To say vanity sizes should be rolled back?

[amoreoamicizia]

I bought some vintage St. Michael shorts this weekend in a size 12 which fitted me perfectly. In current sizes I'm an 8 or sometimes- incredibly- a 6 (looking at you, Boden).

As flattering as it is to think of myself as a size 8, it's simply not the truth or a reflection of reality. A small size 12 does seem about right, as that was my size as a slim-ish teenager in the 90s.

Who is this vanity sizing really helping? Who does it serve? Isn't it about time clothing manufacturers were held to account and forced to roll back sizes to what they were in the early 00s, at least?

Well as a very large HGV size 12, it gives me a bit of a boost when I try on a top and a size 8 fits me.

Then I try on my jeans from the 70s and am brought back to earth with a bump. Oh to be size French again😭😭😭😭

It is an issue when you're smaller than the smallest size in many shops. I'm lucky if a 6 fits me in Next or M&S. Years ago I would have had no bother.

I gave up shopping in Next and M&S for skirts and trousers years ago. My local Next also has one of those fairground mirrors in the changing room that makes you look thinner than you really are.

People haven't got taller. It's the younger generations who are generally taller than the shorter of their two parents.
The average increases gradually over time.

@KirstenBlest Doesn't that literally mean people are getting taller?
I see so many tall teenage girls now, and with much bigger feet on average

@Disturbia81 , It doesn't literally mean anything.

Not individually, but collectively society is consistently getting taller. So it makes sense they'll be bigger all over iyswim. This, from a decade ago, is interesting https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23896855 - so is 'vanity sizing' just taking into account all over changing body shapes, rather than a marketing ploy?

@Ksqordssvimy that's 11 cm in 150+ years.

Yes. It's not happened overnight.

Aren't they? If the younger generations are getting taller, then aren't we as people getting taller?

I am 5'9 - a giant among my grandmothers contemporaries, noticeable among my mother's, on the tall side in mine but seemingly unremarkable amongst current teenagers

I'd like it fixed at clothes size equals waist size in inches minus 18. So 28" = size 10

But girths have been increasing far more rapidly.

I think shoe sizes have changed slightly, or become less reliable as well, as it's unlikely my feet have shrunk. I was always 6.5 edging up to a 7, but more recently a 6 is fine and a 7 is cavernous.

My daughter hasn't much choice in a nine/ten though and has to buy men's trainers.

The average increases gradually over time.

That means people are getting taller.

You're not talking sense hence all these confused replies.

@NonPlayerCharacter , no, it means that the average height is getting bigger.

I agree with this.

Men doing see themselves as “being” a certain size

They’ll “take” a certain measurement on the neck or waist or inner leg but they would identify as a number.

So bad for self esteem all around.

It's not about identity. It's about being able to find the right size (or at least a starting size then the size up or down is right as fits will be different). If it was in inches it would also be fine. Many brands don't even match the measurements on their own size charts these days.

It's bloody infuriating, especially with bras. I've seen beanpoles with 2 fried eggs claiming to be 36DD! No way!

Bra sizing is odder and less reliable than clothes sizes.

So what?
Everyone is a different shape and size.
As m previous posts say, I was in the industry and our cutting docket ratios would reflect how many customers were which size ( and who would by my product).
I gave an example of a cutting docket ratio over sizes 8-14.
I manufactured 4 X as many 12's ( ms average /majority in my customer base who were aged 20-45) as I did s

As I did size 8's.

What I mean is that the average is creeping up very slowly, so saying that 'people are getting taller' is misleading.

They also would likely be too short for the waist size.

People are now fatter.
Fact.
There are some posters on this thread that seem to take real offence by the fact that mass produced products don't fit them like they a custom made garment.
Ready made clothing has really only been around in volume ( and as the default) since the 1960's really.
Prior to that we made our own clothes , consumed far less over a lifetime ( my grandmothers wardrobe
still had her 'best dress' in it that she wore for 20 years for 'occasions'.
When we made our own clothes we 'made to measure' and tweaked the dress making pattern to suit our own build/shape.
To expect every brand or a gigantic retail company (like M&S) to create a clothing range that is able to fit every single body shape is unrealistic.

I haven't even talked about the 'techniques (AKA tricks) that we used when photographing products for online. Just to say I would create 2 samples. One for production and graded to my average height and size for sampling and the other just for photography on a model who was very tall, slim and leggy. This was so ms average customer (size 12 /5'5" ) could see how it would look on her ( do proportions would be the same on the model who would be size 8 and 5'10").