Have women's clothes been "super-sized"?

[MIch elle]

Is a size 12 the same as 10-20 yrs ago?

 

:bigear:

[myfunnybunch]

I wear a smaller number size than I did in high school (used to wear a 9/10, now wear an 8) and I weigh about 15-20 pounds more than I did back then.

 

Cat

[Laura in VA]

Yes. Some stores/brands even size their clothing differently so a woman would wear a smaller size than she usually would. I think it's a psychological ploy to get women to shop their store/brand. ;)

[Laura in VA]

Now, if I could only find a bra that was a size "larger"!!! :D

[Jean in Wisc]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/05/05/0_is_the_new_8/

 

Lay a high-school size 9 next to my today-size 10. hahahahaha!

 

J

[AuntieM]

and many clients brought her store-bought clothing to be altered. It was her observation - 25 years ago - that the higher the price tag, the smaller the relative size! She had clients who mentioned how pleased they were to be able to fit into a smaller size.

 

It didn't hurt that my mom also had a "magic" mirror. It was just an inexpensive, dime-store full length mirror, so she wasn't trying to fool anyone, but it was flawed in some way that made one appear just a bit slimmer!

 

As far as clothing these days, what I've noticed is that nowadays all the really cute things come in the larger women's sizes! I need about a 14, so I'm not skinny, but darn if there aren't a bunch of really darling size 20-22 blouses on the rack that I just can't make work! And it isn't that the misses sizes are just sold out, these cute clothes are actually designed for the plus-size market and are not even available in sizes lower than 16..

[Jean in Wisc]

Now, if I could only find a bra that was a size "larger"!!! :D

 

Well, you could be in my camp. Every baby and every weight gain has changed all that--even now when I'm losing weight, everything is down sizing except *there*. It is the WEIRDEST experience!

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I have the opposite probem. I lost a few pounds over the summer and that seemed to be the first place I noticed a reduction. sigh.

[percytruffle]

Yes and no. It depends where you shop. For the most part clothing sizes have increased quite a bit. As some have pointed out, the pricier name brands seem to be the biggest culprits. There are exceptions though. Try shopping at TJ Maxx for blouses. The blouses in the same size and on the same rack are all different. Many there are not up-sized, although some are. More and more there are very small for the given size, almost childlike in shape. They are definitely tailored to Asian clientèle and they are made in Asian countries. So, this influence is changing some fashions in the opposite direction. Pretty soon we won't know what size to even try on!

[Veritaserum]

Oh, yeah, they're doing vanity sizing. The last pair of jeans I bought were a size 4. :001_huh: I'm definitely not a size 4! For most companies I'm a size 8.

 

p.s. I didn't buy them because they were size 4. They look good on me. :tongue_smilie:

[camibami]

It drives me bonkers. I am pretty thin, and I can't buy nice "grown up" clothes! DH is military, and we go balls, and darn if any formal dresses in a 2 ever fit. I'm stuck with skanky looking jr size dresses.

 

Now, I *am* a 2 or a 4, but not anymore. Now I'm a freakin 0! That's like...an unsize! Zero??? And the only stores with 0 are Gap,Limited, etc- teeny bopper stores for the most part. The upside is that size is *always* left for super-reduced clearance, so I get some good deals on my teeny-bopper clothes.

 

Except for my 2 pregnancies, I've weighed the exact same and been the same height since I was 15. Exactly. Yet, in the last 10 years I've dropped 2 sizes or more? I don't think so.

 

Can you tell this is a touchy issue, LOL?! Its just so disheartening to go into a nice store- I love Talbots, for example- and nothing fits.

[Kris]

Is a size 12 the same as 10-20 yrs ago?

 

:bigear:

 

Nope -- not even close.

 

When I was in high school I was six feet tall, weighed 135 pounds and wore a size 12. If I still had those measurements, I'd be in a Land's End size 4 or 6 now.

 

If you want to take a look at the The Olden Days, here's a link to the Simplicity Pattern Company size chart -- it doesn't appear that the sizes have changed with that company. I had to make most of my clothes because nothing was long enough.

 

When I brought this up a couple of years ago on another board, they told me that even then, some 30-35 years ago, vanity sizing was getting started. But I managed to stay in a size 12 until the early 90s.

