Youth say it's possible to live large and look young

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Yeah, it's possible to live large and look young if you can afford it. Places like Making It Big, Big on Batik, Love Your Peaches, and The Big, The Bad, and The Beautiful are making clothing to fit fat, younger women, but their prices are way out of my range (and yes, I like some of the younger fashions). Being almost 54, I suppose I shouldn't mind the "matronly" plus-size fashions, but I don't see myself as matronly. I don't feel matronly, I don't think I look matronly, and I certainly don't want to dress that way. So I can relate to younger women who don't want to dress that way either, just because they are fat. I don't know how many times I've seen clothes in stores and thought "I wish that came in my size, I really like it". I've also looked at clothes in those same stores and no way in hell would I be caught dead in some of the clothes they carry.
I also resent the fact that most of the places that are finally carrying clothes to fit fat women are charging so much. I can't afford $80 for a top or $90 for jeans/slacks, let alone $150 or more for a dress. I truly don't understand why those clothes are so expensive. Being a seamstress (and having worked in a garment factory in my youth), I know that patterns and fabric and notions aren't that costly. Once I have paid the $15 that a pattern costs now (damn, I can remember when they were only a couple of bucks), I can use it innumerable times, and make all kinds of changes to it so that it's not the same garment every time I make it. Even good fabrics aren't all that expensive (and when you buy in bulk, wholesale, they're even cheaper, like manufacturers can do), same for notions. So why is a top that costs maybe $15 to make marked up 5 or 6 times that in the store? I don't mind companies making a profit, but they won't make any profit if women can't afford to buy their clothes.
I buy most of my tops from Catherine's, but very seldom do I pay full price. I shop the clearance racks when they have deep discounts (I've gotten $40 tops for less than $10 that way). I can afford to buy more when it's on sale. I'll admit I'm cheap, it hurts to spend $50 on a top that I can maybe wear for a year or two before it's shot. I have tops in my closet that I made 15 years ago and I'm still wearing them, but I don't have any tops I bought ready-made that are more than a couple of years old.
If I make it myself, I can change things like sleeves, necklines, hems, and collars, and details such as embroidery, appliques, or top-stitching. I get to pick the style, the type of fabric, the color of the fabric, and the pattern of the print on the fabric. This gives me something that no one else will ever have in their wardrobe (I hate going somewhere and seeing someone wearing the same top/outfit as I am).
So, while our clothing options are expanding, I do wish they were more affordable for those of us who don't have a lot of money to spend on clothes (I take care of the necessities of books and internet, then the luxuries of food, shelter, and utilities, and last of all are clothes).