Page 8 | Is a 28” waist really small?

Bunny44 · 30/03/2024 21:18

MrsVeryTired · 30/03/2024 18:59

@KitKatChunki often quoted fallacy about Marilyn Monroe. She was approx 36-24-34 which is nowhere near a 16 (more like an 8-10 in current sizes). She was curvy, I think Scarlett Johanssen is probably a modern equivalent.

I have similar vital stats and I'm generally an 8. I had a 22" waist when I was younger and people used to say it was tiny. Sad thing is I grew up in the 00s and thought I was fat due to my curvy bust and hips 🥲.

TextureSeeker · 30/03/2024 21:20

EnidSpyton · 30/03/2024 19:23

I'm responding to your question about us being better nourished now.

We are, by and large, better nourished now. We eat food of a better quality, that's been stored and processed better, and delivered to us in much better condition.

In the past, a lack of refrigeration technology meant that foods tended to be heavily salted and processed to preserve them. If you look at a tin of Spam, for example, the meat is encased in gelatine and fat to help preserve it. For many people in the mid century, Spam would have been a staple part of their diet and more accessible to them than fresh meat, alongside other processed meats such as potted meat and sandwich pastes.

You very much do get fat from convenience, processed foods. They were just as prevalent in the past as they are now - just in a different form. That's my point.

I don't think the ration diet was a great quality diet. I would dispute that source from what I've read and heard from people who lived through the period.

We are bigger and taller now - due in large part to better quality nutrition.

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Yeah, I'm not sure why posters seem so determined to want us all to look the same way people did 50 years ago. I'm 5'8", my feet are a size 7. I remember as a teen feeling like a freak because all of the women in my family in the generations before me were all less than 5'4" with size 3 or 4 feet. They'd all go to 13 year old me 'ooh aren't your feet big' 🙄, Average shoe size has gone up 2 sizes since the olden days of the 70s to a size 6. Our bodies are bigger now and that's not a bad thing. I'm never going to have a 22inch waist, I'm a tall, strong woman who is far fitter than any of the women in my family in the few generations before me even if they didn't need vanity sizing for their teeny, tiny bodies 🙄 Strong is where it's at these days, we care what our bodies can do, not what men think of us.

bows101 · 30/03/2024 21:53

As with everything, everyone's body is so different. I've got friends who say they are a size 10 but look bigger, when I was a size 10 I was slim. I am 5'9.
I hate it when I'm selling something and someone asks if it's a true size, because everyone's 'size' is so different, longer torsos/wider hips/bigger busts etc.

missshilling · 30/03/2024 23:01

Greengagesummer65 · 30/03/2024 20:47

Marilyn Monroe’s clothes are in museums and collections and they’ve all been identified as 8-12 with a size 10 the most common. That’s a waist 22 size 10. In reality, her proportions didn’t correspond to known sizes, as most of us don’t, but her measurements have been noted through clothes and fitting records and are closest to these sizes. No idea where the urban myth that she was a size 16 came from, she certainly was not 😳

Her modelling agency card from 1945…

heavensakes · 30/03/2024 23:32

It's all personal isn't it. It's not small for me, I'm about 25 inch after 4 DC but for others it will be small.

If it's a realistic goal for you then go for it.

Original poster

Ithinkofyouallofthetime · 31/03/2024 02:53

i don’t really care what a waist size was 50 odd years ago, it’s not relevant. I’m question is about a modern day 28” waist for a woman who’s 5 foot 6.

OP posts:

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 31/03/2024 07:57

Ithinkofyouallofthetime · 31/03/2024 02:53

i don’t really care what a waist size was 50 odd years ago, it’s not relevant. I’m question is about a modern day 28” waist for a woman who’s 5 foot 6.

Well I'm 5'6 and wear 28 inch waist jeans and I am slim but not tiny. I'm a size 8-10.

Mrssheepskin · 31/03/2024 08:07

It is recommended that your waist measurement is less than half of your height. My waist is pretty much 28inches which is under half my height so fine for me (I’m quite short!)

Josette77 · 31/03/2024 08:13

Ithinkofyouallofthetime · 31/03/2024 02:53

i don’t really care what a waist size was 50 odd years ago, it’s not relevant. I’m question is about a modern day 28” waist for a woman who’s 5 foot 6.

