to be sick of the clothes size lottery?

[StigoftheBump]

In a brief delusion of affluence, I took DD(3) into Laura Ashley yesterday to try on summer dresses.

The largest size in stock was age 7-8. It was too short, by some considerable length.

DD is tall, but not freakishly so. She wouldn't, for example, be mistaken for a Yr3 child.

Her current wardrobe ranges from age 3 (Frugi) to age 8 (Sainsbury school dress).

AIBU to think this is bonkers? I've found little girls' clothes to be the worst for random sizing, although baby/boy/womenswear are all guilty too.

I agree, it's ridiculous the variation that exists. Why The system used for men's clothes of cm/inches can't be used for at the very least women's clothing is beyond me. YANBU

It is bonkers. My 3.3yo DD is in 18-24 month trousers as even her 2-3s are trailing round the floor and fall down around her bum. And she's not small, she's dead on average weight and height.

It's the same with adult clothing.
You have to try absolutely everything on.

Agree. I have a skirt in my wardrobe size 8. And some tops size 16. Most of my clothes are a 12 or a 14. Ridiculous.
Ds1(7) has clothes currently aged 5, and 9. Most 7-8. Silly.

Loopy, the whole shebang. A woman's size 38 is, variously, a UK6, a UK16, or a UK 12.

Much of the chaos comes from where the clothes are made and labelled - but what other products suffer from this? Cm sizing, which doesn't even have to be standardised, would be easy, work and cost nowt.

Oblomov - come on tell the truth, your size 8 skirt is now a mini skirt and is up around your arse

It's a joke, I have to shop at m & s or next exculsivley for my dd ( 20 months) as other shop sizes drown her. Trousers just don't stay up etc, I'm sure it's not helping with the obesity epidemic. Massive sizes lure people into a false sense of security imo

I have a couple of (nearly) 2 year olds who are fitting into 6-9 month clothes from some stores!

It is absolutely the same in adult clothes.

Measurements-wise, I am a size 10. But I have clothes in my wardrobe (that fit) from a 6 to a 12.

DS is 8.5 weeks, and wearing 3-6 month clothes from some places. He's big, but not freakishly so. A pair of allegedly '6 month' leggings are too small for him!

I'm getting fed up with this too. You can't just buy something and know it will fit. DD is just 4, and is quite short for her age. Her nursery trousers are all 3-4 and she looks like she's auditioning for Slade's comeback tour. She's got some new dresses age 5-6 that fit well, but grandma bought her some 3-4 knickers and she could get someone else in there with her . Shorts age 18 mo- 2 y still fit her and she's wearing 2-3 tops. She had tights aged 3-4 from 3 different shops: one pair fits like a dream, one is ridiculously long and the other the crotch hangs down round her knees.

I'm generally a 14 but have to try on a 16 and a 14 of everything in every shop because sometimes a 14 won't do up. Would it be so difficult to standardise sizes across the industry? As runswithscissors says they are allegedly based on cm, so just have an agreement how many cm = each size.

I'm a magazine journalist (please don't hurt me!) and years ago I wanted to write a feature on the variations in sizes between different shops.

We rang all the press offices of just about every high street store to ask for the measurements of a size 14. Not one single shop would tell us. Not one.

A stylist later told us that it's because it's not even standard to a shop. So two different skirts in one shop can be different size 14s, if that makes sense?

Kids clothes are just the same. Last year, after my son's 3rd birthday, I had to take a pair of age 3 trousers back to Next because they were SO enormous, and an age 3 jacket back to Mothercare because it was tiny.

It's true that they aren't standard in shops. I got DD a trousers and jumper christmas outfit in 28-24mths. (she was 21mths at christmas) The jumper was too small in the sleeve and tight in the first few weeks. The trousers are still huge on her now.

That was from M&S, btw. M&S - sort it out!

Yep, LaWeasel I don't buy clothes sets anymore for DS unless I'm happy for him to wear the trousers and top seperately, which defeats the object really.

I don't know anyone whose DC fit trousers at the 'right' age, the trousers are all too big.

MrSpoc
No seriously. It is silly. I have never been and will never be a size 8, so why do I have it in my wardrobe. It is a knee length work skirt.

my 14 month old DD is still wearing a 3-6 month cardigan

I really ought to go buy her a new cardigan

I agree it's the same for adult sizes - and not even from shop-to-shop... I have to try everything on, even jeans in the SAME SHOP seem to be different sizes!! It's so frustrating, especially when your DH just waltzes in, picks something off the shelf, buys it, and it fits perfectly!

Ditto. I (think!) I'm a size 10 usually but, like all of you from the sounds of it, have sizes from 8-14 in my wardrobe. Now I'm pregnant it's a complete lottery! H&M did the most comfy jeans but having been back to try more on now these have done their time, I've tried on no less than 6 pairs to try to get the same fit - nada! How is this possible?!
Have already laid out all of baby's clothes into the drawers and am actually quite pleased I went a bit nutso on the clothes shopping on eBay as they do all appear to be completely random sizes. I've gone up to a few items in the supposed 9 month range, so if she is freakishly large by whatever the random standard of measurement for baby clothes deems, I have something in back-up.
Is there somewhere MN can lobby for this - would it be a Government issue or fashion industry?
While we're here, I also have Monkey Arms. My ex did also (so poor baby will be a knuckle dragger for sure). Has anyone else had problems finding coats/jumpers/shirts etc with arms that reach the wrist? Wondering if they model them on midgets

Absolutely. I am trying to lose weight and I have no idea what size I am now because it varies so much.

Beat this. I have three year old in a pair of 9-12mth shorts and a 7-10 YEAR hat! And a five year old in a pair of 18-14 month shorts too!

Yeah I stick to a few tried and trusted shops simply because I hate trying on clothing in shops, I don't understand why we can't have our clothing in inches/cm, saying that tho even with the measurements on them DF has found that everything is not exactly the same, he bought work trousers in BHS that didn't fit but should have, still it's way more common for womans sizes to be all over the place then mens.

There loss really that I only shop at about 5 places.

I bought 2 skirts from Next, which were the same size and style, but different colours. One was much bigger than the other. Presumably they were made in different factories so no standardisation, even though they were for the same retailer. Have also bought skirts where the waist is enormous, but the hips are tight. I'm not a freakish shape, just the UK standard pear, so it does make you wonder who these clothes are actually made for.

My DD is 3 and has clothes aged 2-3, 3-4, and 5-6. My 9 yr old son can still get into shorts aged 7-8.

How can people ever really judge what size they actually are?

You should try making clothes from a pattern! I'm a 16 normally but made a 24 dress recently for myself. Supposedly it was US sizes but they're two below ours - ie I'm a US 12!

I think they need to do a new 'size of the nation' thing and rejig the clothes sizes. DC is 6, freakishly tall, and ranges in size from a 6-7 to 9-10 depending where we shop.

Me I range from a 14 to a 22 depending where i shop, it's tops that are the worst because i have HUGE boobs.