Talbots launches its own plus-size-only store, and Bluffton is among the first to get one

Whether you’re just visiting or you’re a Lowcountry local, there’s a good chance you shop at Tanger Outlets Hilton Head.

This retail hotspot — which is so big it’s split in two with a shuttle available to cart shoppers between the centers — is undergoing one of its biggest clusters of openings in a while, according to Ashley Doepp, general manager at Tanger Outlets Hilton Head.

Last week, I wrote about the plans to open a Talbots Woman in Tanger 1 and a Talbots in Shelter Cove Towne Center.

Markie Banks, the general manager of Talbots at Tanger 1, said the new Talbots Woman will open Nov. 1 next to Oakley Vault and Bath & Body Works.

Banks said Talbots Woman would be entirely dedicated to plus sizes — sizes 14 to 22 — and that this store is one of only four in the country Talbots will have opened so far.

“(Plus sizes are) such a booming section of the industry now,” she said. “I have high hopes for it. So does the company.”

While I’ve personally never shopped at Talbots, I’m always a fan of consumers having more options. Talbots Woman will join Lane Bryant Outlet as the two stores in the outlets that cater specifically to plus-size women.

But this retail venture isn’t the only one coming to the outlets this fall. Spirit Halloween and Auntie Anne’s second location are already open at Tanger 2 and more stores are lined up to open by Black Friday.

This story was originally published September 29, 2016 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Talbots launches its own plus-size-only store, and Bluffton is among the first to get one."