[Daisy]

Sigh, These conversations are always depressing. So I'm like 2-3 sizes BIGGER than what the number on my jeans say? :crying:

[Laura K (NC)]

They're all too small, lol, but size-wise they seem relative to the size I wear now.

 

I think if you go back farther than that, though, you'll notice a difference.

 

I like to shop in J. Jill, Coldwater Creek, etc, because they are very generous with their sizing. I'm sure there's a psychology behind that. As for me, I'm not going to buy another pair of pants until I can wear one size smaller. If I shopped at those two stores, though, I could pick a pair up today.

[Kris]

Sigh, These conversations are always depressing. So I'm like 2-3 sizes BIGGER than what the number on my jeans say? :crying:

 

Depends on how old those jeans are. ;)

[MIch elle]

It drives me bonkers. I am pretty thin, and I can't buy nice "grown up" clothes! DH is military, and we go balls, and darn if any formal dresses in a 2 ever fit. I'm stuck with skanky looking jr size dresses.

 

Now, I *am* a 2 or a 4, but not anymore. Now I'm a freakin 0! That's like...an unsize! Zero??? And the only stores with 0 are Gap,Limited, etc- teeny bopper stores for the most part. The upside is that size is *always* left for super-reduced clearance, so I get some good deals on my teeny-bopper clothes.

 

Except for my 2 pregnancies, I've weighed the exact same and been the same height since I was 15. Exactly. Yet, in the last 10 years I've dropped 2 sizes or more? I don't think so.

 

Can you tell this is a touchy issue, LOL?! Its just so disheartening to go into a nice store- I love Talbots, for example- and nothing fits.

 

 

and she's not a size 0 - she should be a size 2-4 by the older size stds imho.

[MIch elle]

Sigh, These conversations are always depressing. So I'm like 2-3 sizes BIGGER than what the number on my jeans say? :crying:

 

 

It all depends how you look at it. But -- yes.

 

I'm in a size 12 now (down from 16 several months ago) and that's what I was in high school 30 yrs ago (I was 30 lbs lighter too).

[MIch elle]

Depends on how old those jeans are. ;)

 

:iagree:

[Kim in Appalachia]

"size" as I did in highschool. But there was no way I could fit in my highschool jeans. In fact I tried.:lol:

 

I do not think there is any regulation for sizing. It's done to make us feel good. But it did not feel good when I couldn't get into what I thought were supposed to be the same sized jeans.

[Mekanamom]

LOL, it drives me nuts.

 

I wear the same size I did in high school, and I'm... really not the same size!

[keptwoman]

It drives me bonkers. I am pretty thin, and I can't buy nice "grown up" clothes! DH is military, and we go balls, and darn if any formal dresses in a 2 ever fit. I'm stuck with skanky looking jr size dresses.

 

Now, I *am* a 2 or a 4, but not anymore. Now I'm a freakin 0! That's like...an unsize! Zero??? And the only stores with 0 are Gap,Limited, etc- teeny bopper stores for the most part. The upside is that size is *always* left for super-reduced clearance, so I get some good deals on my teeny-bopper clothes.

 

Except for my 2 pregnancies, I've weighed the exact same and been the same height since I was 15. Exactly. Yet, in the last 10 years I've dropped 2 sizes or more? I don't think so.

 

Can you tell this is a touchy issue, LOL?! Its just so disheartening to go into a nice store- I love Talbots, for example- and nothing fits.

UG!! Me too. It just irritates me no end. Although I'm in Australia and sizes are different so I'm 5'3" and 100 pounds (ish) I was size 10-12 growing up and now I'm a 7!! 7!!!! Ridiculous.

[Vida Winter]

It's how I am able to still fit into a size 6 even though I've had 3 kids and have gained a few pounds every single year.

[GailV]

Fashion Incubator (great blog to read if you're at ALL interested in the clothing industry) says that it's actually sizing evolution. The link will take you to her first article on the subject; there's also another.

 

As I recall, this is some of the reasoning: We have gotten bigger over time, no doubt. We look lots different from people in, say, the 16th century. So it makes sense that most clothing is made to a different size than it was in the 16th century. And, for that matter, the majority of the population is a different size now than it was 20 years ago, so the apparel industry has kept pace. It makes sense that most clothing would be made the size of most people wearing (and purchasing) clothing.

