Aibu. It should be women’s clothes that are longer and not children’s

[Kennykenkencat]

Dd is tall and slim with long legs and long arms. No idea where this body shape comes from as we are all short with stubby legs.

All Ds’s trousers (women’s size 4-6) look like pedal pushers when she puts them on
Coats are always short in the arm.
She has resigned herself to having cold wrists and cold ankles unless she spends
££s on getting the right leg length and arm length

Passing the children’s section in a store we spotted a really nice looking jacket.

She tried it on and it fitted perfectly. Even the cuffs came down to her wrists. We then looked at trousers, age 14.
The leg length was noticeably longer than the adult section.

We went to look at the adult section of another store and nothing fitted her properly
Coat sleeves finishing somewhere south of her elbows and leggings finishing north of her ankles same department store children’s section and everything again was longer and fitted her perfectly

Inspired by this she got a good selection of clothes from the children’s section age 12-14. Trousers, t.shirts, jackets and leggings. that actually fitted her.

A lot of adult trousers look like they have a long legs but I have no idea who these trousers are supposed to fit but most of the length is the bum area.

I am definitely not tall or slim and my legs and arms are definitely short. I have tried on trousers where the crotch is somewhere around my knees.

Aibu that sizing for women’s clothing is really strange

@FriendshipsAreHardForMe

I suspect it's because a size 4-6 woman is likely to be extremely short if in proportion. Most 5"4+ women will be size 8 upwards.

So size 4-6 will be made shorter for those women.

Age 14 clothes are for proportioned 14 year olds who are more likely going to be gangly still; thin and long.

You can't go by body shapes of kids. She likely won't stay gangly into adulthood. I was tall and skinny until 12 yrs, when I stopped growing and gained weight (to be expected). I'm now and average height for women and a slim to average build.

Dd is an adult. She is in her 20s and because of the work she does I doubt she will ever fill out.

This idea that short height = slim and
tall = fat is the problem with sizing.

I am short so according to clothes makers I am supposed to be a size 4-6 when in actual fact I am more 16-18. So nothing fits.
Dd who is tall and slim should according to this “sizing” be a size 16-18 to get the longer leg length in trousers but as she is nearer a size 4-6 nothing fits her either.

backtolifebacktoreality this is Dd except she has gone down the ASOS route and whilst there is a better choice we have found. that by the time something has been washed and tumbled dried a few times it has shrunk and/or fallen apart.
One particular pair of jeans she loved as they were the perfect size she had to keep sending them back as the back pockets kept coming off.
Plus because of the type of work she gets her hours are so long that if anything needs to be returned it will invariably end up packaged up and rolling around the back of her car for weeks until it is too late to send back as she can’t get to the post office or corner shop when it is open.

The chances of a 20-yr old daughter being taller than her father is about 1/40

Dd is taller than their dad

@GrannytoaUnicorn

If I had money, I'd start up a company that sold extra long tops for women. As a very large breasted woman, with a long torso I have to automatically ignore all tops and wear purely tunics!

There is a particular t.shirt in Primark that although I think they have made it to be “tunic” like because it is a t.shirt and a “short tunic” it just looks like a slightly longer t.shirt that fits I haven’t really been to get clothes for such a long time I am hoping they still do it. I was in a different Primark to my local one with dd and I can’t remember seeing it.

This idea that short height = slim and tall = fat is the problem with sizing.

But on average tall women will take a bigger clothes size than short ones, because they'll take a bigger size if they're equally slim or fat. I have a BMI of 22 and at some heights that would make me a size 8, but I'm 5'10 so it makes me a size 12/14. There are very few women of my height who are size 6 - I can completely appreciate why it's very frustrating if you are one but from a commercial point of view I can see why not many shops cater to them.

@HardbackWriter

This idea that short height = slim and tall = fat is the problem with sizing.

But on average tall women will take a bigger clothes size than short ones, because they'll take a bigger size if they're equally slim or fat. I have a BMI of 22 and at some heights that would make me a size 8, but I'm 5'10 so it makes me a size 12/14. There are very few women of my height who are size 6 - I can completely appreciate why it's very frustrating if you are one but from a commercial point of view I can see why not many shops cater to them.

But the sizing isn’t working

What the women’s fashion industry is saying is if you are tall and slim or short and fat then you aren’t worth making clothes for as there isn’t enough of you to make it worthwhile

But there are a huge amount of us. I think the problem is masked because people find a particular store or brand that fits them and stick to that 1 company rather than being able to shop in a lot of places and have choice.
I wonder if there has been an upsurge in mens fashion over the years, not because men are buying more but because women shop there because the clothes fit better.

Dd and I have complete opposite body types but we both find clothes that fit us in the men’s section.

I wonder if there has been an upsurge in mens fashion over the years, not because men are buying more but because women shop there because the clothes fit better.
I like the fit of men's clothes too, but there are issues with sizing there too. Most shops only start at a 30 waist, when I wear a 26/32 and DS a 28/32.

@Svara

I wonder if there has been an upsurge in mens fashion over the years, not because men are buying more but because women shop there because the clothes fit better. I like the fit of men's clothes too, but there are issues with sizing there too. Most shops only start at a 30 waist, when I wear a 26/32 and DS a 28/32.

It's not so much that tall = fat, it's that past a certain size, everything is cut for fat people.

I take a size 16 at my ideal weight, sometimes 18. But if you shop for size 18s, they're often cut for people with no waist, and big tummies. Very difficult to find plus size clothes that can show off my figure. Some of them I could smuggle a small child inside.

