Am I thinner than I think I am?

[TustedFormula]

I'm 5'7" and a pound or two under 10st.

Give or take 3lbs this is what I've weighed since I was a teenager (35 years).

Lately I can't find clothes that aren't too big. I've just sent back size 10 jeans from M&S that were huge. Swapped them for the 8, which actually fit beautifully, I'm very pleased with them - my first wideleg pair in years following the skinny jeans threads I've never been a size 8 in my life. In my teens I was buying a 14 from market stalls!

Tops are even worse, my thighs are "sturdy", my bust is non existent. Size 8 tops from all the main "grown up" retailers are far too big.

Is it just that I've graduated to shops aiming at older women and they come up bigger, is sizing generally still getting bigger or has something happened to my shape as I approach menopause that means I'm thinner despite not losing weight?

[initialismsarekey]

Also I should add I often need to wear a size 12 so I don't think I carry my weight well.

[initialismsarekey]

@TustedFormula sorry I wasn't being sarcastic I do feel fat. But it's probably because I've spent most of my life being underweight so now hate being the size and shape I am.

Caught me on a bad day where I feel fat and frumpy, sorry didn't mean to make anyone feel bad. I'm projecting my own issues and really would like to get to 9 stone where I'd feel much happier but in my mid 40s it's a struggle.

[LittleOverwhelmed]

I think that clothing is just “baggy” and “relaxed these days....

I am 5’4” and 9st 3lbs and quite a lot of size 10 clothes look too baggy on me: I suit things which are more fitted - shapeless things DO make me look fat

[spikyplants2021]

M&S jeans so come up big. I'm 5 foot 6 and my ideal weight is 9st 7-10 (less than 9st 7 and I look gaunt) so 5 foot 7 I'd say you are on the slim side.

[vannyy]

It's not about how I look or even my health in this context, but where on earth I can buy clothes that aren't too big.

lots of places zara, h&m, whistles, buy a load of stuff from the Outnet & Net a Porter & you certainly would find the majority too big!

[GlamGiraffe]

Clothes sizes ae growing ridiculously.
Only yesterday i compared a new size 8 dress ftom Asos to a 25 year old size 12 dress i still wear from topshop. They are both identically sized.

As people get bigger clothesbeands want tocstill make people feel good. Where dress size comes into it, size is not just a number. People psychologically like to feel smaller on the whole. A smaller dress size, even if the cut is bigger is all part of this.

[BogRollBOGOF]

I'm 5ft 2 and am a size 8-10 pear. Healthy build.
Some shops I can't buy from as they're just cut too big even in the allegedly small size.
I've no objection to size ranges broadening and becoming mainstream, but vanity sizing people of healthy size out of the mainstream size range is pretty crap. I've no issue with marketing at plus size ranges either; it's transparent.
Shops that cut smaller tend to be aimed at people 20 years younger than me, and not cut for curves.

While I have gained lbs here and there with time, I've got a good stock of old clothes that still fit which gives a good idea of consistency.

[Dilbertian]

Have a look at Lands End. My teen dd is the same height as me, but weighs rather less. We both find well-fitting things we like on that site.

And, yes, sizing has increased ridiculously. I have garments from decades ago, and today's size 14 was yesterday's size 10.

[Fargonauts]

Depends on the shop I can be anywhere from a size 6 (Dorothy Perkins) to a 16 (h&m) it makes shopping online impossible !

[DShrute]

Tu from sainsburys seem a smaller shape. Also Reiss, and a lot of designer clothing. You can't go by size or weight, strangely. I have been running and can tell I am getting smaller but my weight is the same.

[ShrinkingViolet9]

M & S sizing has become more generous over the years.

In the late 60s and early 70s I was an M & S Saturday girl and also worked for them during college holidays. I used to buy M & S dresses, shirts and tops. From age 16 to 18, I measured 32" round the bust and fitted a size 10. In my 20s and 30s, I measured bust 34" and bought size 12.

I'm now in my late 60s and measure 40" round the bust.

I buy lots of M & S tee shirts. A size 10 in their tee shirts often comes up too big (more like the original size 16), so I'm now buying size 8.

I have an M & S denim shirt - the one with with the "pearly" popper fastenings. I bought a size 12 and it fits comfortably over a tee or thin sweater, despite my 40" bust.

I measure 31" round the waist but have narrow hips. I can get into M & S size 12 skinny or straight cut jeans. (50 years ago, a size 12 in skirts or trousers would have been more like a 24" to 26" waist.)

When I was working for M & S, 50 years ago, I don't recall a size 6 or size 8 for women's clothing at all. The smallest would have been a 10 (bust 32").

The same seems to be happening to M & S men's underwear. Their "Medium" men's briefs are now considerably larger than they were a few years ago.

[bambootle]

.....You're about the same size as me. You'll be a small in Gap and a small in H&M nowadays. Which seems ridiculous to me as back in the 1980s, when I was the same size and weight as I am now, I was always a 12 (and an "M&S 12, not a Topshop 12" I'd always say back then). But we are where we are in the UK now.

[itsgettingwierd]

@Meowchickameowmeow

Clothes are being made bigger in most stores now, there is no consistent sizing and Next is the worst.

