To say that if you’ve lost a significant amount of weight that dress size does matter?

[Ridingaroundonbuses]

Even with all the talk of the inconsistency in sizing and dress size just being a number that of you’ve lost a significant amount of weight that it does matter.

It might matter to you but i certainly wouldn't judge someone on their dress size. I also believe you can have the perfect body but be unfit and unhealthy and even unhappy.

Why does it matter?

Dress size only matters to the extent it helps you know what size clothes to buy- so very little these days!

How can you know 'your dresss size' unless it is in one particular brand?
eg vintage Laura Ashely size 16 is about the same as a modern M&S size 10 etc.

If you have lost a significant amount of weight OP then you are amazing, whatever 'size' you are. If it matters to you to be a size 8/10/12 whatever (& you are now) then that's great but we are all more than a number I think.

It may depend what you're going for. If you were, say, so overweight you couldn't walk very far, got out of breath doing 'normal' activities etc, so you couldn't enjoy life, getting past that is perhaps the most important thing, whether you drop to a size 18 or a size 8.

It matters to you, it's always been a huge motivator to me when losing weight and actually I use it as my goals, so I'll have a goal to fit into size 16 Next jeans, then size 14 and use these to motivate myself.

I lost nearly 3 stone & visibly could see i lost weight but I was still in size 12/14's.

I lose it off my face and waist more than anywhere else, altho I've gained it back now and am trying to lose it again

I agree that everyone is more than simply a dress size but I think that if you are naturally slim etc it’s probably harder to understand the significance of wearing a smaller dress size. I

Agree. If you’ve spent vast portions of your life buying and wearing a size 20 then of course the day that you can go into a store and a size 12 fits you perfectly matters: it’s a real-time marker of all the work and determination you’ve put in to lose the weight. Just as the numbers on the scale might not “matter” in the sense of not necessarily defining anything, but matter hugely if you’ve gradually watched them drop from 17st to 11st.

If you need numbers, use your weight or the tape measure. The number on the clothing label really means jack. Not because of "vanity sizing" because that doesn't exist (size inflation does, and it applies to everything designed to accommodate human bodies which have had to reconfigure as we get bigger), but because sizing overall has just gone into the toilet these days. And that's not even wholly a bad thing, because it's due in part to the market trying to accommodate a wider range of shapes, although I get and share the frustration.

So yeah, fuck off the clothing size number, it doesn't mean anything. Look at the numbers on your body, not your clothes.

When I lost 6 stone and 3-4 dress sizes, the day I bought a size 14 pair of jeans and a size 12 top was wonderful, and then continuing to buy 12-14 clothes kept spurring me on to maintain my weight loss. Didn't manage to lose any more (working next to Greggs had something do with that ) but when having needed larger sizes for most of my adult life and then no longer needing to was pretty significant.

If I want to wear a smaller dress size I can just shop in different shops! It really, really, really means nothing.

Weight only matters in terms of health, not appearance.

As someone who's lost a lot of weight I don't find the dress size particularly matters to me. They are so inconsistent and sometimes I get a bigger size as I like the over sized look. I take my measurements every so often (e.g waist and hips) and find this the best by gauge

I’ve been hung up on dress sizes my whole adult life. I’ve recently lost 3 stone and realised they mean nothing.

Knowing your own dress size can be a measure of how well you've done with weight loss, but nobody else is going to know the size on the label inside your clothes when you're out and about, so it doesn't matter half as much as people think.

I know SO many people who try to fit in the smallest size they can breathe in, when in actual fact the clothes would flatter them much more a size or even two up.

Dress size does matter to me. I've recently lost double figures and it makes me really happy to slide into a 14, when previously I'd be ashamed when I couldn't do up a 16. I buy my clothes generally from one shop so I know that I've lost weight. It really feels great to be back in my 14s, I'm tall so for me it's my 'happy' size, I feel like myself again, and I feel attractive and have pride in myself again. I've always been hung up and wright and appreciate that not everyone feels the same.

Depends on body type. I’m 91kg right now and a size 16. I’ll still be a size 16 when I go down to 81kg because I tend to drop weight in places that dress sizes can’t capture (eg my calves and arms)

I’m between a 10-14 depending on the shop/fit and whether it’s tops or trousers. It’s really annoying.