 

On the flip side of this, everyone complains that pattern manufacturers DON'T revamp their sizes constantly and therefore no longer match up with the apparel manufacturers. Threads on THAT subject come up on a regular basis, too.

[Anne Rittenhouse]

If you want to take a look at the The Olden Days, here's a link to the Simplicity Pattern Company size chart -- it doesn't appear that the sizes have changed with that company. I had to make most of my clothes because nothing was long enough.

 

 

 

Do you know how hard it is to tell a custom client this? "No, you cannot buy a pattern in the same size as your ready to wear dress size. Even if you wear a 10 off the rack, you'll need a 16-22 size pattern depending on your personnal body shape, fitting areas, and garment style. Sizes for ready to wear and sewing patterns no longer have any relationship to each other."

 

This as they are waving the size 4-6 wedding dress pattern of their dreams at me saying, "I'll lose the weight in six months, and by the way I want a cathedral length train on this slip dress, you can do that, can't you?"

 

Some clients get so upset by this, that it is the end of custom made clothing for them. In reality, although this is difficult, those clients who leave at this point, don't really understand the different between custom made and ready to wear.

 

Just feeling snarky about my customers as the wedding season heats up for spring.

Edited October 6, 2008 by Anne Rittenhouse

[ABQmom]

Now, I *am* a 2 or a 4, but not anymore. Now I'm a freakin 0! That's like...an unsize! Zero??? And the only stores with 0 are Gap,Limited, etc- teeny bopper stores for the most part. The upside is that size is *always* left for super-reduced clearance, so I get some good deals on my teeny-bopper clothes.

 

Except for my 2 pregnancies, I've weighed the exact same and been the same height since I was 15. Exactly. Yet, in the last 10 years I've dropped 2 sizes or more? I don't think so.

 

Can you tell this is a touchy issue, LOL?! Its just so disheartening to go into a nice store- I love Talbots, for example- and nothing fits.

 

I totally hear you on this one! I thought it was just me. I've had four pregnancies, so my shape has changed a little, but not my weight. I can't find a pair of pants to fit me to save my life. Oh, I could wear the junior department pants, but I'm over 40, and I have impressionable girls in my household! I love Talbots stuff too, and nothing fits me there anymore either. I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone!

[Holly IN]

I believe it has. Last year I was wanting to buy capri pants. When I took my normal size pants home, it was too loose. I thought I lost weight so took it back and tried a 5, still too big. Tried a 4 and still too big but that was the smallest they had available. So tooke the 4 home!! Now I have gained weight big time. I blame this to the increase in sizing of clothing. I am not happy about this at all. Why do they do this? :glare: I now have a very hard time find pants and skirts that fit me right. I had to choose between a size 4 skirt (it was still too big around the waist but way too tight on my butt) and a 6 that was way way way too loose around waist but fit my butt really good). So I called dh at work to ask him. So I got a size 6 and now I have to find a seamstress that will make it fit my body. ggggrrrr!!!!

 

Holly

 

edited to add: I really think this is a consipiracy theory into getting us thinking that our weight is fine (even after having 3, 5, 7, or more kids). So we get comfortable with our weight therefore we gain...which is what is happening to me. I went from a 100 pounds to 122 in one year. I really blame the clothing industry for this. I got way too comfortable in thinking that I wasn't gaining weight. Now I do not buy pants or skirt unless I absolutely have to. This is to keep my weight in check. Now I have to loose 22 pounds. (My knees are screaming at me....I had knee surgery so it is not happy with me right now).

Edited October 6, 2008 by Holly IN

[Kris]

Do you know how hard it is to tell a custom client this? "No, you cannot buy a pattern in the same size as your ready to wear dress size. Even if you wear a 10 off the rack, you'll need a 16-22 size pattern depending on your personnal body shape, fitting areas, and garment style. Sizes for ready to wear and sewing patterns no longer have any relationship to each other."

 

Oh, I believe it! Even people I've talked to who are perfectly aware of the vanity sizing issues and are determined not to be taken in by them admit to feeling a little better when they get into those smaller sizes. I doubt I'll ever be small enough to actually get into a 4 or a 6 -- and I sure hope not. I'd feel silly! I still have a picture of those petite girls in high school wearing those sizes -- and I was *never* that small. :lol:

 

ETA: It's a total PITA for someone who doesn't like to try on clothes at the store. I *hate* that. I want to get my size and take it home. Can't do *that* anymore!

