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?

@NonPlayerCharacter I think because the extra bone weight of the taller one maybe weighs similar to the extra fat on the shorter one.

People don’t think that their clothes are made in the UK. The labels state where it is made and clearly says Bangladesh, China, Turkey etc.

Not that many, actually

https://www.statista.com/statistics/829118/women-s-clothing-sizes-considered-as-large-by-age-great-britain-uk/

All of them on Mumsnet

I know it's Mumsnet (and ethical) heresy - but Shein does this really, really well! They measure the garments flat, and you can see the measurements of everything they sell.

As a result, I have things from size 6 to size 18 and they all fit 😂

Yep, all of this.

We are wider at the waist with bigger busts due to improved nutrition rather than obesity. I actually love having things fit me in the bust.

In the '90s I was a size 6-8 and would find some clothing too big and in other shops need a 12 so things are still as crazy as they've always been. And a St Michael pair of shorts would've been a 10-12 back then despite my tiny shape.

The real problem is that if, like me, you were originally a size 10, the current size 6 is so large on me that I can't even alter it so that it does fit. There are companies I now can't buy from (Wrap, for example), and if the trend continues, it will be the same for you original size 12s too. I've written to some, asking them to consider making a size 4, but just get ignored.

Thank you @amoreoamicizia for starting this thread and to @fc123 for your contributions. Your industry knowledge has been very helpful. I did come at this topic from a ‘vanity sizing’ standpoint so it was interesting to see size12 taken to be Ms Average, and that she has changed over time.
To add my own two penny worth. I don’t notice my weight increasing as it tends to go on evenly all over and I don’t weigh myself regularly. But I am motivated to loose weight if I have to go up a dress size, so for me consistent dress sizes (over the years) are a useful guide. I was a size 12 as a young adult, and couldn’t have fitted my hip bones in a size 10 pair of jeans. They were cut for a smaller frame than mine. Fast forward 40 years and a slightly larger me is now wearing size 10 and beginning to feel that perhaps size 8 would have been a better fit. I’m struggling to try one on though as in my head, size 8 is for child like petite women.

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?

Why?

All clothing sizes are arbitrary. Size 8 from 15 years ago was no more or less 'right' than a size 8 now. What would be more useful would be consistency across - or even within - brands, and being able to know the exact measurements for the clothes, especially when shopping online.

I have tops from a size 12 to 20. The 12s only got 2.

I have to go to 18 for most of my tops as noticed they are an inch longer in length and not as tight on the sleeves. Yet baggy in the middle

The clothing industry has adapted to the world it is now operating in. I don't think it matters whether your shorts say 12 or 8 on them. Why do you think it does?

There's profiling even within brands, though. The most obvious one being the ones that add a plus size line and you're likely to find the difference between sizes there is of a greater proportion than in the straight sizes (orders of magnitude). But they often also have certain lines for specific customers; for example, they might do a beachwear range for people who holiday in sunny climes in winter. Those people tend to be richer and richer people tend to be thinner. The clothing will reflect that.

So why the outrage on threads that a British company sells clothes made in China, India, etc?

Quite. But we must all be made to feel like enormous land whales so OP can revel in her virtuous slimness.

Well there wouldn't be outrage if they didn't know about it.

My guess is that they think the marketing is misleading.

I agree. I don't live in the UK, but do get clothes from there sometimes and I always buy the same size both here and from the UK and they are always fine. I wear a couple of sizes bigger than I did in the 1980s, and I would say that I am a couple of sizes larger than I was then.

Well said. There is no way I could wear a size 12, and while I am a little overweight I most certainly am not very large!

I daresay a teeny tiny person would say I am, but I am also taller than most of them.

I've already said I've lost weight because I'm ill, so F.U.

I always fitted a size 6.5 or 7 depending on the shoe, although size 7 was slightly too big

Then they brought in the European sizes and 41 fitted perfectly

Still have the 41 shoes so I know my feet haven’t changed but now I am supposedly a size 6

This is such a funny idea. I guess the taller woman's bones are somewhat heavier as they will be a bit longer but she also has body fat and there is just more of her overall. I would be amazed if she has less fat in total than the shorter woman it's just distributed over a larger body so she is more in proportion.

I want to wear what fits I don't care what size is what but why can't it be all accurate, to me using 'vanity size' shows you have issues I would say

They would still sell the same sizes though, just call them by different things. They don’t sell many clothes smaller than a 6 because not many people need them. That wouldn’t change if you called them something else

And yet I have to buy a bigger size in M&S tops than everywhere else and their trousers have never fit me, even when I was a skinny teenager because the waist:hip ratio is all wrong for me.
It’s not all about size, it’s about shape too.

You’re normal BMI. Of course you aren’t overweight. Address the wobble with t9 gas that’s probably what is causing it.

Well this is rubbish about shoes. Lots of companies size small. I’m a 9.5 I. DMs and Birkenstocks (the only shops I can consistently buy from) which is an EU 43. ASOS sells 43 as an 11. My feet actually have got smaller with weight loss, but 8 have to buy bigger sizes in most shops.