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AIBU?

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Original poster

Is a size 14 big?

442 replies

fattytoadboy · 30/04/2025 22:58

Just that really. Been somewhere between a size 12-14 for the past 20 years. Even when I lost two stone I still fit into my size 12 clothes. Now I’m about 12 stone at 5,7 and a solid 14.

I definitely feel better around the 10.5 stone mark. I’m really struggling to lose weight. Sometimes I look at myself and can see a roll around my belly or feel like my face looks bloated and neither of these things make me happy or confident.

Equally when I’m dressed well I think I look ok. I know it’s totally subjective but in your opinion is a size 14 what you’d consider large? I don’t think I look obscenely overweight but I definitely would look and feel better with a few stone off.

OP posts:
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ThatCyanCat · 06/05/2025 15:12

Oh, don't encourage him.

Pickingmyselfup · 06/05/2025 14:58

YosemiteTrail24 · 06/05/2025 14:12

Another poster who is clearly upset by the truth.

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It might not be the truth though. I don't know, I'm short and I was too big at a 12 and a 14 and even now at a "normal weight" and a size 8 I feel I look too heavy.

Definitely somebody taller, heavier and a bigger dress size could look thinner than me.

YosemiteTrail24 · 06/05/2025 14:12

NattyTurtle59 · 02/05/2025 06:44

It's not the truth.

Are you really so dense that you can't see that people have different builds and different heights, and while a size 14 might be large for a short person it probably won't be for a tall person?

Thank goodness most people aren't as clueless as you!

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Another poster who is clearly upset by the truth.

AlertCat · 05/05/2025 19:02

MightAsWellBeGretel · 05/05/2025 16:47

You haven't seen it, so it's not true. Righto.

If you're curious, go into a Zara or Mango and see it for yourself.

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Spanish brands like Zara and Mango do start from a smaller baseline; Spanish women are generally more petite in height and build than women from northern Europe, who can be tall and broad in frame much more often than women from other places. Same in Uniqlo or (back in the day) United Colours of Benetton. But if you go to FatFace or White Stuff, their M is usually 12-14.

Matronic6 · 05/05/2025 17:14

I'm 5ft8 and a 12 on top and 14 on bottom at min. Even when I got slimmer to the point of people telling me I had lost too much weight I didn't fit into a 10 in bottoms. I do feel at my best when I am more toned and wear a 10 on top and 12 on bottom. Hoping to get back to this over the next few months.

blueleavesgreensky · 05/05/2025 17:10

Rewis · 05/05/2025 10:50

Clothing size is a weird measurement tool.

I'm obese and size 14. When I was size 12 I was still overweight.

What height are you?
i am 5’2 and a bit 😄. I am 54-55kg and a small size 8.
in fall bang in the middle of healthy on a bmi chart. I’m slim but I’m not skinny. I still have flesh I can squeeze and belly rolls when I’m sitting down.

blueleavesgreensky · 05/05/2025 17:06

rosemarble · 05/05/2025 14:35

I think it's more
8-10 = S
12-14 = M
16-18 = L

But the are just the size of the clothes and a guide for people, NOT a statement that e.g. size 14 = medium person.

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Totally depends which stores.
I often see this:
4 xxs
6 xs
8-10 s
10-12 m
14 l
16 xl

But I know some stores and even different garments within the same stores can have size charts that differ.

ArminTamzerian · 05/05/2025 17:01

MightAsWellBeGretel · 05/05/2025 16:47

You haven't seen it, so it's not true. Righto.

If you're curious, go into a Zara or Mango and see it for yourself.

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I dont think you read the post I was replying to properly.
You are incorrect

MightAsWellBeGretel · 05/05/2025 16:47

ArminTamzerian · 05/05/2025 14:32

I've never noticed it, probably because it's not true.

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You haven't seen it, so it's not true. Righto.

If you're curious, go into a Zara or Mango and see it for yourself.

MightAsWellBeGretel · 05/05/2025 16:46

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 05/05/2025 14:24

I have rarely if ever seen L as 12. In my experience L is more normally 16, or 14-16. Maybe it depends where you shop.

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It's definitely the sizing scale in Zara and Mango,I don't know about anywhere else.

DecafDodger · 05/05/2025 15:46

Vinted for example indeed lists 8 - S, 10 - M, 12 - L and 14 - XL. I was really not amused when I started using it as size 14 :D

AnnaQuayInTheUk · 05/05/2025 14:43

I think of a 14 as being large. As in, size 8 is small, size 12 is medium, size 14 is large. But I know that's not rational!

I weigh 10.4 stone and have a BMI of 24.3. I'm a 14 on my top half and a size 12 on my bottom half in most shops. I have really broad shoulders and a big bust. So my BMI is in the healthy range (just!) but I look large because of my shoulders.