No it's not a teenage size.
You're fine if that's your goal.

soupfiend · 31/03/2024 08:14

KitKatChunki · 30/03/2024 20:38

Just a reminder of what the OP actually asked:
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.

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I know what she asked, conversations take twists and turns, move around, ebb and flow, change course and Im responding to another poster where the conversation was around whether and how nourished we are

HTH

PersephonePomegranate23 · 31/03/2024 08:22

Octopussingthieves · 30/03/2024 10:01

At 5'10 it's too small.

Great, I'll tell my 26" waist it needs to grow, then 🙄

PersephonePomegranate23 · 31/03/2024 08:28

TextureSeeker · 30/03/2024 21:20

Yeah, I'm not sure why posters seem so determined to want us all to look the same way people did 50 years ago. I'm 5'8", my feet are a size 7. I remember as a teen feeling like a freak because all of the women in my family in the generations before me were all less than 5'4" with size 3 or 4 feet. They'd all go to 13 year old me 'ooh aren't your feet big' 🙄, Average shoe size has gone up 2 sizes since the olden days of the 70s to a size 6. Our bodies are bigger now and that's not a bad thing. I'm never going to have a 22inch waist, I'm a tall, strong woman who is far fitter than any of the women in my family in the few generations before me even if they didn't need vanity sizing for their teeny, tiny bodies 🙄 Strong is where it's at these days, we care what our bodies can do, not what men think of us.

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I completely agree. We have become bigger as we have evolved and have access to healthcare and better nutrition. Larger sizing is often put it down to vanity and obesity, but that's not the whole picture.

We've all seen historical doorways in old castles, pubs etc. and seen how small people once were, we have grown in general.

Aswellisnotoneword · 31/03/2024 08:34

No it's not too small. I had a 23-24" waist when young, at 5'10ish. I was very slender but never bony skinny.

Itisnearlyspring · 31/03/2024 08:47

This article is interesting about the reasons for changes in waist size over time
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/sep/21/shopping.fashion

"The waist-hip ratio has changed over the past 100 years because of a change in the macronutrients in our diet. Our intake of carbohydrates and sugars has grown rapidly, which increases insulin production. This in turn aids fat-cell deposits on the torso rather than anywhere else on the body."

I got mine to 24.5" post children and in peri menopause from cutting out upf, reducing sugary food. It is very easy to maintain as my cravings have gone and I feel much healthier.

Mimi Spencer on how catwalks are suddenly full of 'traditional' womanly shapes

The catwalks are suddenly full of 'traditional' womanly shapes, complete with nipped-in waists. In the real world, women are losing their curves and looking more like men. What's going on, asks Mimi Spencer.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/sep/21/shopping.fashion

missshilling · 31/03/2024 09:22

Ithinkofyouallofthetime · 31/03/2024 02:53

i don’t really care what a waist size was 50 odd years ago, it’s not relevant. I’m question is about a modern day 28” waist for a woman who’s 5 foot 6.

It’s big for me. Mine is usually around 26”.

Sparklfairy · 31/03/2024 09:46

Ithinkofyouallofthetime · 31/03/2024 02:53

i don’t really care what a waist size was 50 odd years ago, it’s not relevant. I’m question is about a modern day 28” waist for a woman who’s 5 foot 6.

In that case, at that height, no, it's not. I'm your height and my waist is 25". I'm a size 8, so a perfectly normal weight, not 'really small'.

pisses me off when primark insists on saying i'm xs or xxs though

RedToothBrush · 31/03/2024 10:24

KevinDeBrioche · 30/03/2024 14:49

well that is a LOT higher than it was in the 90s.

No it's not!!!!
There's a lot of people who would like to believe this but it's not as true as people think.

The actual measurements for a size 4 - 8 haven't really changed. How reliable clothes are for being these dimensions has.

I have clothes from the early 2000s which I kept and can still squeeze into at a push, but I'm not buying clothes that are hugely different in sizing to I did in the 1990s.

I am a little bigger than I was - I was an unhealthy weight at 19, but I'm well within the boundaries of normal now. But I'm 45!

