Which shop do you think sells genuine sizes?

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Having been a lot bit overweight for a really long time while I want to get motivated. I plan to choose an outfit to work towards wearing as a way of keeping me motivated. Which shop sells sizes that are genuine sizes? I know that M and S has a reputation for being too generous. I have no idea about NEXT anymore. Can anyone help? I had thought Monsoon but don't really know.

It's so annoying isn't it, I get really frustrated with shopping for clothes. I look at something on the internet but have no idea which size so end up having to order same thing in a couple of sizes then have all the faff so sending stuff back.

I remember a time where I could pick something up in my size from most shops and not need to try it on, those days are gone now.

As a teenager in the early 90's I used to get size 10, I don't think a size 8 existed then, never mind 6 and I've even seen size 4's in shops too! I was a stone lighter then and now I wear 6-8 in most places which sounds tiny but I'm not, I am slim but I have curves and wobbly bits

Ooh, MrsKoala, that suggests that if I want to be dressed younger than my age I should shop somewhere I need larger than a 12. It explains a lot about my style!

Went shopping for the kids earlier out of interest I looked at the teenagers jeans, I picked up an age 12-13 they looked around a SIZE 12 not age!

Also interested in your question about Next sizing, I used to get jeans in there and get a size down, recently saw some trousers on their website and all the comments said go a size up.

I think Next sizing is really erratic. Some things are massive and some small. I had an awful experience in there once getting stuck in a tankini a size smaller than all my suit jackets. I don't think Oasis is big at all though, confused by that one, I have a pair of size 12 jeans from there and am usually a 10.

Child bearing has had no effect on the size of my hips either...

A size bigger, that made no sense at all

I say this every time this comes up. If vanity sizing is such a thing, how come clothes of mine from 10 years ago still say the same as new ones ( in fact sometimes say bigger) when I'm the same size?

Mrs Koala that's really interesting about 12 being average for the shop not the country.

MrsKoala is right- each shop takes their average customer measurements and makes that their size 12, and works outwards from there. So a shop that sells to teenagers will have smaller sizes than one that sells to 50-somethings, and a high-end shop will also generally size smaller, and if a shop's entire customer base gets bigger, so will it's sizes. I get incredibly bored of hearing all the smug size 6s bang on about vanity sizing.

It's a nightmare isn't it? Recently I treated DD, aged nearly 14 to her first pair of Levi's which she has been badgering me for for at least 2 years. We went to the Levi's shop and found the style she wanted and started with a 22inch waist. She could do them up but wanted a size bigger. Fair enough, the 23 fit with a bit of give. She then decided she wanted a darker denim than the ones she had tried on so we found the 23 in a suitabl colour. Fortunately my far more clothes savvy friend was with us and suggested she try the dark one on to check. They didn't even do up. Nor did the 26, the 28 and the 30. We gave up at that point and went back to the pale denim.

Bizarre. She could fit a 22 inch waist in pale denim but a darker dye of the same jeans were unwearable.

I get incredibly bored of hearing all the smug size 6s bang on about vanity sizing

That's an unfair assumption and comment to make

I'm far from smug, i have just as much trouble finding clothes to fit now as I did when i was a size 14!

There's no smugness involved. Just the same irritated stand point as anyone finding the majority of high street shops don't stock their size, and even if they do, they won't necessarily be the right fit or length. Let alone the exact style you wanted.

I don't think there is a standard 'genuine size' anymore. My wardrobe ranges from size 10's to size 16's dependant on the style of the item.

I definitely think Gap, M+S and Next have generous sizing.

Zara seems to be pretty small, and things tend to be insanely long. I am fairly tall (5'7) and size 10-12, I was in there trying on wide-legged nice trousers the other day, they were all trailing along the ground when I had them on. I'd have had to wear ridiculously high heels for them to be the right length. So annoying and I don't understand who on earth can wear them except giants!

I'd say New Look and H+M seem to have pretty average sizing, neither too big nor too small.

Slug, the different dyes and finishes on denim alter the stretch and size of the denim. Levis explanation is that it's hand cut before the process, so not only is it dependant on who's cutting the fabric to size, but also the process/colour.
Sucks but they do last a long time and they're good on their word for the guarantee if stitching comes undone or it wears a hole before 2 years.

I swear I'm not employed by them I'm just a die hard fan I only own levis jeans because of the cut and fit.

I once went into Dunnes (Irish department store) to stock up for a holiday and came out with one item in every size from 8 to 16. Ridiculous.

It really is a game of trial and error and taking a couple of sizes in a changing room with you.
I am usually a size 4 and a couple of years ago, I could shop in places such as Reiss but now their 4 seems closer to an 8! There is zero smugness associated with being this size, it plain sucks to have very little choice clothing wise!
I am 17 weeks pregnant now and the same size everywhere but my middle where I am just starting to look acceptable in a size 6 and it isn't too baggy on me. I know I am incorporating another thread here but try buying any maternity clothing in that size. Even trying to buy "regular" clothes is hard enough!

M&S, Red Herring and Next come up at least a size big, Karen Millen varies from normal to slightly small I find. Top Shop seems normal.

I do think it depends on you build also.

There is a great online calculator you can put your measurements in and it shows you what size you would be in various shops. I vary from a 6 to a 12. I am definitely a 10 at the smallest.

Im another M&S lover.

Don't get hung up on sizing! what will fit you wont fit someone else. We are all different in our body shapes.

In saying that, Im with Lunchpack here, don't visit teen shops, they are for teens.

Go and try things on

I find Dorothy Perkins to be the best for consistency. I'm anything from a 12 to an 18 in most shops, but a 14 in everything in DP's.

Is it partly a marketing tactic by some retailers?

I mean, perhaps some customers might be attracted to buy in stores like M & S because they feel better about themselves if they know that they can often fit into an "apparently" smaller size.

Just the cynic in me musing there. I have to buy a fair bit of M & S stuff because of the usually generous cut.

There's a website where you put in your measurements (or maybe ideal measurements?) And it tells you what size you are in each store, and even by tops and bottoms.

Appreciate this sounds like a stealth boast, but I am sat here in size 8 DP jeans. I am so far from a size 8 (as in much bigger). What do actually slim people do?!

I wish that things were labelled by measurements. Mine are 42:30:38 that is not going to be a size anywhere for a dress, but I could get skirts or trousers if they were labelled clearly.

Interesting about the size 12 thing.

each shop takes their average customer measurements [calls it a 12] and then works outwards etc.

But where are they getting the ''average size'' for their demographic? Where are they starting, IYSWIM?

I mean how do they find out how big the average woman is who has a disposable income of x, y or z and is likely to wear the clothes they're selling?

river I think all trousers and in fact everything should be made long enough to fit us Giants. Short or average height people can cheaply get the bottom hem taken up. Whereas tall people can't just attach a few more inches. Meaning high street shopping is hard anyway for tall people. Many places sell long as 32" leg. Some 34". 36" or over and you're screwed. Especially in small sizes.
Your one experience of Zara is how I experience the majority of my clothes shopping, but with the opposite issue.