AIBU to be completely bewildered by women’s clothing sizes these days?

[Highlandschmiland]

May be I’m just overthinking it all but how on earth do they size clothes these days? I’m 5’9 and around 12 and a half stone. Perpetually a size 16, forever, doesn’t matter if I’m much heavier or lighter that’s my size. How then, do I see people who clearly have a bigger waist or bust that are size 12s? This confuses me so much. I’ve just seen an ad model was 5’7 and 215lb wearing a size 14- this model is 2 inches shorter and just shy of 3 stone heavier than me, yet a dress size smaller. It does not make sense.
AIBU to be completely bewildered by sizing when it comes to height and weight?

Why do we focus so much on numbers?! If something fits me I don't care what size it is. It fits. There's so much pressure on especially women to fit into a certain number. But I don't understand why .
It's so unhealthy. Yes I understand the lower numbers mean your weight might be in a healthier range but it's so damaging to some people.
I am trying to help my DD see that the size isn't important and the fact she tries to squeeze into smaller clothes actually have the opposite effect and she looks bigger than she would if the clothes fit her properly.

I am a 22. Because my arse, thighs and hips are massive. Up top I am closer to a 12, but I have huge boobs. So I have to have a 24 on top to fit over the boobs.
Yes I have dieted, no my boobs have never gotten smaller. Last time I did any major improvement (2021) I got down to a size 16 on the bottom but was still a 24 top because of the boobs, which had gone up another cup size. It’s insane.

Lots of women are happy to wear clothes that to me, look much too small for them - I don’t think anyone looks good in something that clings to every bit of their body. So although I could fit into a lot of 14s, I go for what, to me, looks better - a well-fitting 16 which has a little room in it so my fat tummy isn’t on show and the fabric doesn’t wrinkle up round my larger areas. I go into an 18 if it’s needed to get a better fit.

I don’t judge anyone for wearing stuff I think is too tight - I just don’t want to present that way so I size up when needed. Retailers vary so much though - I wear a 14 or 16 from Seasalt as they size generously. M&S I usually come into a 16 but some styles are too narrow on the arms so I’ll size up there.

I also think we’ve had significant size inflation. The clothes I wore in the 90s as a 10 or 12 would be a 6 or 8 now.

I don’t get it either. I’m a 10 pushing a 12. Depending on which shop. I follow a lady on instagram who says she’s a curvy 10. Yet looks a 12. Apparently she fits in size 10s. She looks bigger than me. Not size shaming just don’t know how that works.

It’s just a number on a label. Buy what fits you.

I agree about the focussing on numbers and pressure to be a lower size - but it's the disparity in sizing that annoys me. You want to be able to order the correct size online, or not have to take 3 sizes into the dressing room.
Size 12 Boden dress - massive on me. Size 12 Boohoo dress - couldn't do up the zip at the back.

I agree with the poster that a size 10 in the 90s would be a size 8, or even a 6 now.

I’m 11 stone 5ft 7 and a size 10 in all clothes, or a small. I have a wide skeleton and have always weighed heavier than I look.

The thing is we are all shaped differently, when I was 5ft10 and 12.5 stone I was a size 10 on the top and 12 on the bottom.

I have never been below a 12 on the bottom even when I weighed 2 stone less than that.

I’m a few stone heavier than that now and I’m a size 14. Size 16 is too big for me.

Shape and height play a big part. When I was a size 16 I looked a lot slimmer than my friend who was a size 10 but short and apple shaped.

I'm a size 14 most places, but bought a size 14 pair of River Island jeans online and can't come close to doing them up!

I've taken that to mean RI doesn't do vanity sizing and I'm actually a bigger size

I’m now size 16 in most major shops, but still fit easily into size 12 clothes that I bought two years ago. Some size 14s are too big and baggy. My size 18 pyjamas pinch my waist and hurt my bloody tummy. I don’t know what is going on but something is weird is going on with either my body or the clothing industry. Or both!

It must be where folks are shopping, I’m an eight, and eight fits me every where, except markies where it’s too snug on waist and too big on hips. Every single other shop it’s fine.

there is normally two inches in each size, so for example a standard uk size 8 waist is 24 -26 inches. So some brands will do 24 and some 26, all are still an 8.

this maybe it. And why you can pick up two items in different colours and have a difference.

