To think that shops souldnt change their sizing just to make fat people feel better

[ThoseArentSpiritFingers]

Was shopping in H&M and was looking through the basics range - needed leggings and t shirts etc. took some leggings to try on, an picked up a pair of medium without going it much thought, as I am a size 10-12. Luckily I did try them on because they were massive on me. When I went to look for a smaller size I noticed a sign saying they had 'revolutionised' their sizing for the basics range to allow for bigger sizing, which is fair enough.

But why mess around with all the rest of the sizes?! Why not just label it xxl rather than changing medium to fit a size that would have fit a 16-18.

And to make it all even more stupid, it was only their basics range that had changed, the rest of the stuff was still a normal size.

I ended up at the till with a stupid range of sizes, with some smalls, some mediums and one large for their stupidly small skinny jeans. An this is just one store.

This is as annoying for big people too. Whatever size you are it's annoying to not know what size to get because they keep changing. Shops need standardised sizing but they don't do that. It'd make shopping easier! Moan about that not about fat people, makes you look ignorant and bigoted

most people who have a handle on their weight agree that vanity sizing is a BAD THING

Really? You've spoken to most people about this?

I could ask you - if you've got such a handle on your weight why are you dieting?

But I wouldn't because that's a right bitchy question to ask isn't it? Being snide and snippy to people about their weight is rude and nasty. There's no excuse for it.

Blimey.
I'm rather fat and don't see anything at all offensive from op.
However I'm fairly embarrassed by the wilting victim responses.
NOT ALL FAT PEOPLE ARE SO VERY BLOODY PRECIOUS - in case anyone reading this was starting to wonder!
All the 'oh, so I'm a hideous beast am I??' Responses do far more to suggest there is something wrong and shameful and tragic about being fat than ANYTHING op has said.

Sorry I'm fat and I don't like vanity sizing cos as I've said cos it's annoying! It's useful when you can easily pick your size. I don't want to pretend I'm a smaller size because I don't hate my body.

TalkinpeaceFri 11-Oct-13 22:49:48

Misty My point exactly.
randall most people who have a handle on their weight agree that vanity sizing is a BAD THING

the vast majority of those who think that sizes have risen for other than vanity reasons are fatter than they admit.
I know because we have a steady trickle of them landing in 5:2 land.

In which case they (like me) are trying to do something about it no?

Again, why do people presume that anyone who finds the thread offensive is fat?

I think the title says exactly what the shops are doing,they are being offensive not the op for pointing it out.

Loads of them are perfectly open about vanity sizing and why they do it and that it apparently helps sales.

Or is it a problem that she used the word fat?

Vanity sizing is a pain in the arse to anyone who does not want to only shop in one shop sometimes even not wanting to confine yourself to one range in a shop. But the op is not wrong as to why they do it its even why its called vanity sizing.but its the shops doing it and treating women like children who have to be pacified before they buy something NOT the op.

and I do 5:2 for health reasons .... I'm not planning to lose much more weight as BMI under 20 at age 48 is hard to get right

YABU for shopping in H&M, the stuff in there is shite.

As a "fat person", I don't really have an opinion on vanity sizing, I know every store has different measurements, so I buy from wherever has the best fit for me. However, I have been the same weight for quite a few years now and I still take the same sizes (16 top, 14 waist), so it can't have changed that drastically.

I don't need vanity sizing to make me feel better anyhow, I have a fab set of boobs and hips thanks!

Thanks for telling us your BMI.

Talkinpeace you do it to be skinny cos it sure ain't healthy.

randall its not news : I post it each week on 5:2, it still leaves my body fat at the upper end of healthy because I have light bones

As a fat person I actually dislike "vanity sizing" because I'd quite like clothes to be labelled with bust/waist/hip measurements so I can see at a glance and not have to go through the humiliation of trying to guess which stores actually recognise I exist.

I am not deluded about my size. I just realise that body proportions have changed a lot over time and this will have to be reflected in sizing. It's plain silly to hark back to a golden age of 'proper sizing' when women's bodies have changed.

