high-risk.Predicting what these customers will buy can be difficult,as they tend to bemore cautious about styles.Making larger clothes is more expensive;highercosts for fabric cannot always be passed on to consumers.In turn,plus-sizewomen shopped less because the industry was not serving them well.“We have moneybut nowhere to spend it,”says Kristine Thompson,who runs a blog called TrendyCurvy and has nearly 150000 followers on Instagram,a social-media site.

At last,that is changing.Fast-fashion brands,including Forever 21 and a fashion linesold in partnership with Target,a giant retailer,have expanded theirplus-size collections.Lane Bryant,a plus-size retailer,and Prabal Garung,adesigner,have done the same.In March,Nike extended its“X-sized”sportswear range.Revenue in the plus-size category increased by 14?tween 2013 and2016,compared with growth of 7%for all apparel.

Socialmedia has played an important role in changing attitudes in the fashionbusiness,says Madeline Jones,editor and co-founder of PLUS Model Magazine.Nonetheless,designer brands still hold back(Walmart sells the most plus-sizeapparel).Some brands,such as Michael Kors,do sell plus-size ranges but donot advertise them or display them on websites.Gwynnie Bee,Stitch Fix and Dia&Co,for example,share information with designers on preferred styles and fits.Tracy Reese,a designer known for creating Michelle Obama's dress for theDemocratic National Convention in2012,is one brand that recently enlistedGwynnie Bee's help to create a new plus-size collection.Gwynnie Bee promptedthe label to create bigger patterns and more appealing designs.

Not allplus-size shoppers are convinced.Laura Fuentes,a hairstylist from Abilene,Texas,says that many upmarket department stores still keep their plus-sizeclothing sections poorly organized,badly stocked and dimly lit,if they stocklarger clothes at all.Yet such complaints should be taken with a pinch ofsalt,says Ms.Thompson."We're nowhere near where we should be but we'vemade progress,"she says.

What is the meaning of the underlined word in the first paragraph?查看材料

• A.Frequently
• B.Publicly
• C.Potentially
• D.Practically