Yeah next size guide is eye watering.

I'm a pear shape and have recently dropped a stone. Planning on dropping more.

I wanted some shorts and last year had a size 16 and thought I'd check their size guide to see if worth looking at a 14 and them getting looser.

Their size guide made me a 20 waist 18 bust and 16 hips. And yet I carry all my weight on my arse and hips.

And yes a size 16 was perfect, if a little loose fitting now and certainly plenty of room on my apparently size 20 waist

[bambootle]

It's not about how I look or even my health in this context, but where on earth I can buy clothes that aren't too big.

Well, what do you like wearing and then maybe people can advise you?

Or try Zara. People usually complain about the opposite problem there.

Or go to ASOS and read the reviews to see what folk are saying about sizing. They stock a gazillion brands plus their own stuff.

[KingdomScrolls]

Surely it depends on your frame too, at 5'9 whenever I get anywhere around 10st or below people start asking if I'm ill. I get very prominent collar bones, have a longish face and I'm quite straight up and down (not at the moment as I'm heavier) , and broad shouldered. I was a size 8 at ten stone, if I had a curvier shape bigger boobs, bum hips and smaller waist I might need bigger sizes despite weighing the same. You just need to find shops that suit your shape. Abercrombie and Fitch I found good, Levi's for jeans because you buy your measurements, Boden, H&M, you just need to measure yourself and compare that to the shop size guides

[dottiedodah]

If you shop in M and S though you will find the clothes sizes are a bit generous! I am normally a size 18 but can fit into a 16 there!

[gerbilfur]

You have a healthy bmi so not too fat or too thin. My bmi is 29 😳 trying to do something about it now. Size 8 is my dream! Enjoy it

[Carrotsoupispoo]

See, this really bugs me. I’m a natural size 6/8. This is not a stealth brag. It is a bloody nightmare, I’ve given up trying to buy clothes from most high street stores as size 6’s are now too big. And I can’t go down a size because that is the smallest they do.

If sizes were accurate I wouldn’t have to spend a fortune for jeans that bloody fit, or skirts that don’t hang off my hips rather than my waist. Vanity sizing is a definite thing, it helps no one, and it really screws the people who actually need the smaller sizes.

[bumblingbovine49]

@TustedFormula

So where do middle aged people with a "healthy" BMI buy clothes that fit?

Well you are in a minority now so you may have to struggle a bit finding clothes that fit. I grew up fat when there were hardly any
clothes for overweight people and it was awful so it suits me to be honest . Even when I am not that over weight I am a very large woman so am happy to be able to buy clothes that fit now

Sorry not helpful really and I know being obese is unhealthy but so many people are obese now ( as I am ) that clothes cater for the majority ( 66% of the UK population are overweight and 35% are obese). Being a normal bmi puts you in the minority and clothes shops have to make clothes that sell, hence they have to fit the majority of people

Unfortunately most people hate buying clothes that think of as big so the clothing manufacturers make the clothes bigger but call them the same size.

[DentonsFringeArnottsWaistcoat]

Well firstly, irregardless of weight and height, everyone has a different shape and build that can make them look very different even if they are exactly the same height and weight. At 5ft 6 and 9st 10, I looked gaunt and had no bum or boobs. Even size ten was roomy depending on which shop I bought from (yes Boden, I do mean you). So I’d buy from places such as Noa Noa, an XS or even petite from Ghost, and shop around basically. But, yes, everywhere seems to be increasing the size brackets now. Particularly high street brands.

[Foxyloxy1plus1]

It also varies, it just between shops, but between manufacturers supplying the same shop.

I bought two pairs of denim jeggings from Next, one blue, one black, both size 8. One fits, the other doesn’t. When you measure them together, one is at least an inch bigger each side,. I’ve just got a couple of t shirts from Tu. One will have to be ‘relaxed fit’ because it’s so much bigger than the other.

I’m 5’3 and about 110lbs and usually get size 8.

[TustedFormula]

@BonesJones

Sizes are all over the place. Pay no attention at all to them, only to what fits. Whether you're 'thin' or not is totally irrelevant to your stats, for some it is, for some it isn't. Depends on a whole host of factors from build, muscle density, personal opinion etcetc. As long as you're wearing comfortable clothes that fit, and you're happy with your weight, that's all you need to be concerned about. I'm sure you look amazing!

It's not about how I look or even my health in this context, but where on earth I can buy clothes that aren't too big.

[bambootle]

Sizes are all over the place. You need to work out what brands cut things that work for your figure. Depends on bust size, waist and hips etc...

Also depends what style of clothes you're wearing. I like baggy/loose clothing and so could probably wear a variety of sizes. It's meaningless. Same with leggings. Fitted clothing is more of a guide.

If you're a healthy weight and your waist size isn't out of control (supposed to be a good health indicator) that's the main thing. Ignore the random shop sizing.

[vannyy]

Yes I ignore sizes, I'm 5ft 10 & a "12", have size 8-16 in my wardrobe depending on fit & style.

[Ninkanink]

Yes, and if you’re concerned about your health you’re better off measuring your waist and checking that it’s within the recommended range for women.