[In The Great White North]

This has been going on for a long time. I remember my mom complaining about it in the early 70's.

 

I saw some old (40's and 50's) patterns for Girl Scout leader uniforms on ebay a while back. The pattern companies have definitely changed their sizing also, even if not as quickly as the stores.

[CLHCO]

When I shop at the thrift shop and get older styles I have to get at least one size bigger. When I shop at Walmart I feel really skinny!

[PinkInTheBlue]

Is a size 12 the same as 10-20 yrs ago?

 

:bigear:

 

No! It's not the same size. I weighed the same as I do now in high school/jr high school and back then I wore about a 3/4. Now, if I'm lucky a 0 fits but even in many places (J Crew) that is HUGE on me. It's annoying and frustrating.

 

There's absolutely no way sizing is the same. Plus I've read about it many times. I do believe it is called vanity sizing.

[Zelda]

I've been in stores that have a size called "00". Seriously? Let's just go back to calling that a 2.

 

My mom owns a bridal salon where the sizing runs the other way and you should watch people freak out when they've just bought a "00" at the mall and then she tells them they need to order a "6". Not good.

[mazakaal]

Pretty soon we won't know what size to even try on!

 

I'm there already. I so rarely shop for clothes. I needed to pick up a few things on our last trip to the States (clothes are cheaper there, along with everything else), so I went into TJMaxx and had to pull clothes from all different sizes because I had NO idea what size I was. I'd try on one thing in a size 10 and have to go back for a size 8, I'd try on a different item in a size 10 and have to go back for a size 12.

 

I never liked shopping, but I find it really annoying now.

[KidsHappen]

Nope -- not even close.

 

When I was in high school I was six feet tall, weighed 135 pounds and wore a size 12. If I still had those measurements, I'd be in a Land's End size 4 or 6 now.

 

If you want to take a look at the The Olden Days, here's a link to the Simplicity Pattern Company size chart -- it doesn't appear that the sizes have changed with that company. I had to make most of my clothes because nothing was long enough.

 

When I brought this up a couple of years ago on another board, they told me that even then, some 30-35 years ago, vanity sizing was getting started. But I managed to stay in a size 12 until the early 90s.

 

According to this chart I would wear a size 14 but I currently wear about a size 6. This certainly explain some of the sizing perplexities in my life in the last 20 years.

[SapphireStitch]

Yeah, they're definitely trying to make us feel good with the sizes. My daughter weighs about 125 lbs and wears a size 6 in most things...a 4 or even a 2 if she finds a pricey enough brand at Goodwill!:lol:

 

I weighed 10 pounds more than that at her age and wore a 16. Now in sewing patterns she has to buy a size 12 or 14...I wonder when the patterns companies are going to catch on and "vanity size"?

 

It certainly makes for interesting discussions about how we want to value ourselves based on numbers.

[H.S. Burrow]

I wear a smaller number size than I did in high school (used to wear a 9/10, now wear an 8) and I weigh about 15-20 pounds more than I did back then.

 

Cat

 

This is what I have observed with my DD, age 14, height 5'10", & 150 pounds.

 

I have a pair of denim shorts that I wore when I was first pregnant with her. They are from the Limited and a size 10. They are TOO BIG for DD. But her brand new jeans - Cruel girl - are a size 14. Her Levi's capris - size 14...and they are a little tight.

 

Some of my old shirts/blouses that are a Large or X-Large swallow her. But her new shirts - XLarge are almost too tight.

 

BUT in WOMENs sizes, I have shirts ranging in size from Large to XXL and they all fit the same. :confused:

 

This makes it very difficult and time consuming to shop for clothes as EVERYTHING must be tried on!!

[mrsdash]

The dresses in my closet range from a 4 to a 10. They all "look" to be the same size to me. My jeans are anywhere from a 3/4 to a 5/6 or a 7. They all look the same size to me. My tops are an XS to a M or a 2 to a 6. Again, they all look to be the same size to me.

I had to stop getting moody over whether I needed to buy a 2 or a 6....it's crazy. You just can't depend on a number and we as women should not value ourselves based on that number. I'm not saying anyone here does that but I sure know I use to. I just want to continue to fit into the clothes I have now...no matter what the size on the label.

