To be annoyed that modern clothes cater almost entirely for larger people?

[KookyNotOoky]

Needed some new jeans over the weekend - I am about a 27"-28" waist. Most shops (in the big city shopping mall I visited) had only jeans in the 30s" and up- i.e. too big. I eventually managed to find some 20s in TX Maxx - about 10 jeans in that range, squeezed on the end of a rack catering entirely for 30-35s.

Then later I had to take a couple of pairs back as I didn't realise they made were of that horrible stretchy denim which ends up falling down my arse after walking for 5 minutes.

Same with tshirts - I used to be a Medium, now modern Mediums are far too large and baggy, so I've had to shift to Small. As usual, the vast majority of clothes racks are taken up by Mediums and Larges.

Only thing I can think is that as people have gotten fatter the clothes industry has shifted to cater for that. As for online shopping - had far too many problems to buy clthes onlines, esp if they're made for the US market... think I'd be a XX Small there. 😂

Are you kidding me with this post?

Go find a men’s site and have a “woo be me” soon on there

I agree with you OP.

I'm a size 10 or 12, depending on the cut. Some of the clothes on the racks look like tents on me.
Luckily I have enough clothes to last me a lifetime. Also decluttering stuff I never wear any more.

A few years ago I lost a bit of weight, and I get what you are saying. I would say I was a 12 in "real life" but I was buying size 8s and 10s in shops, particularly in tops. All the 12s were so large. I bought a shirt in H & M in size 6 and it was still loose, and I easily fit in it now, and I am now a 14. The inconsistency of sizes, and the whole vanity sizing issue has made buying clothes tricky, particularly as there isn't much choice now in the High Street.

Rubbish! I'm not particularly large, but find there are far more clothes available in small sizes, in fact some places seem to only cater for the very small.

There does seem a glut of very small cropped tops at the moment.

It's not, it's around 5'5" for UK women overall. And gradually rising. It way skewed by many people growing up with rationing etc who were therefore smaller, but the effect is phasing out. For younger generations the average is now around 5'7".

And they make dresses longer because you can have them taken up in most cases, whereas taller women can't have them extended. So it makes sense to make them long enough for the vast majority and then shorter people can have them altered if required.

It’s clothes sizes not being standard that annoys me. That, and trousers/pj pants that have about a foot of extra fabric length in the legs. Yes, you can take them up, but with trousers that often ruins the cut/style. I’m 5’6” so not exactly short.

When I was in my 20s, and very slim, I regularly bought clothes from the children's section for myself. There's plenty of sizes out there if you look.

I always find it easier online to find the best sizes I am a medium now just best to shop around plenty of smaller sizes out there. Whenever I buy a monsoon product in medium they are always too small.

YANBU.

I've got to the point that I expect to have to take things in now, and have become expert at adding darts and altering side seams in dresses and tops. Or look like I'm wearing a maternity top.

It's not only adult clothes either. Last time I bought PJs from M&S for my 12yo, in order to get the length (he's not tall), I had to take the waistbands off and reduce by 18cm (7").

It's getting very boring

Until very recently, I had a photo of two pairs of knickers I owned, one pair bought about 15 years ago, the others just purchased.

Both the same style from marks.

Both size 12. I put the old pair on top of the new and there was a comfortable inch of difference between them. Which means two inches once on, allowing for bigger front and bigger back pieces of material!

I checked because I couldn't understand why I had always worn the same size, despite getting bigger all the time.

And you haven't discovered some new thought, the sizes have been getting larger for all these years, and it's been acknowledged by many companies.

You abvu whinging. As you well know. Just buy an xs or an xxs. Or go back to your MRA sites.

I now buy a size 10 knickers, but don't kid myself I'm any smaller.

Next you'll be complaining that your diamond shoes are too tight ... or too big in this case

It's the proportions I have an issue with.

I can buy a 10 or a 12, no problem. They fit nicely around the shoulders and bust but then there's huge amounts of extra fabric around the waist, like a maternity top.
Most recent, linen dress from Pure. Not my usual brand, needed it for work, had to add darts to stop it looking like a sack of spuds around the middle.

Yes, a lot of people are fatter, but not everyone. You clearly are not skinny, as 27-28in waist is not exactly tiny! I think the problem is cheaply, badly made, crappy clothes in all sizes - the size labels give you no real clue how randomly large or small the waist will be, where the “waist” will actually sit on your body, how much excess material there will be at the hip, how wide or narrow the shoulders, etc. The stretchy fabrics are to make up for the appallingly bad workmanship - they temporarily disguise the shoddy standard of workmanship by appearing to fit a large variety of body shapes, but, as you have noticed, rapidly then stretch wherever your body moves to become baggy and shapeless.

Well yes, when one person says ‘waist’ another person is measuring the waistband which actually sits on the the hips.

My practice nurse does this at health checks - measures waistbands not waists. And weighs people in their winter shoes, jeans and boots and deducts 2lb to ‘adjust for clothes’.

My (massive, obvs) jeans weigh 5lb with a chunky belt. (Yes, I’m sad enough to have weighed my own jeans. In my defence I was checking a medication dosage.)

If you buy jeans from a proper denim brand like Levis, you’ll find they would have your size in stock. Most people are sizes M or L so these sizes are more readily available. You can find the full size range from H&M online though if not in store. I’d advise you to look at department stores and proper brands that make better quality clothes- jeans are like bras in that they should fit you properly and if you’re an uncommon size or shape you’re better to go to the experts. X

I’m the same size as you and have no problem. I find the opposite, that my size is well catered for. My sister is a size 12 and finds her size out of stock most of the time, presumably because it’s very popular 🤷‍♀️

Vanity sizing is to flatter all people and sell more clothes.

Whether you should see someones ribs or not depends entirely on that particular person.

If you look back at old documentary films you'll see a lot of people wearing clothing made to measure, either by themselves or by a seamstress/tailor - the trend for 'off the peg' clothing is relatively recent (within the history of human clothing!) and results in clothing that fits a lot of people in a 'well you can get it on and it isn't too tight/doesn't fall off' way, but fits very few people in a 'this is flattering and comfortable to your specific figure' way.

You will also see plenty of larger people, if you watch the right documentaries, of the right eras - and although it is true that people are trending towards larger sizes right now, this is far from the first time in history this has happened to the human race. We've fluctuated in what is considered acceptable weight, desirable figures, multiple times throughout recorded history.

My experience is shopping on the high street is a poor customer experience, irrespective of size, age, gender, style etc.

It’s literally a ‘shop window’ now with most people ordering online so stock generally is reduced. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve wanted something to be told ‘I can order it online for you’. Well thank you but I am a competent internet user and just want the bloomin’ shoes [whatever] to take away today. 😠

This is one reason why the high street is dying. If someone is going to lay to travel there, it needs to be a really good customer experience, not that you wish you would have stayed at home and done it online anyway. 🤷‍♀️

*pay

Vanity sizing is to flatter all people and sell more clothes.

It's not vanity sizing, it's size inflation to adapt to the market. Yes it's designed to sell more clothes because if a product doesn't meet market needs, it'll fail.

Levis

Quite the opposite. When I was a teen 10 was the smallest size produced in most shops. Principles did smaller but only petite. Now I can easily pick up 6s and is for my DD's. 2 and 4 are also readily available in certain shops.

When was that? I remember plenty of 8s and a fair few 6s. Often the only sizes left in the sales.