I really wouldn't get hung up about clothes size.

rosemarble · 05/05/2025 14:35

ArminTamzerian · 05/05/2025 14:32

I've never noticed it, probably because it's not true.

Show quote history

I think it's more
8-10 = S
12-14 = M
16-18 = L

But the are just the size of the clothes and a guide for people, NOT a statement that e.g. size 14 = medium person.

ArminTamzerian · 05/05/2025 14:32

Valkyrie3 · 05/05/2025 12:26

When you buy clothes, an 8 is classed as S, a 10 as M, and a 12 as L, so following that guide, a 14 is big. Have you never noticed this?

I've never noticed it, probably because it's not true.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 05/05/2025 14:24

Valkyrie3 · 05/05/2025 12:26

When you buy clothes, an 8 is classed as S, a 10 as M, and a 12 as L, so following that guide, a 14 is big. Have you never noticed this?

I have rarely if ever seen L as 12. In my experience L is more normally 16, or 14-16. Maybe it depends where you shop.

lunalovegood25 · 05/05/2025 14:16

Valkyrie3 · 05/05/2025 12:26

When you buy clothes, an 8 is classed as S, a 10 as M, and a 12 as L, so following that guide, a 14 is big. Have you never noticed this?

I’m a 16-18 wearing size L in gym leggings today and a medium top so.. no not standardised

PinkPonyPugClub · 05/05/2025 13:55

Valkyrie3 · 05/05/2025 12:26

When you buy clothes, an 8 is classed as S, a 10 as M, and a 12 as L, so following that guide, a 14 is big. Have you never noticed this?

This is definitely not standardised across all retailers or worth basing anything on 😂

Valkyrie3 · 05/05/2025 12:26

When you buy clothes, an 8 is classed as S, a 10 as M, and a 12 as L, so following that guide, a 14 is big. Have you never noticed this?

TweetingHurricane · 05/05/2025 11:42

Babybaby2025 · 05/05/2025 10:08

Body composition does account for a lot.

Me and my sil are same height, and we often pass clothes back and forth which for the most part are size 12, sometimes 14. I struggle with jackets/shirts as I have quite bulky shoulders/upper arms, and she can struggle with trousers as she carries weight in hips.

Im almost 4 stone heavier than her, and creeping into the upper overweight bordering on obese bmi, where as her bmi is quite neatly in the healthy bmi.

So I'm a 12/14 and fat, she's a 12/14 and not fat.

This is a perfect example thankyou
You are the same height, wear the same size, yet you are 4 stones heavier. It’s all about frame and how we carry it

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 05/05/2025 11:38

MightAsWellBeGretel · 05/05/2025 09:26

Jesus, for the last time, someone who has a natural hip width of 34 inches and a 25 inch waist would without a doubt be fat at a size 12!

It's your natural frame that decides what size is fat for each person, not the fashion industry and not those who have become fat blind.

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That’s pretty much me. Currently 27” waist and at the top of healthy BMI. If I put on enough to be a size 12 30” waist I would be well into the overweight category.
However my top half is a different kettle of fish altogether as I have massive shoulders so never take less than a 14 in jackets even if I am underweight.
Dress sizes are meaningless relative to everyone else, only worth taking into account in relation to yourself and changes through time.

Rewis · 05/05/2025 10:50

Clothing size is a weird measurement tool.

I'm obese and size 14. When I was size 12 I was still overweight.

DecafDodger · 05/05/2025 10:29

What I want to say as a person who has struggled with weight, if you think you're not as slim as you'd prefer to be, look fine in the mirror but heavy on all photos or videos, then the photos are probably right. That's what happened to me, and I spent several years deleting all photos as they were for some unfathomable reason, all so unflattering. Bad angle or something.
They weren't. I was just fat.

Babybaby2025 · 05/05/2025 10:08

Body composition does account for a lot.

Me and my sil are same height, and we often pass clothes back and forth which for the most part are size 12, sometimes 14. I struggle with jackets/shirts as I have quite bulky shoulders/upper arms, and she can struggle with trousers as she carries weight in hips.

Im almost 4 stone heavier than her, and creeping into the upper overweight bordering on obese bmi, where as her bmi is quite neatly in the healthy bmi.

So I'm a 12/14 and fat, she's a 12/14 and not fat.

Lorlorlorikeet · 05/05/2025 09:40

BluesBird19764 · 05/05/2025 09:03

Of course you can be unhealthy at any size but that isn’t the point here so I will repeat, a size 12 is not and never will be fat.

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How are you completely failing to comprehend that people’s skeletal frames are completely different sizes? If I fit into size 12 clothes, I would very definitely be ‘fat’.

GoodCharl · 05/05/2025 09:40

FunnysInLaJardin · 30/04/2025 23:10

I used to be a 14 for many years and thought I was fat. I am now an 18 and still think I am fat. Draw your own conclusions

Me too. Felt like a 14 was big, now im an 18 and long to be a 14 again!