[SapphireStitch]

DD and I have also noticed a big difference between the Juniors sizing and Misses sizing. To get a Juniors tee to fit her she needs a Large, but in Misses she wears an S or XS. Now that I think of it, though, this might be an issue of style rather than size. She won't wear her clothes skin-tight and some of these tops are meant to be worn that way.

 

As for me, I am VERY big and I buy a lot of my clothing online. One store I buy from uses letters instead of numbers...in their sizes I am a "J". For "just right" I think.:lol:

[Audrey]

Do you know how hard it is to tell a custom client this? "No, you cannot buy a pattern in the same size as your ready to wear dress size. Even if you wear a 10 off the rack, you'll need a 16-22 size pattern depending on your personnal body shape, fitting areas, and garment style. Sizes for ready to wear and sewing patterns no longer have any relationship to each other."

 

This as they are waving the size 4-6 wedding dress pattern of their dreams at me saying, "I'll lose the weight in six months, and by the way I want a cathedral length train on this slip dress, you can do that, can't you?"

 

Some clients get so upset by this, that it is the end of custom made clothing for them. In reality, although this is difficult, those clients who leave at this point, don't really understand the different between custom made and ready to wear.

 

Just feeling snarky about my customers as the wedding season heats up for spring.

 

 

I'm pretty good at making patterns that copy styles. I've made my own suits and dresses that way sometimes.

 

I also, occasionally, will make wedding or bridesmaids dresses. There's a limit to my talent though, so I don't normally do things that are very fussy.

 

But... this reminds me of how I discuss the process with the bride/bridesmaids.... They will invariably ask what size the pattern is. Since I just make the patterns myself the question is irrelevant, but sometimes they just can't let that go.

 

"But what SIZE is my dress?"

 

"Well," I will say, "what size do you want it to be?"

 

and they will say something like "well, in my dreams, it's a size 2."

 

And I'll say, "well, then voilà! Your dress is a size 2."

 

I've even gone so far as to get size labels and sew them into the dresses for them.

 

What we won't do for vanity, eh?:lol:

[MIch elle]

Fashion Incubator (great blog to read if you're at ALL interested in the clothing industry) says that it's actually sizing evolution. The link will take you to her first article on the subject; there's also another.

 

As I recall, this is some of the reasoning: We have gotten bigger over time, no doubt. We look lots different from people in, say, the 16th century. So it makes sense that most clothing is made to a different size than it was in the 16th century. And, for that matter, the majority of the population is a different size now than it was 20 years ago, so the apparel industry has kept pace. It makes sense that most clothing would be made the size of most people wearing (and purchasing) clothing.

 

On the flip side of this, everyone complains that pattern manufacturers DON'T revamp their sizes constantly and therefore no longer match up with the apparel manufacturers. Threads on THAT subject come up on a regular basis, too.

 

:)

[Kathy in MD]

and many clients brought her store-bought clothing to be altered. It was her observation - 25 years ago - that the higher the price tag, the smaller the relative size! She had clients who mentioned how pleased they were to be able to fit into a smaller size.

 

It didn't hurt that my mom also had a "magic" mirror. It was just an inexpensive, dime-store full length mirror, so she wasn't trying to fool anyone, but it was flawed in some way that made one appear just a bit slimmer!

 

As far as clothing these days, what I've noticed is that nowadays all the really cute things come in the larger women's sizes! I need about a 14, so I'm not skinny, but darn if there aren't a bunch of really darling size 20-22 blouses on the rack that I just can't make work! And it isn't that the misses sizes are just sold out, these cute clothes are actually designed for the plus-size market and are not even available in sizes lower than 16..

 

Higher end clothing 25-35 years ago just didn't skimp on the fabric. Yes, there might be more to go around the hips, waist and bust, but the sleeves were also longer and the shoulders were also wider. Cheap shirt sleeves were at least 1" too short in the sleeves for me and too narrow across the shoulders.

 

However not too long after that they did change the measurements on the sewing patterns, making a 12 a 10.

[Unicorn.]

Where do you shop? Cuz I'm a plus size, and all I can find are old dowdy-looking grandma type stuff! Or sometimes, things that might look cute on a 16 yo size 10, but not someone of my age/size.