To give M&S the award for the worst case of vanity sizing on the highstreet?!

[ChocolateSantaisthebestkind]

Ordered some clothes for DH's GM, who is in her 90's and slim, but does not like to feel waistbands etc. so DH's Mum (GM lives with DH's parents) asked me to order her size 14 in everything (nightwear, elasticated trousers, cardigans). Anyway, they arrive and DMIL calls me to say can I reorder it all again in a size 10, as what has arrived in size 14, comfortably fits DMIL, who is definitely an 18 in M&S and has 'got a bit spare from Christmas' (her words not mine, and haven't we all!) GMIL usually takes a 14 in other shops and previously in M&S and is not overly skinny, but slim, with an 'overhang' from abdo surgery in her 30's.

AIBU to think that this is ridiculous?

Vanity sizing ffs , im an 18 in most shops and I would not get a size 14 ok in marks in a million years
Might have the odd thing and more likley mil has got siZe wrong in the first place

I was looking at some vintage marks and Spencer’s clothes a while back...teeny tiny (size 12)
It’s shocking how much bigger people have become.

It’s not inconsistent sizing, it is vanity sizing.

@ILoveShula

Here we go again,another M&S bashing thread. Their clothes fit me in my usual size.

How many 90-something women are likely to be a size 14?

My mother is 90. She was a M&S size 14 when I was a teenager and is now a 10. She hasn't changed shape or weight all her life.

I find their sizing to be very good TBH. My mum believes she’s a size 14, but in reality she’s more like a 10 now so when she buys clothes they're too big.

I'm roughly 75% size 14 / 25% size 16 for dresses/skirts/trousers (sometimes a 12 in tops as I'm also a pear) in almost all high street / online shops but a 12 in M&S jeans. TBF I haven't shopped there for over a year but it sounds like if I did, I might be edging towards a 10.

People who are defensive about vanity sizing are often very young or a bit fat. I'm 47 and have gone from a 14 to an 8 in the last 30 years despite my weight being more or less the same 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s not even just about fat vs skinny. I’m broad shouldered and have worn m&s coats for years as I like their cut. My mum sent me a new coat for my birthday size 12 and it’s like a tent even on my shoulders. Really frustrating as it’s the same cut as my coat from 2 years ago but so much bigger. I’ve never worn a size 10 from m&s in my life.

People can also be different shapes so may have different sizes and weigh same and be same height.
If you know they come up larger , just buy a smaller size
Whats the big deal as opposed to calling it vanity sizing as its really nobody elses business what size someone is , why name it vanity sizing!!

@BackwardsGoing but have yo checked your measurements ? Its not all about weight , when your larger and go on a diet sometimes you can loose a couple pounds and it makes a difference to dress size , other times a stone doesn't as depends where the weight shifts from, which is why its good to take your measurements , when dieting as well

@Belinda554

I was looking at some vintage marks and Spencer’s clothes a while back...teeny tiny (size 12) It’s shocking how much bigger people have become.

It’s not inconsistent sizing, it is vanity sizing.

But people have got bigger. In 1960, the average man was only 5'7" tall and wore size 7 shoes.

Would you say it was vanity sizing to make that average now or would you acknowledge that is on the small size for a man now?

[quote donewithitalltodayandxmas]@BackwardsGoing but have yo checked your measurements ? Its not all about weight , when your larger and go on a diet sometimes you can loose a couple pounds and it makes a difference to dress size , other times a stone doesn't as depends where the weight shifts from, which is why its good to take your measurements , when dieting as well [/quote]
Yes. I have a size 14 dress in my wardrobe that I wore when I was 18. I can just about squeeze into it. All my modern clothes are size 8-10.

@BackwardsGoing

People who are defensive about vanity sizing are often very young or a bit fat. I'm 47 and have gone from a 14 to an 8 in the last 30 years despite my weight being more or less the same 🤷🏻‍♀️

The inconsistency of people's experiences is very odd. I'm virtually the same age as you and have gone from a size 8-10 to a 6-8, having gained about half a stone in roughly that timeframe.

Perhaps it depends on the sort of styles people wear.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I don't have experience with M&S but inconsistent sizing all over is such a headache!