It's not my weight that makes me plus-size, it's the size of my shoulders and hips. I'm tall and wide, but not because I'm fat, tyvm.

Sorry, that was not the post I thought I was replying to!

@crankysaurus

I'm 5'9" and it's a bloody nightmare. Most of women's fashion has no clue that taller women exist. I end up wearing men's coats to have warm wrists in the winter. I'd suggest shopping online if I'm honest (which I hate), it's the only way to find taller trousers etc as most of the time shops don't seem to stock them on the racks.

This is so interesting because I'm 5'4 and feel like most women's fashion has no clue short women exist. All trousers need taking up. They must design everything for women of around 5'6-5'7.

I can only assume it's because the younger generation have a taller average height, but when mixed with existing adult data, it isn't being adjusted in the women's sizing?

I'm 5"9 and generally find trousers ok, although most seem to be cropped these days which is a pita in winter. However I have a long body and big boobs, which means I often find tops too short or just lose my waist all together by buying bigger to fit ok lengthwise. I often find long sleeve tops/cardis are too short on the arms so I'm forever scrunching them up to my elbows. And the amount of cropped jumpers etc which don't even say they are cropped in the online description?! Grrrrrrrr

I wish we could have men's sizing in women's clothes, or just more unisex clothing. I do buy some mens stuff but it's normally for basics rather than nice prints etc.

You want to try being tall and pregnant! Flipping nightmare.
Years of tops halfway up my back has given me an awful complex.
You buy a top on next or asos tall section and it's a bloody belly top

I’m 5’3.5 and I’m too tall for the Petite section and too short for the regular one. Sigh.

@IsFuzzyBeagMise

I hear you!

I'm just under five feet. I always have to get trousers altered. Even the short fitting is too long.
I need extra short

M&Co do an extra short in their petite (petite short), which was a revelation to me. First time I’ve been able to buy trousers without taking them up. Not a massive choice though.

Thank you @sparkysdream! That's very useful. I had a look at the site. It looks good!

I wonder if the presumption that if you are short you are therefore slim and if you are tall you need a larger size has something to do with not being able to find clothes that fit for a lot of people
I don’t think when whoever decides on shape that they take the body shape of average women into account

Dd has done work as a clothes sizer a couple of times and despite being exactly the specific measurements the brands have asked for she isn’t the right shape for them

I wonder in the nod to catering to people who are short and fat that they keep the longer bum length that might go with a size 18-20 tall woman and just tag on leg length for someone who is 5ft 3”
It would explain why trousers I have are the right length (waist to ankle) but have the crotch so low it is almost knee height and why they think that short women have a very short inside leg.

It's not so much that tall = fat, it's that past a certain size, everything is cut for fat people.

I take a size 16 at my ideal weight, sometimes 18. But if you shop for size 18s, they're often cut for people with no waist, and big tummies. Very difficult to find plus size clothes that can show off my figure. Some of them I could smuggle a small child inside.

It's not my weight that makes me plus-size, it's the size of my shoulders and hips. I'm tall and wide, but not because I'm fat, tyvm.

I'm a short, slim pear and have the same issue. I buy size 10 trousers to get my muscular thighs and bum in and usually end up with a lot of surplus inches on the waist hanging off. The only time I ever filled waists was in an awkward post-partum phase as I slimmed down, but I temporaily then had the issue of accommodating enlarged breasts while retaining a small back.

The real issue is that there are a variety of women's body shapes and shops are poor at communicating the proportions of their garments so women can identify what fits.

It's misapplying the way men's sizes work with the assumption of a more uniform pattern of body shape as size increases.

Unfortunately manufacturers only aim at the 50tb percentile in terms of human measurements as that’s where most people fall.

Even though it’s crap.

But that leaves 50% not spending money.

I think my clothing budget is less than £100 per year.
I can’t find anything to really fit me.
Dd has wasted so much money on clothes that don’t fit properly and never got round to returning.
I only bought new trousers (from the men’s section) as my other trousers weren’t staying up because I have lost weight.

A lot of tall women have long bodies, long pelvis etc in proportion with their legs, so need the waist to sit in the right place.

Most adult clothes shops do Tall ranges now (Next, Seasalt, DP, New Look, Wallis etc) and companies like ASOS and BooHoo have tall ranges aimed at teenagers so could be worth trying those?

The trouble is, lots of the cheap tall range just seem to add length, rather than look at the whole proportion, so you still end up with an unflattering waistband or gaping wrap dresses necessitating a vest underneath, which spoils the look!

And even tall playsuits aren't quite long enough in the body. Which is a shame, cos I have great legs and can properly rock a playsuit.

This is not my experience. DD is 12 and has long arms and legs and even age 16 kids clothes are too short for her. So she's in size 6 women's clothes which fit her better in the arms and legs.

I'm 5'9" and have terrible trouble getting decent trousers to fit me, they mostly flap around the ankles unless I buy from the tall range.

@Thickasmincepie

The trouble is, lots of the cheap tall range just seem to add length, rather than look at the whole proportion, so you still end up with an unflattering waistband or gaping wrap dresses necessitating a vest underneath, which spoils the look!

And even tall playsuits aren't quite long enough in the body. Which is a shame, cos I have great legs and can properly rock a playsuit.

Wait, wrap dresses aren't designed to gape?

Not a decently fitting one, no! I've always had to safety pin them, but now they're ridiculous.