To be pissed off with vanity sizing

[SayImADreamer]

Im a size 10 and a size 8 in looser floatier designs.

Back in the uk so went to primark. Picked up some tops, holding them up thought they looked a bit big sp got them all in size 8. Got 6 different tops.

Get back home, try them on, and theyre all too big.

There's no way im a size 6, trust me. Its fucking annoying. Just label things with the correct size FFS.

Goes hand in hand with that old trope: "Marilyn Monroe was a size 12!" Yeah. A size 12 in the 50s, which would probably be like a size 8 today based on what im seeing.

Sorry just annoyed because primark is hardly hyper structured wear, i should be able to just go in and grab some vest tops and trust the sizing. Now i have to take them back

/end rant

[happypoobum]

Oh yes! Shoes too now.

I can be anything between a 4 and a 6.5

[UrgentScurryfunge]

There are shops such as Monsoon where I like the clothes but as a size 8-10, find their "size 8s" gigantuan and just disappear under their size scale. Neither am I really the size "6" as defined by Next. A size 10 I could find more credible. I have a couple of vintage (70s/ 80s) size 10 dresses and have to breathe in and hold my posture to do them up. Really they are a 26 inch waist, and I'm more of a 27-28. I think I'd have needed a 12 for comfort on their scale.

I'm not a teenager or 20 year old, and it is annoying to be a short, fairly slim person who fits the usual parameters for health and find that many shops pitching around my age group don't acknowledge my existance.

Yes, then there's the random/ inconsistant sizing.

The High Street is struggling, but sometimes it really doesn't make it easy and desirable to buy things there!

[AgentJohnson]

So why do women have to put up with the nonsensical sizing lottery?

Because we demand it. How many times do women express their size by clothing size, knowing full well that it’s not standardised The industry caters to the supposed status that many women attribute to being a particular position on an arbitrary sizing spectrum. There’s a reason it’s called vanity sizing.

Clothing sizes are dependent on the shop, the geographical origin of the shop, the style etc. Far too many variables to say where I fall on such an arbitrary scale, hence clothes shopping online is a waste of my time because choosing a size is just a lottery.

[Aeroflotgirl]

I guess if your over a size 12, vanity sizing is great, not so if you are on the smaller side.

[Frax]

This is why I don't get hung up on sizes. When I see something I like I judge what will fit by eye not label. Then I try on.
I have weighed the same since I was 18 (now 60).
M&S I usually need a 10, in Primark I'd start with a 16. Most of my clothes are 12s but I often buy oversize for example a coat or fluffy cardigan I'd go for a 14/16.

[Chesntoots]

I have a couple of items in my wardrobe I bought about 5 years ago which are a 10. I have some bought in the last few years that are a 12. The items I have purchased in the last few months are a 14!

They all fit me so what the he'll size am I?? Is it just to make me feel fat? Are they in cahoots with a chain of gyms or Slimming World??

[Aeroflotgirl]

I disagree op, it works the other way, and depends on the brand. I bought a Pepe denim skirt online which was a large, should fit me as I am a size 12, noooo when I received it, more like a size 8 and had to send it back. I went to get some tights in Primark, I had to get a size 22 , I am not a 22, I weight 65kg and exercise regularly and watch what I eat.

[BonnieF]

Men get properly sized clothes : a pair of 34 waist / 32 leg jeans or a 16 inch collar shirt are exactly that.

So why do women have to put up with the nonsensical sizing lottery?

[Sausagerollers]

I find that clothes made in the UK have a much more consistent fit than those made overseas. You have to remember that the average shape of the female body in China for example is very different to the UK body shape so factories are working from a different baseline.

An average British woman with a 30inch waist is likely to have different hip, chest, arm and shoulder measurements to an average woman in China with a 30inch waist.

[Amanduh]

So basically every single shop is different every single time. Two boohoo dresses received just now - both size 10 and both the same style different colours. Just measured with a cm ruler (all I had to hand haha) and there is a 9.2cm difference!

[noeffingidea]

I go by look mostly, then try that and the next size up that I think is going to fit. As far as consistency goes, I find Peacocks pretty good in this respect.

[MyShinyWhiteTeeth]

I think it may be starting to happen in shoes too.

I'd expect shoes to be much easier to size properly.

[carol1234568]

This is why I avoid buying clothes online

[Shambu]

I think inconsistent sizing is a separate issue.

[Shambu]

I hear ya.

There are certain brands that I'm basically sized out of now as they've sized up but haven't introduced a petite range.

[LemonysSnicket]

I'm an 8 and yet I own clothing that ranges from a 4 to a 14 because clothes sizing doesn't make any fucking sense. That and it's all built for 6foot behemoths or the petite section shows my arse out of the bottom. Find it strange that the complete average female height isn't catered to.

[Tawdrylocalbrouhaha]

I think it's inaccuracy as much as vanity sizing. I once bought trousers in Miss Selfridge and liked them so much I went back and got another pair the exact same.

Except they were clearly at least two sizes bigger when I went to put them on. Can't believe I didn't notice in the shop, but I just went by the label.

[pointythings]

I think the problem isn't vanity sizing, it's inconsistent sizing. I couldn't care less what the label says, as long as it fits as expected no matter where I shop!

Sizes definitely were much smaller in the past though - DD2 has a vintage Laura Ashley dress from a charity shop, probably early 1980s. It's a 12 and fits her perfectly. She's 5'8''. slim and an 8-10 in most shops at the moment.

[Jaxhog]

While I understand that style makes a difference, why can't we have standard sizing in each country? (In all countries would be good, but that is step way too far from likely!)

[kateandme]

god hate sizes.

[HelenaDove]

Ive never shopped in Primark so have no idea how i would fare there.

[HelenaDove]

expat in F+F some of their size 12 tops are too big. But i cant get into their size 20 trousers yet in New Look trousers im a 14 to 16.

[userabcname]

Yes there is vanity sizing but Primark sizing is simply erratic and nonsensical. In my wardrobe I have clothes from Primark ranging from a 6 to a 12 and they all fit (well, they DID fit pre-baby anyway....).

[MyShinyWhiteTeeth]

I tried on a bra in M&S and then chose the same style and size that fit in different colours. At home saw they all fit differently so I had to return most of them.

In one shop I noticed the trousers I'd tried on had a slightly damaged zip so I picked up another one to buy without trying them on. Got home and they were too tight.

The clothes size 16 should all be the same size - manufacturers seem to be really getting worse.