I disagree with this. Inconsistent sizing is better for a variety of different shaped women - which we all are. If every single size was exactly the same then they would only fit one shape. But as it is some shops have different waist to bust to hip ratios which means if you are an apple you can shop in shops which suit your shape and a pear can shop in different shops. That way we are all more or less covered. If it was uniform there would be a large percentage of women who’d have to start tailoring their own clothes or wear things which are ill fitting.

I also dislike the term vanity sizing and I regularly say it on these threads. It’s not true in the sense that shops do it to make people feel thin. They do it with a view of their average customers size. From an ordering and manufacture point of view a 12 is the size they sell most of. A 14 is 2 inches bigger and a 10 is 2 inches smaller. As their average customers get bigger then all the sizes get bigger to keep a 12 their average size.

The essence of this thread is that the lady is a size 10, they ordered her size 14s and are now surprised the clothes are too big.
I don't think the store is at fault here.

The inconsistency of people's experiences is very odd. I'm virtually the same age as you and have gone from a size 8-10 to a 6-8, having gained about half a stone in roughly that timeframe.

So you have gained 1/2 a stone (on presumably a very small frame) and have dropped 1-2 dress sizes? That sounds like vanity sizing.

Sizes have changed over the decades. People in general are bigger.
If you look at vintage sewing patterns, where dress measurements are given, the sizes have changed.

If you are buying vintage clothes, you need to go up a couple of dress sizes.

I've got a velvet pencil skirt from M&S, an old one inherited from my mum. It's a size 12 and I can't do it up, well not if I want to breathe! I wear size 8 in M&S now though not in most other brands.

I also dislike the term vanity sizing and I regularly say it on these threads. It’s not true in the sense that shops do it to make people feel thin. They do it with a view of their average customers size.

That's an interesting theory. Unfortunately people use dress size to convince themselves they are a healthy weight ("I'm only a size 16", "I can't be an unhealthy weight, the average UK dress size is 14 and I'm only a bit bigger than that"). It's not necessarily the fault of clothing retailers but I wish people would stop using dress size as a health indicator if it's such a variable.

I don't think its vanity sizing so much as different businesses cater for different shapes. I'm usually a size 10 on the bottom in the shops I most commonly shop at (Topshop and ASOS) but I am an exaggerated hour glass figure. I have a very small waist and big hips and bum and slim legs. In M&S I tend to need a 12 and a good belt in order to fit my hips and then cinch in the baggy waist. H&M I have 14's and 16's in order to fit my hips. I've got my nan to take the waist in of the 16s and I have to cinch right in with a belt on the 14s. Zara dont actually go to a size big enough to get over my hips and bum.

@mandsvanity

I've got a velvet pencil skirt from M&S, an old one inherited from my mum. It's a size 12 and I can't do it up, well not if I want to breathe! I wear size 8 in M&S now though not in most other brands.

Yep, that looks about right. My waist is between 26-28 depending on TOTM and proximity to Christmas so I was a 12-14 in old M&S money.

Just so inconsistent. I have trousers from m and s in a ten which fit nicely, and I got a ten recently and it was at least a size too small. Even in their jeggings which I love they vary in size (by colour).

The waist on that 12 is 26in. The average 12 is now is about 30in. It’s not vanity sizing, it’s recognising the average waist size has gone up - for whatever reason. Shops don’t care why. Heights have gone up massively too. My Nan was 5ft. My mum 5ft 5. I’m 5ft 10. Nothing they wore when they were 20 would have fit me when I was the same age.

It's so true. I'm a size 8 in M&S, size 10 most other places, and I recently adopted some of my grandmother's clothes after she went into a home, she is a very petite slim lady and her size 12-14 M&S clothes from the 90s are a bit tight on me...

I was a 10 in M&S when I was a tight 12 elsewhere, since I tried on a 10 (having lost another half stone) and it falling off me (jeans) I havent had anything from there.

THey are the absolute worst at vanity sizing. I had a friend saying she hated top shop as their sizing is "too small" and loves M&S as theirs is "accurate"

She is a 14 by my reckoning, but wears a 10 in dresses and 12 in trousers from M&S, she describes herself as a 10 despite being obviously bigger than me. In Top Shop is a 14/16...... I have no idea what I am because at 47 my Top Shop days are a long way behind me :o

That said, Evans used to be the worst. At my biggest I was a 22 and could easily wear a 16 in Evans. When I got down to an 18 even their size 14's were too big.....