Seems like size 10 these days is considered 'large'?

[Echobelly]

Caveat: Yes, I know actual clothes sizes are all over the place and not necessarily a guide to weight/shape.

I'm in my mid 40s and I'd swear when I was a kid, 10 was considered 'slim', yet it often seems to be talked about now as though it's the porky side.

I don't think that all that many women naturally fall into being a size 8 - I'd consider 10 a normal 'slim' size, I don't think anyone who is a size 10 would ever be medically overweight, even really short women like me.

Older people like me - do you think attitudes have changed? Younger women - have you grown up with 10 talked about as though it was an undesirable size to be?

(Perhaps it’s 2 size differences depending on how you count….)

You have size 10 as being 22 inches in 60s and 27 inches present day.

I'd add that I have a vintage size 10 St Michael/M&S skirt from the 90s and the waist is stated on the label as 24 inches, so definitely going up!

To compare I have a vintage M&S size 8 (not sure of the date though but St Michael ) where the waist is 23 inches.

10 used to be the smallest size that many shops stocked, with occasional 8s. 6 did not exist. So of couse 10 was considered small. I wouldn’t say it’s now large, but nearer to a medium than it used to be. Although small, medium and large are the least useful sizes ever.

Oh wow I'm quite surprised by the answers, I always thought of 8 being ‘normal’ i.e. neither slim nor fat, 6 being slim, 10 slightly chubby, etc.

Similarly, a size Medium for me is an 8, Small is 6, XS is 4, Large is 10.

You have size 10 as being 22 inches in 60s and 27 inches present day.

I'd add that I have a vintage size 10 St Michael/M&S skirt from the 90s and the waist is stated on the label as 24 inches, so definitely going up!

To compare I have a vintage M&S size 8 (not sure of the date though but St Michael ) where the waist is 23 inches.

Sorry, I'm just doing waist sizes there as I have a lot of vintage skirts!

I've got a size 10 dress in my wardrobe from the 1970s (it was my mother's) and the waist is about 25in. She says 10 was definitely considered slim and the size most people wanted to be, but that there was overall a much smaller range of sizes.

I had a nightdress when I was about 12 or maybe a bit older that was a size 10 and it was a 32 inch chest.

I am a 34B now and that's a present day size 8.

Ridiculous, size 8 has always been slim.

10 is by no means chubby for the vast majority of people.

Ridiculous, size 8 has always been slim.

10 is by no means chubby for the vast majority of people.

Agree 👏🏻

I have never squeezed in smaller than a size 10 jeans and that would be fighting to get them on and fastened. I use to wear size 8 coats/jackets because they fit my AA cup boobs but the armpit always split because they where too tight on my shoulders (but a bigger side would drown my torso).

If a dress wasnt tight on my shoulders (strappy dress or strapless) and not tight at the hips then I was a 6-8 in dresses though.

My friend wore size 8-10 jeans but had MASSIVE boobs. She usually wore a size mens XL tshirts.

My friend didn't really wear dresses back then but the one or two she owned was size 16-18.

On paper which of us is 'slimmer'?

Who knows but I know peoples reactions

I was annorexic (5ft7 and 6-7st) and was a size 12 jeans but everyone would discribe me a 'skinny' it was my hip and shoulder bones (litrally big boned lol) that required a size 12.

My friend was considered by far the largest of our group (5ft9 and 11-12st) and horrible men would make digs at her being that 'fat' one dispite her fitting easily in jeans 2 sizes smaller than me.

Dress SIZE doesnt mean much, body shape holds so much more in regards to how others view us as 'skinny' or 'fat'.

I have put on up to 5 stone since then (fluxuated between 8-11 stone over the last 10 years) and until recently people still called me 'skinny'.

I have noticed the last two years people have started asking if I 'gained' weight (been asked several times if Im pregnant too) but I havent gained any new weight its just due to middle age metabolism change (I weigh the same but I have started to retain more around my belly which use to always be flat).

I disagree and from what I see the fashion is definitely for a curvier figure vs what it was when I was a teen (late 90’s). All the youngsters at my gym are going for a big butt and solid thighs with small waist.

@mam0918 I did some (shit) modelling & would often find that with some of the other girls. I have a small frame so could pinch an inch but fit into smaller sizes because they were just broader than me despite looking thinner than me.

@JosephineGH how tall are you?

I think it's to do with your shape

I wear a 30 back bra but above a dd cup so anything larger than a 10 top is too big across the shoulders

I used to wear an 8 till I went into my 40s

My waist is bigger as are my hips so may wear a 12 bottom especially in trousers

I don't personally think I look under a size 10 as I then lose my bust.

look good

Also though my nana was born in the 1930, a teen/young woman in the late 40s/early 50s and she would be mortally offended at being called 'slim' or 'skinny' even though she was.

She was an old lady with virtually no body fat and wore a size 6-8 which was 'baggy' on her (she would have to belt the waist to pull it in) but would lie and say she wore a size 12 and get very annoyed if anyone didnt seem to believe the obvious lie.

So societies views have likely changed, I think being bigger use to be considered 'healthy' and that was deemed attractive (my nana was very vein and always took immaculate care of her apperance).

I don't know anyone that thinks 20 is porky. 6 is tiny, 8 is slim, 10 is fit, 12 is good, 14 is shapely, 16 is a bit chubby, 18+ is fat.
I'm currently a 16 on top and 18 on bottom. Have previously been an 8 on top and 13l2 on bottom, I think I could not eat for a month and still have a huge ass!

*10 is porky

It’s partly vanity sizing, but also fashion is marketed to a significantly younger demographic than in the 80’s and 90’s. If BooHoo/Pretty Little Thing are aiming at 16-18 year olds, odds are those customers will be smaller than a woman in her 30s. I’m 40 and I vaguely remember the fuss over size zero fashion around the turn of the millennium, and it coincided with the shift in models being teens instead of in their twenties.

good point, I was at Topshop when they introduced the smaller sizes because younger girls where buying the petite section.

DM still has an M&S mini dress from the 1960s. It's a size 10. Her weight has remained constant since then. However, despite still shopping in M&S and still a size 10, the 60s dress is too small. Definitely vanity sizing at play.