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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why clothes aren't more expensive in bigger sizes

240 replies

mrsfoof · 03/06/2022 15:57

If you buy children's clothes, you'll have probably noticed that you have to pay a good few quid more for a T-shirt in age 12 than you would for the exact same T-shirt in age 5. Fair enough, the bigger size uses a lot more fabric.

Why then, is a size 24 ladies' T-shirt the same price as the same T-shirt in a size 6, despite it using a lot more - maybe even twice as much - fabric?

Would people be more motivated to stay a healthy weight if they had to pay more for bigger clothes? Why don't we charge more for bigger clothes? Are the prices based on the average amount of fabric used - so skinny people pay more and very large people pay less than they should do based on the resources used to make their clothes?

FWIW I'm marginally overweight and wouldn't have a problem paying more for my size 14 than a 6. I think it would motivate me to lose some weight if the size 10 was cheaper though!

OP posts:
nickthefox · 04/06/2022 15:34

fallfallfall · 03/06/2022 16:05

And why are mens clothing cheaper? They tend to be taller. Their pants and trousers need all that extra zipper work and extra fabric?

you forgot better, thicker fabric. My girls tops are so thin but my dhs tshirts and thick and last him a lot longer despite him working physically more than me. plus he has less so his gets more wear and they last longer than mine

GnomeDePlume · 04/06/2022 15:36

Pricing of children's clothing is unlikely to be anything to do with cost especially in supermarkets.

Small children's clothes are frequently low margin leaders to get parents doing their shopping in particular supermarket. For small children's clothes a low price will result in a higher volume of sales. Basically, stack it high and sell it cheap. Parents will chuck a pack of t shirts in the trolley along with their weekly shop.

Older children tend to get more of a say in their clothes. The volume of sales, especially in supermarkets, will tend to be lower. The price is less significant in the decision making.

Older children's clothes follow more of the adult pricing model.

UndertheCedartree · 04/06/2022 15:36

I've been overweight due to an under active thyroid and psychiatric medication. So no paying more would not have motivated me to stop taking meds or my thyroid to stop being under active.

FrangipaniBlue · 04/06/2022 15:48

TeachesOfPeaches · 03/06/2022 16:07

We all pay the same for shoes whether you're a 3 or a 9. Why would clothes be different?

Not strictly true.

If you look at trainers in any of the branded shops such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas - the mens are nearly always more.

FrangipaniBlue · 04/06/2022 15:51

More than the womens in the same sizes I mean.

GregoryRowling · 04/06/2022 16:25

Love all the comments from people with no actual knowledge of clothing manufacturing! Most large retailers buy their clothing direct from factories (based on the design and spec of the retailer). Many of these lines will have a point or 2 within the price range that has a step up in cost and there fore a reduction in margin on larger sizes for the retailer. Sometimes the factory will make this clear and have stepped changes on other occasions they will spread the cost against the price of all sizes. The cost difference still exists. None of the retailers I know pass this cost on to the higher size they just insure they hit their margin across the range, so this means an inflated margin on the smaller sizes to balance out the bigger lower margin sizes.
A different way to have this conversation is to think about that… Why is it ok for smaller people to contribute more than their larger counterparts to the retailers margins?

Stylishkidintheriot · 04/06/2022 17:13

Ah sweetheart.. if you think charging a bit more for my clothes is going to make me lose weight... you’re very very wrong

Merryclaire · 04/06/2022 17:39

Tania64 · 04/06/2022 14:38

So if larger bras cost more why wouldn't other larger clothing cost more? I agree with you OP. I have often thought that if I was any good at dress making I would buy the largest size the shop had and make it into 2 outfits. I would then sell the one I didn't need, could be a great sideline money spinner :)

Show quote history

That would be pretty much impossible unless it was small children’s clothes! You’d be surprised how much fabric you need for one item of clothing as you are cutting out specific pattern pieces, not just wrapping a length of fabric around you.

PavlovaTescobar · 04/06/2022 17:49

I completely agree with you OP, why are smaller sized women being penalised for being small and paying the same for clothes as larger women. As for all the talk of fat shaming, how about all the rudeness directed at thin people and the implication that if you are thin you are skinny, unhealthy and anorexic. Why is the word fat seen as an insult, it’s just a word describing someone’s appearance.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 04/06/2022 18:10

PavlovaTescobar · 04/06/2022 17:49

I completely agree with you OP, why are smaller sized women being penalised for being small and paying the same for clothes as larger women. As for all the talk of fat shaming, how about all the rudeness directed at thin people and the implication that if you are thin you are skinny, unhealthy and anorexic. Why is the word fat seen as an insult, it’s just a word describing someone’s appearance.

Fat is the word for adipose tissue. So it's used to describe them as their obvious component. An equivalent for other people would be 'muscly' (from muscles being obvious), 'bony' (from bones being obvious) or 'skinny' (from skin being most obvious).

If you don't like being described as your most obvious characteristic apart from unkind, mean or spiteful, don't use the most obvious characteristic for somebody else.

PavlovaTescobar · 04/06/2022 18:39

@NeverDropYourMooncup unkind, mean or spiteful are not physical characteristics, so I’m not sure what you are talking about. The opposite of fat is thin, that’s a good word to use to describe non fat women and men. Skinny on Mumsnet seems to be used as a derogatory term by certain posters.

