Plus-size women are different shoppers from their mainstream-size counterparts.

"There's always been an underground communication stream with plus-size girls communicating about what fits," Chris Daniel, president of plus-size retailer Torrid, tells StyleList.

"There's a whole do-it-yourself thing that goes with being a bigger size."

Which is why Torrid welcomed 10 bloggers who specialize in the plus-size market into its showroom in New York City's Garment District.

"Torrid started because a bunch of girls would write on Hot Topic customer cards, 'We want bigger sizes,'" Daniel says.

"Our connection to the customer evolves as the customer evolves, so blogging is really important. For us, the blogging piece is the next iteration -- women helping women. We learn a lot from these women and it keeps us fresh."

The bloggers traveled to Manhattan from as far as Finland to meet and network as part of the YFF Conference, which was organized by Gabi Gregg, the founder of the blog Youngfatandfabulous.com.

"We're doing a lot of this," Gregg tells StyleList, "which is meeting with retailers and talking to them about their lines for fall. We work as a voice of our readers -- kind of as a liaison to the retailers. We have a lot of influence, the 10 of us. It's hard to shop and be over a size 16, especially in the United States, so online is the first place people go when they have issues to talk over."

And online shopping is one of the first places plus-size shoppers turn. "I've really discovered the power of online overseas shopping," Gregg says. "When you're my size -- I'm an 18 -- you can't rely on one store."

Speaking of plus-size beauties, read about David Hasselhoff's daughter Hayley, star of the ABC Family series "Huge."