Women's clothes sizes

annandale

Your memory is letting you down, sizes are actually larger than they used to be, vanity sizing.

Maybe time to hit the gym.

They weren't talking about sizes being smaller than they used to be. They were talking about sizes 6 and 8 being common when years ago sizes tended to start at 8-10 in a lot of the high street shops. There are size 4's in shops now, there weren't 30 years ago.

Yes - you do need to lose weight.

With respect, that's a personal choice. There are people who are a size 16 and larger who have no desire to lose weight.

Gloomendoom

annandale wrote: »

They weren't talking about sizes being smaller than they used to be. They were talking about sizes 6 and 8 being common when years ago sizes tended to start at 8-10 in a lot of the high street shops. There are size 4's in shops now, there weren't 30 years ago.

But those size fours in the shops today actually measure the same as the tens of yesteryear. The clothes available today are exactly the same size as they have always been, but the numbers on the labels are smaller.

Hermia

annandale wrote: »

They weren't talking about sizes being smaller than they used to be. They were talking about sizes 6 and 8 being common when years ago sizes tended to start at 8-10 in a lot of the high street shops. There are size 4's in shops now, there weren't 30 years ago.

That is down to vanity sizing though. Those sizes were around in the past, but they had a different number attached to them. I have some skirts from the 1990s that have a 24 inch waist and they are labelled 12. They are the same size as a modern 8. The OP does state she doesn't remember there being such tiny sizes years ago which does sound like she thinks sizes have got smaller. Women have generally got bigger over the last 20 years so those tiny sizes must have been in the shops. The only thing the OP can do is actually measure herself to get an accurate picture and then have a look online to see what size she is in different stores.

gettingtheresometime

Fireflyaway wrote: »

Thank you everyone. That's interesting to hear because I don't have any old clothes to compare. Having looked on some websites I found the largest size to be 18. If I get any bigger I won't be able to shop there end of. So I need to accept some action is needed here!

I tended to shop at jdwilliams when I was bigger - must admit I'm enjoying the shops I can now shop in!

FreddieFrugal

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Vanity sizing has spread to some men's clothes too. I have two pairs of shorts labelled 36" waist and they are. The most comfortable pair of shorts I own are labelled 34". They measure 37"

I've found that too. Ive got two pairs of jeans - both the same waist, supposedly - but one is a snug fit and the other would just fall down without a belt.

Surely an inch is an inch isn't it!?

Hermia

FreddieFrugal wrote: »

I've found that too. Ive got two pairs of jeans - both the same waist, supposedly - but one is a snug fit and the other would just fall down without a belt.

Surely an inch is an inch isn't it!?

I sometimes go on a fitness forum where there are a lot of Americans. A lot of the guys say that vanity sizing is rampant over there. Several guys have talked about being able to buy trousers that have a waist measurement that is several inches smaller than them. One guy has a 40 inch waist and was easily fitting into 36 inch waist trousers. What is the point of having inches on clothing if you are going to use vanity sizing?!

Hermia

Fireflyaway wrote: »

Thank you everyone. That's interesting to hear because I don't have any old clothes to compare. Having looked on some websites I found the largest size to be 18. If I get any bigger I won't be able to shop there end of. So I need to accept some action is needed here!

Remember your current clothes will be stretched out so they won't be giving you an accurate picture either. I find clothes can easily stretch out by a size or two if you wear and wash them a lot. It can then be a shock buying new ones. It is probably a good idea to weigh and measure yourself to see if you have been putting on weight without realising. Then you need to decide whether you want to do something about your weight or start looking into whether you like any of the plus sized brands out there.

Hermia

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

Maybe that's mostly looser fitting sports clothes?

My husband is a 32" waist and he seems to be consistently a 32" across brands.
He certainly doesn't seem to have the same size variation issues we women do.

The only time vanity sizing irritated me is when we switched over to the new bra sizing measurement method, i.e. rib cage only not +4 or +5 as before, thus yielding more ego flattering results.

Not every company adopted it straight away and for a while it was really confusing.
Also a lot of women got suckered into buying new bras while the underwear companies laughed all the way to the bank.

The American guys on the forum said they'd only noticed it happening in the last few years. I know one guy was talking about work suits so presumably not stretchy. Sizing over there does seem all over the place. There are a lot of slim, but not skinny, American ladies on the forum and they are having to buy clothes with XXXS labels even though they are clearly not tiny! The stores just seem desperate to not have a large number on the label.

I find bras a nightmare. I usually just pick out one in three different sizes to try on. A woman in M&S tried to explain how the sizing worked and it went straight over my head!

Red-Squirrel_2

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Yes - you do need to lose weight.

And you need to work on your manners!

Gloomendoom

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

Maybe that's mostly looser fitting sports clothes?

Vanity clothing sizes certainly isn't as much of a problem with mens' clothes in the UK as it is with womens' but it does exist as my example above shows.

In the US it seems to be much more of a problem. I have two American suits and the trousers are a labelled full four inches less than they actually measure around the waist.

Why?