Be honest... do you think being a size 10 is more attractive than a size 14?

[WhateverTheySay]

Just that... no offence intended it's just to settle an argument I'm interested in people's views. Let's say specifically you have an average / reasonably attractive looking woman of average height, do you think she will look better as a size 10 than she does a 14?

For me, I looked better as a 10.
I'm a large 14 now and don't look as good. Also got tons of attention as a 10 and get none now. Not as fussed as I should be, most of the blokes were dickheads it's just how it is.

Absolutely yes

Im 5 8, 50 and size 14. A couple of years ago, I got down to a 12 and my body looked great but I did think my face was looking a bit gaunt and older so I think you need a certain bit of extra meat at my age.

It's not just about size, though, it's how you dress- i.e for your shape- how you carry yourself, your confidence, personality.

The op makes women sound like a piece of meat. I suspect it was written by a man or inspired by a man's opinion. Does anyone actually know the ideal man's size? I don't and that is very telling

Always amazed that at 6ft tall the lower end of my healthy BMI category is 10st 3lbs, as I would be positively skeletal and cachexic looking at that weight.

Of course skeletal build affects what looks good on someone. I am 5'10" and my build is on the edge of medium and large, so for me a BMI around 22-23 looks best. My frame is too big to drop much below that. However, other people my height may have a small frame and thus a BMI of 19-20 will look fine on them.

Conversely, my fat sits in the wrong places so I quickly look puffy and lumpish, rather than curvy, meaning that as a size 14 I simply don't look good.

We have incredibly distorted ideas of what is healthy in relation to frame and build. The number of people that told me I didn't need to lose weight (tell my cholesterol and blood pressure that) because I'm tall was significant.

Yes. I think so. But agree with PP it's also about where you carry fat. If I had a large but lovely round bottom, I'd look better at my current weight/size. The reality is that I carry weight on belly and upper arms. That's not what I like!

Yes. Personal choice.

@unmarkedbythat

After a certain age a size ten always looks ageing.

Oh no, not the dreaded aging. S&B is always doing "what ages you" threads and apparently bloody everything does according to someone.

I am a human being, I will age, getting older is nothing to be ashamed of.

Nobody said ageing is anything to be ashamed of. In my experience it’s true that as you get older you need to carry a little more weight, it’s certainly true for me.

@PurpleDaisies

it goes straight to my face/chin and my tummy- making me look bloated, double chin and puffy

Exactly the same as me. All the zoom calls at the start of lockdown one constantly looking at my face made me realise I needed to change my diet and exercise habits.

Yes, I also have a double chin now, but remember that if your camera is low and looking up at you that will enhance a double chin. Try having your camera higher up.

I am a human being, I will age, getting older is nothing to be ashamed of

Its nothing to do with shame. I dont want to look older than I am. At age 20, I did not want to look 30. That doesnt mean there is anything at all wrong with being 30! At age 30, I didnt want to look 40- again, nothing wrong with being 40.

I want to look my age, not older- whats the big deal about that?- thats pretty normal

"Depends on your age, at over 40 a size 10 person's face can look drawn and 'skeletal'. "

I'm over 40, but I'm short and don't have much of a waist. I certainly don't have a 'skeletal' face. I would actually like better defined cheekbones.
I do get prominent collar bones if I lose weight - the price of being pear shaped.

"The implication was that men might like to be seen on the arm of a high fashion model for reasons of social status, but their true desire was something more like Marylin Monroe, May West, Kim Kardashian."

All those women were/are slim though. Kardashian has a big bum, but is otherwise thin.
classicblondes.com/2017/06/19/what-size-did-my-favorite-blonde-wear/

I remember watching a YouTube/Pinterest video of ideal sizes over the decades of the 20th and 21st century. They basically ranged from slim and not so curvaceous (flapper, twiggy) to slim and curvaceous (Kardashian).
Fat/large wasn't one of the trends. You'd have to go back further in time.

"I want to look my age, not older- whats the big deal about that?- thats pretty normal"

Totally normal, but a recent thread on what ages you was derailed by moaners saying the thread was ageist. Don't open the thread if you're not interested.

Size 10s generally look better than 14s. And I 5'3" person would be quite heavy at size 14. We have a very worrying attitude to healthy body sizes as a nation. The "norm" is not a healthy size here.

Why do people keep using “curvy” for “plus size”? It’s not the same thing.

Being “curvy” is about having a tiny waist and wide hips - hourglass or pear silhouette. That is not exclusive to plus sized women - slim women can be curvy.

Eg kylie Jenner - I’m aware she’s had surgery but this is the figure the media references for “curvy”

Curvy doesn’t mean “generally plus sized all over”, it’s having fat in the right places which being slim elsewhere

After a certain age a size ten always looks ageing.

A size 10?! There really is a load of absolute tut being posted on this thread.

Once upon a time, before processed food, pretty much everyone would’ve been a size 10.

A size 10 is normal (and I say this as a tall person) - neither overweight nor underweight.

If a size 10 looks ‘ageing’ then that’s probably because the person to whom the face belongs is, actually, ageing.

Equally, a size 14 looks ‘ageing’ - at least on me. Nothing ‘youthful’ about frumpy, jowly bloat.

Once upon a time, before processed food, pretty much everyone would’ve been a size 10

Like most generalisations, this is utter bollocks. My grandmas were born in 1884 and 1897, both of them were considerably bigger than a size 10 - old or new.

Nothing ‘youthful’ about frumpy, jowly bloat

Nothing youthful about deep lines and wrinkled skin either. I’d have be a lot bigger than a size 14 for “jowly bloat”, so would most women.

Why do we have to do this to each other?

In general yes (unless you’re super tall), it’s a normal healthy size. That’s not to say some people don’t look amazing at a 14 (or any other size).

I’m currently a 14 post-baby and I feel uncomfortable, I’m 5’8 and have a slightly overweight BMI. I’m working on it though.

I think it depends entirely on other factors, body type mainly!

I look more attractive as a size 10 as I'm short and pear shaped so with excess weight I look out of proportion and dumpy.

An hourglass shaped taller woman may look fabulous as a size 14, but as a size 10 perhaps not making the most of her curves.

It's hard to give a general answer for every woman.

Yes, but generally speaking, back in the day, most people were just very average, size-wise - akin to a modern day size 10.

And likewise, most people would have to be much thinner than a size 10 to have ‘deep lines and wrinkled skin’, unless, of course, they’re 80. In which case, the lines would be due to being 80, rather than a size 10 per se.

I was just trying to counter the idea that after a certain age, a size 10 is always ageing.

That is patently untrue.

Women age at any weight. Nothing else to say on that!

Size 10 is healthier than size 14. That’s all I think.

Jowls are not always related to body shape. They come with age and face shape often. People can look good at a variety of weights. Confidence and style go a long way. But why do we always, as a nation, fail to recognise that being overweight is very bad for us. And far far too many people are overweight.

Ashley Graham is absolutely stunning and more like a 16!

@TheOneLeggedJockey

Yes, but generally speaking, back in the day, most people were just very average, size-wise - akin to a modern day size 10.

And likewise, most people would have to be much thinner than a size 10 to have ‘deep lines and wrinkled skin’, unless, of course, they’re 80. In which case, the lines would be due to being 80, rather than a size 10 per se.

I was just trying to counter the idea that after a certain age, a size 10 is always ageing.

That is patently untrue.

And what you’ve posted is equally untrue. I’m not sure when your “back in the day” was but mine was when I was a child in the 1950s, some things were still rationed when I was born and a lot of people were still malnourished after six years of war - I’m not sure that’s something we should aspire to.

Yes, size 10 much more attractive