Sizing fir women's clothes--so annoying

[Moxie]

I'm not a tiny person. I'm average sized leaning toward curvy.

 

First, vanity sizing. I currently wear a 4 in Old Navy clothes. I wear a 2 at higher end stores. I have a pair of Old Navy pants that are 15 years old that I use for painting. They are a 12 and fit great. In 10 years, I'll be in negative sizes! There are lots of women who are much smaller than me; I seriously wonder what size they wear?!?

 

Then there is the inconsistency! I bought two pair of legging-type pants at Target. They are different brands. One is a large, one is an extra small, but they both fit.

 

With just a few numbers, I can buy DH clothes in any store. He never has to try on multiple shirts to find one that fits. Are women's bodies really that much more complex?

[Garga]

It's the same with my boy's clothes.  Depending on the store or brand they fit them differently.  One boy is aaaaalmost into men's sizes and I'll be glad when he is so he doesn't have to try everything on (which apparently, is a very painful procedure if all the whining and grumbling is any indication.)

 

I want men's sizes for women's clothes, too.  Inches, please, and not some nebulous "size 6."  

 

 

[lanalouwho]

I hate this too! My pants range from size 0 to size 10, all fitting appropriately. Shopping is more like a guessing game in the women's department.

 

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[Mom-ninja.]

With just a few numbers, I can buy DH clothes in any store. He never has to try on multiple shirts to find one that fits. Are women's bodies really that much more complex?

 

Yes, they are actually. Standardized sizing was fairly simple to set for men, but not for women. Women really are that varied in shape and size. Here's an article

[Miss Tick]

Yes, they are actually. Standardized sizing was fairly simple to set for men, but not for women. Women really are that varied in shape and size. Here's an article

Perhaps you are saying that we are just that much more complex. ðŸ˜

[Bluegoat]

The worst was I tried on and bought a pair of jeans from Old Navy.  Then I picked up another pair, in the same style but with a print, and didn't try them on. 

 

The second pair, when I got them home, were too big.

[Arcadia]

There are lots of women who are much smaller than me; I seriously wonder what size they wear?!?

I am kid size and can buy tops and jeans from the boys dept. For ladies dept, I have to go for the smallest available which could be 000P or XXXSP. They don't go into negative sizing :) In Europe, I would have gone for a size 2 for top and size 2 or 4 for formal dress depending on hip cutting and how stretchy it is at the hip. I am about typical mannequin size (34-25-36).

 

Children sizes and men sizes are just as bad. My hubby is low on smart casual work shirts so we went shopping at Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap, Brooks, Nordstrom and the sizing is uneven. He wears S or XS and for some he has to go for XS tall while for others S is skinny and long enough. Pants are easy as it is just waist and inseam.

 

ETA:

I am also short 5'3" so I can't find any maxi dress short enough for me unless I go to a bridal shop.

Edited November 23, 2016 by Arcadia

[kiana]

It's ridiculous. My mother's size 12 clothes from the 1970s fit me perfectly and yet in modern clothes I've been anywhere from 0-6. I wonder what in the beck the genuinely small people are supposed to wear? 

[Guest]

It's ridiculous. My mother's size 12 clothes from the 1970s fit me perfectly and yet in modern clothes I've been anywhere from 0-6. I wonder what in the beck the genuinely small people are supposed to wear?

I have an aquantince who is taller than me but rail thin. Like, her thigh is slightly larger than my upper arm, thin. I would never ask but I'm dying to know what size she wears and where she shops. She always looks great so she finds clothes somewhere.

[kiana]

I have an aquantince who is taller than me but rail thin. Like, her thigh is slightly larger than my upper arm, thin. I would never ask but I'm dying to know what size she wears and where she shops. She always looks great so she finds clothes somewhere.

 

Maybe vintage shops? Either that or possibly European brands. 

 

I know someone who really is tiny (I'd say probably 5 ft, rail thin) and when she went to Japan, she said one of the nicest things about her trip was being able to actually shop in the adults section. 

[GinaPagnato]

I've found that when I stick to a couple of clothing stores, the sizes are consistent.

