Why can’t clothes shops sell clothes in sizes in proportion to the population

[noggla]

50% of women are 16-18, so make half the clothes of that size. It makes more sense as Clothes retailers probably get more sales as if make fewer size 8 clothes. As the latter goes in the sale. Same with shoes. Make more 7-8. Also introduce size 9s.

I’m sure they already do judging by M&S. I can never get a size 8 or 10, they’re always out of stock.

That only works if sales match national variation of sizes and as a customer I’ve not really seen 50% of people in a shop being size 16 or over.

Some brands don’t want people size 16+ wearing their clothes eg brands popular with teens won’t have customers who are 50% size 16+ based on the size of teens I see walking around

Shoes annoy me though. I am a size 8 which is a European 41 in some shops and European 42 in others and I’m a size 42

I suspect that people at the lowest and highest sizes will tend to shop online as the chances of them finding their size are the smallest.

But even if that is the average size, I don’t think they buy as as many clothes as slimmer people.

One of the issues with stocking larger sizes is that once you're beyond size 18 it can be very difficult to have a cut that suits how women carry their weight.

You can see it in smaller sizes with tops that are cut for bigger boobs / smaller boobs and apple v pear shaped, but the difference is about 4 inches so can still fit a large proportion of women of that rough size. At size 18, it can be more of a 10 inch difference in waist v boobs v hips and so garments fit fewer women.

The only alternative to that is to only stock very loose and shapeless garments in larger sizes. That may suit some women, but definitely not all. So women who are larger will feel like there are fewer things in shops for them because even if there's the same number of items as in smaller sizes, there's a lower chance of it fitting nicely.

Yes. Due to vanity sizing even petite is 5.3, sometimes even 5.5
If you are 5.5 you are not petite. Get over it.

Agree, my feet are 3.5 and I struggle to get adult shoes. I have to get kids socks too, although those are usually quite fun.

I've just had another great idea...
All clothes should be made out of lycra or spandex in just ONE size. Then they would then fit everyone.
Manfacuring costs would come down, it would be simpler for shops, and coat hangers would not have to be colour coded or state the size. Returns for online shopping would plummet.
It would be a real boost for our ailing economy and would undoubtedly mean this Government could reduce our tax burden rather than increaing it.

People come in different heights so have different lengths of feet. Yes, size 9 is at the top end and not many women will need it but size 5 is only “ normal “ for someone between 5 ft 4 and 5ft 6

I had surgery and if Im honest I was probably about a size 30 in reality but even fat clothes have vanity sizing!

I work in a shop,

size 8 and size 18 are equally the quickest selling size. Always the first to go out of stock.

I have the same pair of trousers from Zara in two colours…..one is a Medium the other is an XL they both fit perfectly and next to each other are the same size! I just hold it up and guess with Zara now don’t even really look at the tag!

I think it depends on the shop and its target demographic the younger population is more likely to be a smaller size so if that is the target audience that is what they are going to stock with smaller older woman being an added advantage.

I generally find trendy high street stores (e.g Zara) I’m a 12 but in more middle aged next I can get a 10 or sometimes an 8. All saints is anyone’s guess.

If the brands want a wish list tho can be have clothes for woman with muscles ie a smaller waist with space for my thighs that would be amazing!!

This!!!!

I used to be that person, soooooo much work goes into this. No retailer wants to have too much, or too little of anything. Any retailer- clothing or otherwise, is putting a ton of work into making sure they have the right amount of any product/size.

Size 3 shoes. Really hard to find adult appropriate work type shoes that fit.

Well I’m a size 10 euro 44 and so are both my teenage daughters - we do exist and we would like to be able to buy women’s shoes, if that’s ok with you?

I always end up shopping online because the size is and 10s are often sold out in the shops near me, especially in the sales..

I think your figures are wrong. 20 years ago we learned that 47% of women were a size 16 and above.

There is certainly a great deal of misogyny about which women want or deserve to wear new clothes. However I am SO GRATEFUL that I can now get almost anything up to a size 30. Yes you have to buy online but this heartbreaking days of being in a shopping centre and there being nothing for you are over.

Sorry @noggla- another saying it’s down to what sells, stores do have teams who work on this. Just because the majority of all adult women in the UK need a particular size does not mean they are the majority of shoppers. Larger women need to start spending more, selecting “email me when back in stock in size 18” online, and showing there’s money available to stores. Fast fashion is very sales focussed. They will respond and quickly to upticks in sales.

I often struggle to find my size in some shops. I guess it depends on the demographic of the store. If it's aimed at older people then they do more larger sizes maybe?
I only ever see really big sizes in the sales.
So smaller people probably buy clothes more often?

I often find that my size (8) isn’t there, so I think they probably already do stock less of them! Especially in supermarkets interestingly.

Euro size 44 is actually a uk size 16. Euro sizes have pretty much stayed the same over the years. I have clothes from 20-30 years ago in EU sizes and still fit the same as those bought recently. I gained 3 stone over those 20-30yrs which I’ve now managed to shift so I’m back in 42-44. I buy a lot of EU labels made for the EU market rather than UK market. It’s really confusing.
My vintage clothing is labelled size 14-42 and size16- 44. The clothes made for the uk market are definitely vanity sized.

I think they already do this, I'm a 6-8 and there's never any small sizes left, they either go first or they just don't put that many out. Also as a uk size 6 shoe there are often none left in my size, always a pair left in an 8 though, usually on a size 6 hanger just to annoy me!

She's talking about shoe sizes, isn't she?

It's the length that annoys me.
The average height of a woman in the UK is 5'3".
And yet retailers make clothes for much taller women and it's really hard to find petite/short fittings and if a brand does to a petite fitting it always sells out before the regular fittings.
Not only that a lot of retailers make petite short fittings are still too long and for the UK average height rather than people who are actually shorter than average!
Petite means changing the whole fit, length of body, where waist sits, length of sleeves, neckline, not just the hem length, petite t shirts and tops are needed as much as shorter length trousers.
So yes retailers should make clothes to fit and flatter the size of the women buying them

You're confusing clothing and shoe sizes; Coffee was clearly talking about shoes, in response to a question about shoes.