I find it incredibly hard to find clothes that fit, because I have an awkward body shape. I also find it incredibly hard to find clothes that aren't hideous (because my taste seems to differ markedly from dominant tastes in my local market). This is just how things are.

One thing that does annoy me is shops who claim that their sizes are made to fit certain measurements but the actual clothes are far, far larger than this Monsoon . Look at the sizing on their website and you'd think that the made small clothes. But if you're foolish enough to order the size that is closest to your body proportions, you'll find that something enormous arrives in the post. I don't see this an vanity sizing. I see it as ineptitude.

And actually the REAL point of this thread has shown up that most clothes "sizing" is a PITA

and it would be much much better for everybody if
tops were sold with a bust and waist size,
skirts and trousers with a hips and waist size
then people could buy online with confidence (and the reduced returns would save retailers lots of money)
and people could go to shops and pick stuff that the y liked up without all the gambling

Its not even about fat / thin / tall / short
its just about clothes being sold in sizes that actually mean something ...

Nothing to do with "vanity sizing", and no need to blame "fat" people.

Retailers buy their clothing ranges from many different manufacturers all over the world. That's how you end up with such a disparity of sizes in the same shop and even in exactly the same style.

Instead of sweating it out and getting annoyed in the fitting room, measure!

Lay your fave, best fitting clothes out and measure the length, and width at shoulders, waist and hips. Make a note of the measurements and take a handy tape measure shopping with you.

Easy!

Yep. As a 'fat person' I feel heaps better about H&M relabelling their crappy clothes. Imagine, that was all that needed to happen for me to feel at peace with myself. Hurrah!

Talkin retailers dont mind if you come back and return stuff. It increases footfall and means you might spend even more on a replacement purchase!

You have 'light bones'?

Anyway, on this bit we completely agree:
^Its not even about fat / thin / tall / short
its just about clothes being sold in sizes that actually mean something ...^

Even actual measurements aren't accurate so there's bollock all chance of an arbitrary 'size' being standardised. A 34" leg can fit in one shop and be too short/long in another. 34 inches is 34 inches, there's no vanity interpretation involved there. Just shitty standards due to the general horridness that is the mass-produced textiles industry.

No way. I've measured myself and I'm nearly bang on a perfect 10 all over. Am I a size 10 in the shops? Am I hell. I am a 14 in Topshop trousers and a 12 nearly everywhere else, including H&M. Sometimes an 8 in other shops. Sizing is just cockamamy all over the place. That's what fitting rooms are there for!

Oglala
Talkin retailers dont mind if you come back and return stuff. It increases footfall and means you might spend even more on a replacement purchase!
Yes and no. The Distance Selling regulations for online / mail order sales add several percent to the cost of every item of clothing.
Returned goods can rarely be sold again at full price.
THe crap measuring (as agreed with randall ) costs all of us lots of money ....

IMO, the discrepancies in sizing have now got so out of control, that most people are wise to vanity sizing.

Just know your measurements, carry a tape measure when you shop for clothes and ignore the size in the label.

Anyone who sews clothes from patterns will now that they are still sized using the 1950's sizing standards. I buy a 12 in clothes that are accurately sized nowadays, but I have UK 8's in my wardrobe in some brands, but I'm a 14-16 in dress pattern sizing. It's really not worth stressing over.

Does anybody else find it amusing that so many women need a label to tell them what size they are? All that dieting must have put them right out of touch with their own bodies.

I agree with you, Arbitrary, about stores that publish size guides & then don't follow them. If I'm buying online, I have no problem getting out a tape measure to see what size the store calls me, but it's annoying when the damn thing turns up with completely different measurements!

I met a bloke who'd invented a sort of scanner that measures clothes really quickly. The idea was that retailers could then sell garments by actual dimensions (would be handy when a range is being manufactured in different places, for example.) We all thought he was looking at his first billion, but he had very few takers in the end. Shame, it struck me as a proper timesaver.

Surely you can mostly tell by holding an item of clothing against you, whether it's likely to fit or not?

I agree about the vanity sizing being a pain in the arse (though I think the OP has put it very rudely) and I hate the faff of trying clothes on.

But I accept that if I'm not willing to try them on, I shouldn't complain if I need to return them.