KevinDeBrioche · 31/03/2024 10:27

RedToothBrush · 31/03/2024 10:24

No it's not!!!!
There's a lot of people who would like to believe this but it's not as true as people think.

The actual measurements for a size 4 - 8 haven't really changed. How reliable clothes are for being these dimensions has.

I have clothes from the early 2000s which I kept and can still squeeze into at a push, but I'm not buying clothes that are hugely different in sizing to I did in the 1990s.

I am a little bigger than I was - I was an unhealthy weight at 19, but I'm well within the boundaries of normal now. But I'm 45!

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I'm also bigger than I was. I have a pair of diesel jeans from '99 that are a 28 waist. jeans bought in the last ten years are labeled 24-25. they all fit.

my mum had a biba dress from the 70s labeled 10. It fit me perfectly as a skinny tall teen, I doubt it would fit my mid 40s waist now despite the jeans sizes as above.

clothes are bigger.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 31/03/2024 10:45

I was one of those annoying teenagers who was very slim (large bust though) and was probably about a 4-6. But you couldn’t get that size in 80s, a size 8 was rare to find. I was very active though, always on the go and though I did snack it was nowhere near the amount I do now. I was always complimented on a small waist but then I had a larger bust (narrow back though so it didn’t look big) too. When I had a termination at 17 I was told off by the nurses as I was 7 stone (at 5ft5) which they thought was too slim but I ate loads! As far as I can recall it was fairly healthy food too. In my late 20s I got bigger, size 8-10 and bigger on bottom half. But I’ve always hated the gym but would do aqua aerobics, did aerobics 1 x a week from 18-22 and then the odd aerobics class. Plus clubbing and dancing and lots of walking.

2024theplot · 31/03/2024 10:49

I'm a size 8-10 and wear 27" or 28" jeans. I am very hourglass shaped, so my waist looks smaller than it is, but most of my friends are actually around the same size in jeans.

VolvoFan · 31/03/2024 10:51

That sounds like a size 10. My natural waist is 28", my hips are 34". Although sometimes I can fit an 8, but mostly 10 because I won't tolerate any restraint or pinching. It's small, but not really small. I'm 5'3" aswell. I'm generally petite.

Mummame2222 · 31/03/2024 11:05

Ithinkofyouallofthetime · 31/03/2024 02:53

i don’t really care what a waist size was 50 odd years ago, it’s not relevant. I’m question is about a modern day 28” waist for a woman who’s 5 foot 6.

Not all that small tbh.

LuciferRising · 31/03/2024 11:08

TextureSeeker · 30/03/2024 21:20

Yeah, I'm not sure why posters seem so determined to want us all to look the same way people did 50 years ago. I'm 5'8", my feet are a size 7. I remember as a teen feeling like a freak because all of the women in my family in the generations before me were all less than 5'4" with size 3 or 4 feet. They'd all go to 13 year old me 'ooh aren't your feet big' 🙄, Average shoe size has gone up 2 sizes since the olden days of the 70s to a size 6. Our bodies are bigger now and that's not a bad thing. I'm never going to have a 22inch waist, I'm a tall, strong woman who is far fitter than any of the women in my family in the few generations before me even if they didn't need vanity sizing for their teeny, tiny bodies 🙄 Strong is where it's at these days, we care what our bodies can do, not what men think of us.

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You can be 'teeny tiny' and be strong and fit.

28 isn't tiny. Maybe by today's standards where 60% of people in the UK are overweight.

dodobookends · 31/03/2024 12:46

My first job when I left school was at a stables, and sweeping that great big yard twice a day gave me a very narrow waist. Within a month of getting a desk job my waistline had increased by 2" even though I hadn't put any weight on at all. Clothes that fitted were suddenly way too small. Can't remember what measurement my waist was, it was decades ago.

2024theplot · 31/03/2024 19:30

LuciferRising · 31/03/2024 11:08

You can be 'teeny tiny' and be strong and fit.

28 isn't tiny. Maybe by today's standards where 60% of people in the UK are overweight.

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I agree, the physically strongest women I know are all 'teeny tiny' compared to me. You can be strong at any size, much the same way you can be incredibly unfit at any size.

Is a 28” waist really small?

Interested in this thread?