Original poster
mrsfoof · 04/06/2022 19:20

GregoryRowling · 04/06/2022 16:25

Love all the comments from people with no actual knowledge of clothing manufacturing! Most large retailers buy their clothing direct from factories (based on the design and spec of the retailer). Many of these lines will have a point or 2 within the price range that has a step up in cost and there fore a reduction in margin on larger sizes for the retailer. Sometimes the factory will make this clear and have stepped changes on other occasions they will spread the cost against the price of all sizes. The cost difference still exists. None of the retailers I know pass this cost on to the higher size they just insure they hit their margin across the range, so this means an inflated margin on the smaller sizes to balance out the bigger lower margin sizes.
A different way to have this conversation is to think about that… Why is it ok for smaller people to contribute more than their larger counterparts to the retailers margins?

Thank you. Interesting insight there.

OP posts:
jcyclops · 04/06/2022 22:20

On a typical t-shirt the sales price (excluding VAT/sales tax) is broken down thus:

Materials - 7%
Design & Manufacture - 14%
Duty - 2%
Warehouse - 11%
Freight - 8%
Mark-Up - 58%

...so the difference for a t-shirt using 50% more material would be negligible in comparison to the sales price.

XenoBitch · 04/06/2022 22:22

Sometimes they are. If you buy made to measure clothing from a small business, they will likely charge you more than if you were a smaller size.

MountainClimber22 · 04/06/2022 23:03

I was a size 8 after having my son (had depression and didn't eat) I'm now a size 16 and would pay more for a bigger size. I've thought this myself actually.

MountainClimber22 · 04/06/2022 23:05

And I'm not skinny shaming but saying I was only thin as I was depressed! I'm 5 foot 7 and for me I was too thin but there are lovely healthy size 8s out there I know.

stevalnamechanger · 04/06/2022 23:07

OneTC · 03/06/2022 16:11

There are a couple of outdoor companies that price their products by size. But they phrase it like you're paying less for the smaller sizes because of less material

Which ones?

nettie434 · 04/06/2022 23:24

ForestFae · 03/06/2022 16:22

This just seems like fat shaming, and spiteful at that. If it makes you feel better OP, busty women have to pay more for bras than smaller chested women

Well put! In most cases it's not the fabric costs alone that make up the cost of clothes but other factors such as what needs hand finishing etc. Prices don't just reflect the actual cost of making things but how much the manufacturer expects to get for them. That's why the price of brand name trainers bears little relation to the cost of manufacturing them.

PixieLaLa · 05/06/2022 00:43

OP you really have excelled yourself in sounding like a judgmental twat 👏👏

Also noticed how you ignore comments you don’t know how to answer and report comments who disagree with you.

Original poster
mrsfoof · 05/06/2022 07:31

PixieLaLa · 05/06/2022 00:43

OP you really have excelled yourself in sounding like a judgmental twat 👏👏

Also noticed how you ignore comments you don’t know how to answer and report comments who disagree with you.

I haven't reported anyone! I have replied to a wide selection of comments - both in agreement with and against me. I

Nor did I judge anyone. I simply asked the question as to why large items of clothing are the same price as items of clothing half their size in adult ranges when kids ranges charge more as the clothes get bigger.

OP posts:
Pandaeyes50 · 05/06/2022 09:09

Yeah it is fairly innocuous post designed to bring out all the posters who think we are all scum of the Universe eating all the pies and all the NHS resources. Speaking for myself my MH is crap and with poor MH people tend to go one way or the other. Stop eating or overeating. No amount of additional cost of clothing I'd going to help. It will just make the person feel even shittier.
As I said in one of my ignored posts we already do pay more. Yours for example is far pricier than other stores and I was about to purchase a size 20 top in Matalan plus range but saw it cheaper in standard range. Both size 20.
Your prejudice and disgust for the over weight is extremely clear from your vanity sizing remark and how you think a size 4 is healthier than a size 12 even if a size 4 only eats one meal a day to maintain that. Another of my comments ignored. Funny that.

Dartanian · 05/06/2022 09:38

I would have expected there to be some differentiation in price. I think different ranges tend to be in different shops though? I don't think I've send anything less than an 8 or more than 16.

Original poster
mrsfoof · 05/06/2022 09:52

@Pandaeyes50 - if you read my posts properly, you'd note that I am overweight myself. I don't have 'disgust' for the overweight but I do accept (myself included) that we are a fatter nation than we ought to be and vanity sizing is a thing. Not that my post was meant to be about fat people, just the simple fact that larger clothes can be twice the size of smaller ones but are the same price which seems odd.

And I didn't say that a size 4 was healthier than a 12, I said it might be depending on your height and build (if you were under 5ft, almost certainly it would be and if you were close to 6ft almost certainly it would not be). Being underweight isn't healthy, nor is being overweight. Not everyone who is a size 4 will be underweight in the same way that not everyone who is a 14+ will be overweight (but many will be).

OP posts:
Pandaeyes50 · 05/06/2022 09:56

Yes but you are associating health with size. Health is about so much more than that such as getting the right amount of nutrients on board. If a 5ft 1 size 4 has to only eat one meal a day to maintain that position how are they getting all the nutrients a healthy body needs?

orwellwasright · 05/06/2022 10:01

Would people be more motivated to stay a healthy weight if they had to pay more for bigger clothes?

Fat-shaming fascism. Cool.