 

For example, I love clothes from The Loft. I am consistently a size 6 pant/skirt, and a size XS top. I'm not sure why those sizes work, because I'm not pear-shaped, but I do have curvy-ish hips. Regardless, those sizes always fit.

[stephanier.1765]

I really don't understand it. I'm 5'6", weigh 130 lbs, and generally wear a size 8. I've seen women on the internet mention nearly the same measurements but wear a size 4. How? What? I want to wear a size 4!

[Laura Corin]

 

I know someone who really is tiny (I'd say probably 5 ft, rail thin) and when she went to Japan, she said one of the nicest things about her trip was being able to actually shop in the adults section. 

 

I had the opposite experience in China: I'm a Lands' End size 8 at 5'4", but in China I was an XXL or XXXL.  I don't know if things have changed, but the only Chinese person I knew who seemed overweight to my eyes had to have her clothes tailored.

 

[skimomma]

This is a real issue.

 

15 years ago, I wore a size 8.  I am now in the 00L range at some stores and am not sure what happens as the vanity size trend continues.  I have been the same height, weight, and general shape that entire time.  I am tall and thin, but certainly not the thinnest person out there so I have no idea what those people are doing.  Children's sizes are cut boxier and are far too short to ever work for me so it is not like I can just move down to kid's clothing.  And why should any within-the-range-of-normal-sized 40+ yo woman have to even think about children's clothing as a solution?!?

 

The worst part is that I live where there are no clothing stores so I have to order everything.  To find a single pair of jeans, I typically have to order at least 5 pairs and send 4 back.  Often, it takes several rounds of orders and returns before I find anything that works.

[kiana]

I really don't understand it. I'm 5'6", weigh 130 lbs, and generally wear a size 8. I've seen women on the internet mention nearly the same measurements but wear a size 4. How? What? I want to wear a size 4!

 

Variation by brand and variation in where the weight is carried. I have large thighs so I wear a significantly larger size in jeans than in loose-legged pants or skirts. 

[Garga]

What Not to Wear always said to buy clothes and then expect to have them tailored. So, pants fit everywhere, except that they gap in the back waist? Tailor. Dress fits except it's too long? Tailor.

 

But it's still hard to know where to start when you set out shopping. Grab the mediums? Smalls? XL? What??

 

Someone up thread posted about trying on jeans in the same store: same size, same style but they fit differently. I've heard of this. Jeans in the same size often have variations so you HAVE to try each pair on, even if you tried on one pair and then are going to grab 3 in the same size. Still gotta try on all three.

 

Urgh.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I hate that sizing is just seemingly arbitrary, but if it is arbitrary it doesn't really matter right?  EXCEPT it's not consistent from one store to the next or one brand to the next.  That's so annoying. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

The worst was I tried on and bought a pair of jeans from Old Navy. Then I picked up another pair, in the same style but with a print, and didn't try them on.

 

The second pair, when I got them home, were too big.

Old Navy is the worst for that. I try on every pair of jeans I buy there even if they're all marked the same size. Someone told me once that several pieces are cut out of a huge stack of fabric at once, so the sizes can vary depending on where that piece of cloth was in the stack. I don't know if that's accurate but they are definitely inconsistent IME. Edited November 23, 2016 by Forget-me-not

[Tap]

Old Navy is the worst for that. I try on every pair of jeans I buy there even if they're all marked the same size. Someone told me once that several pieces are cut out of a huge stack of fabric at once, so the sizes can vary depending on where that piece of cloth was in the stack. I don't know if that's accurate but they are definitely inconsistent IME.

Yep, it is true.

[shawthorne44]

Yep, it is true.

 

And, they can get away with that because it doesn't lose them business.   Whereas if they did that to a man, he'd walk out of the store and never return.  

[Barb_]

in the early 90s I wore a size 4 dress and they were difficult to find. I've since gained 15lbs and now wear a zero. My girls who are 5-1 and 5-2 and weigh around 100-105 can really only shop at h&m for affordable clothes. Their sizes track more European and they can fit into size 2s there. They can't buy anything tailored in any other store. It's got to have some stretch in order to look decent.