One factor to take in. I have 2 pairs of m&s trousers, both the same size, one fits and one doesn't...they are so badly made without quality control that in direct comparison the waist is zn inch different

People wear different styles? People suit / prefer a tighter or looser fit? Plus size models are probably more muscular and have different fat distributions than average people?

Don’t overthink it, you seem bothered someone fatter than you is the same size as you. If size 16 works for you, wear that size and let other people worry about their size.

The other thing I've noticed is that some trousers are a lot longer than they used to be. I'm 5 foot 5 and was lucky enough that most trousers fitted me, but over the last 2 years, trousers seem much longer. It's v annoying!

The issue is mostly quality control. As many have said in the thread, two exact same items in one store, in the supposed same size, can be completely different sizes. It doesn’t seem quite as bad with men’s items but the issue still exists there - my partner regularly buys a certain brand shirt for work and has been recently complaining about two of the exact same being being completely different.

Im a 16 top. 36G boobs.
Bought a long-sleeved tshirt in M and S the other day....size 20! Yes its slim fitting but even so. Can get in their size 12 trousers

It’s the same with length too.

i think the sizing will return to smaller sizes due to the return of 90’s v slim ideals that are creeping back in, due to slim being way more accessible

Brand, style, fabric all impact. As do body shape.

I just received three pairs of jeans from Outfittery. Two are the same brand and one is a different brand. One pair fits well. One pair is so huge it needs ot be at least 1, but probably 2 sizes smaller. And one pair fits on the waist but is too long on the crotch and loose on the hips. It's normal because basically, the sizing is based on certain measurements but the actual garmets vary too much. I carry my weight on my stomach and I have large breasts. The jeans that fit me are high waisted. The ones that were too big were just weird. And the ones that half fit were mid waist which was never going to work.

They also sent me three dresses, from three different brands. One is a sort of shift style dress and I lvoe it. Skims over breasts and belly and gives shape and I feel like it makes me look 10kg lighter. The other two fit perfectly but I won't buy either because they sit in a way that emphasises my breasts or belly and make me look "fat".

Such is life.

It doesn't make sense
I am a 10, 12 or 14 in trousers. Yes literally! It's weird. I do sometimes think though, is it partly that trouser cuts are different and it's not always obvious what cut they are meant to be. I have some sensory issues and generally prefer baggier clothes - I wonder sometimes if I have, in fact, picked up something that is meant to be close fitting and want a 14 because I don't like it close fitting, whereas if something is meant to be baggy a 10 feels good?

In the 1990s, a standard 10 typically featured body measurements around a 34-36-inch bust, a 26-28-inch waist, and 36-38 inch hip.

Now, a UK women's size 6 (often labeled as XS) generally fits a bust of 31–32 inches (78–82 cm), a waist of 24–25 inches (60–64 cm), and hips of 34–36 inches.

Thats what it’s meant to be anyway.

It's always been this way-some people who appear bigger than their sister might actually take a smaller size, depending on the style. Mislabelling/the fact sizes are different in different shops etc doesn't help. Nor does it help when there's an article about an average size woman (supposedly size 16 is the average) and then the woman featured in the article is size 10-12!

Yes. And in the 50s a 28 waist was a size 14 (from my grandmother’s stuff). That’s why people say Marilyn Monroe was a size 14, as she technically was but that’s a modern-day 10, or a 90s 12. I wear an 8-10 but just bought a vintage blouse that’s marked a 14, and in M&S I am apparently 3 sizes. I bought shorts in Primark for a holiday and one pair is an 8 and the other is a 12. If you lay them together, there is no difference in width. It’s so frustrating!

She was a UK 12 when she was pregnant. She has never been a UK 14. That would make her a USA 14

She was tiny as her dresses which were auctioned show.

Having recently lost a small amount of weight I realise that I was not actually the size I thought I was. I should have been buying a size up but couldn’t bring myself to do so.

People who are heavier and shorter than you may just be in denial about their size and/or happy with a tighter fit.