Is a 28” waist really small?

[Ithinkofyouallofthetime]

So I bought jeans in this size as an insensitive to fit into them.

A friend who I would consider as slim (she’s also tall 5 foot 10) said that’s a really small size like teenage girl size.

My actual waist measurement is 28” but I think I would need jeans with a bigger waist size- is that right? (I don’t wear jeans and last bought a pair in about 2000 so have no idea.)

Anyway, my 28” waist is not small, no. I am muscular and don’t have much body fat but have always had a wide waist and slim hips so am a bit ‘straight up and down’

Yep. In the 70s, in my late teens, I had a 22" waist. That was a size 10. A 24-26" waist was a size 12.

I wore size 10-12 M & S T shirts (then sized for bust 32-34).

I am now in my early 70s. I now wear a 36DD bra but I fit a size 10-12 M & S T shirt and can sometimes get away with a size 8. In the 70s, at my current size, I'd be a size 14.

I'm 5ft3 and I wear 26in jeans...I'm a small/size 8. So no I wouldn't say it's that small

I'm a 26 inch waist and wear size 10 jeans, I am not a teenager (37) and my BMI is correct for my height x

I'm a size 8/10, 5"10, and wear 28 waist jeans, or 27 if I can find them.

I have narrow hips and no waist really - I very much have a straight up and down figure.

I do look very slim. People often comment on it.

At 5"10, you do need to be slim and trim to fit into a 28" waist. It puts you at the lower end of the healthy range for waist/height ratio and anything smaller would be a concern in terms of being underweight.

People saying sizes being smaller in the past need to bear in mind that women used to be shorter, less well nourished and wear substantial corseting. It would have been unusual to see a woman above 5"5 in our mothers' generations - my mother is 70, 5"5 and was always the tallest of her friendship group throughout her life. Now it's very normal to see women of 5'9 - 6 foot and obviously those women have larger waists to suit their larger frames and wouldn't fit into clothes made for the much more petite women of a previous generation.

No. When I was young the desired measurements were 36", 24", 36". My aunt had an 18inch waist. These days I think most adult women of average height are likely to have a waist bigger than 28."
When I met him my DH had a 28" waist. At 66 he's a 32".

Depends how tall you are. If you're 5'10 it's small. If you're 5'0 it's probably average.

bloody hell...I had a 21 inch waist when I was in my late teens and early twenties back in early 80's and wore size 8- 10.

probably on the way to being double that now alas....

Same here. I remember having 22" waist as a teenager, but still being described as fat by Chinese relatives and acquaintances.

I'm around 26" now as a 44 year old and one of the slimmest amongst non Chinese friends.

28" is slim if you're 5'10" but not very if you're 5'2".

and I was 5'8

I had 28" Levi's when I was 15 and restricting my food intake so I'd say that's pretty small

Yes, definitely! I used to have a 26ish waist in my early 20's and I was a comfortable size 14. I weigh about the same now but my waist has thickened (aaah, middle age🥴) yet most of the time I am a size 12!

This ^^

My waist is 28 inches and I am size 14. When I was younger (many years ago) my waist was 23.5 and I wore 10 and 12 if the style was very fitted. Basically my bum and hips were about a size 11 then.

Yup

I have a 28" inch waist and these days I'm a size 10. However, I can't fit into the size 12 dresses I wore 30 years ago. My size 8 daughter can though.

My waist is 35 inches and I am always a size 14. Complete vanity sizing

I have a 27 inch waist and my body shape and size has been pretty much the same since I was a teenager, but I was a size 10-12 in the 90s and nowadays I'm a size 8, and even some of the size 8 jeans I buy are too big. Size inflation has got ridiculous. It must be really hard to find clothes if you are skinny these days.

When people refer to women better 'better nourished' than years ago, what are you referring to

We're certainly bigger, thats not the same thing

I thought I had read and watched several references over the years that during the war, the rationing diet was the healthiest people were compared to the following decades, I dont know if that includes now though.

Haha, yes! My favourite, and most comfortable, jeans are a size 12. With 5% Lycra. There is NO WAY I'm a 12 ... and I ❤ Lycra 😂

Definitely vanity sizing, I'm a size 12 now, my MIL had a georgous dress from the 1950s which she said I could have but would need taken in as it was a 14.
I couldn't get it anywhere near buttoned up 😒

It's a 10 isn't it? I'm 5ft 9 and a 28 inch waist and buy a UK size 10.

I usually buy this and am a size 8/10.

It's a wonder Marylin Monroe wasn't outed as obese judging from some of these comments. She's about a 16 in current sizing money, so I've no idea what all of the body shaming of the youth on this thread is about.