...to think that "medium" isn't size 8-10 and "large" isn't size 10-12.

[Naetha]

And that if I want a top that fits me properly, I shouldn't have to go for extra large?

I have a BMI of 25, 34C boobs. Am I really that big, or am I just shopping in the wrong places? Has the time come for me to start shopping at Cotton traders?

Blimey! Where are you shopping. I thought medium was about 10-12 and large is usually 14-16.

This is why I hate s, m and l sizes, they are far too inaccurate. I got some slippers that were m the other day and they are suppose to be 5-6 but the actually rub my feet as they are so tight. No point whatsoever.

Ooh what shop? Name and shame.

I get a little indignant when I see a "large" is 12-14 (Hush, for instance, though to be fair their pj bottoms "large" is 14-16 though really more of a 14)

But large being 10-12? That's annoying.

Another thing that annoys me is when some "designers" (ie you dont tend to get this on the high street) go up to a 14 or a 16, but just make it really, really tiny, so its more of a 10 or 12. Grrr. If you are a size 12, you shouldn't have to wear something with 16 on the label...

you were shopping in the wrong place

I find the same thing in shops geared towards teenagers/early twenties (I'm a not dissimilar size to you, but bustier). In shops catering to 40 year olds I'm an easy size 8.

Depends where you're shopping. A medium in M&Co is very different from a medium in a swanky kensington and chelsea boutique.

Generally, I would now expect a medium to be a high street 10-12.

I have second hand (or are we saying vintage these days?) clothes where a size 12 is the equivalent of a size 6-8 today.

maybe in rodeo drive!!

it's very shortsighted by the shops.
I only go back to the ones that make me feel good, I don't want a wardrobe full of XL clothes I want lovely shiney 10/12 labels.
Surprised thst they miss this trick, isn't retail supposed to be full of psychological masterminds?

So what is small????

Just trying to get a nice hoody online - like tortoise says though, it's aimed at younger people (although I'm only 28fgs!).

But The North Face, Roxy, Bench, DC shoes - all have that sizing scheme. Tis depressing.

It's the same for men. A Large tshirt fits a perfectly slim fit guy, but because he isn't built like a nineteen year old hash head in a rockband, they can't call him medium- because that's who they want to be wearing their tshirts. They should be categorised 'Ridiculously Puny', 'Only Slightly Under-Nourished', and 'Most Men Of Forty Have Been Drinking Far Too Long To Have A Hope Of Ever Seeing This Size Again Let Alone Thinking It's Large'.

larrysgal, v funny, that would be brilliant!

Are they american sizes? their numbered sizes are bigger than ours - their size 8 is our size 12, so their medium would be same as UK 12-14

Nope YANBU. I was in a jeans shop at the weekend, and I asked the assistant for help finding some to try on. She said she wasn't sure what was available in the larger sizes, but she'd look - I'm a size 8

Chrys I hope you chewed her out for that!!!!!!

small 10
medium 12-14
large 16 +

Is how i see it, i think.
boutiques, likw mum5, asked for 12, told no larger sizes. silly.

EM - I was a bit shocked, and too busy wrestling with the DCs to get them to stay in the changing room. I suspect someone past her teengae years, with two small children was just not their usual customer!

chrys that is just ridiculous.

As for the rest - some companies keep their clothes smaller sizes/don't go up to high sizes as they only want people with certain figures wearing them.

As someone who worked in the industry for more years than I care to remember & have been involved with setting up several of the large groups sizing policies, I can say with absolute confidence..........YANBU,

& even with the smaller more "fashioniista" chains officially it should be
S=8-10
M=10-12
L=14-16

That said, a lot of the smaller so called designer boutiques are often selling whats known in the trade as "cabbage"........ie: factory over makes, garments that the factory themselves have made from Fabric they have managed to pinch back from an order placed by a high street store supplier,

also, on most garment patterns, on standard width fabric you will be able to fit, 1 sise 8, 1 x10, & 1 x14 across the width, meaning that those sizes are much cheaper to produce,.........they are then labelled s, m, l, & sold in wholesale shops, usually to small boutiques & market stalls.......these are usually run by people who have no idea of what sizing should be, so the S,M,L labels mean they don't return the goods & complain the sizing is wrong.

That said, as you know even the high street chains vary massively, & those aimed at teens do tend to have a smaller fit....daft really, as teens are much bigger these days than they used to be ....particularly daft, as one of the big ones I used to work with, their house/fit model was in her mid 40s.

Mind you...I collect vintage patterns.....now THAT is scary......I'm a size 12, not even a big 12.....but back in the 40s, according to my old patterns, I'm a size 20+

Basically from what i read the other day there is a guide for sizing but shops dont have to stick to it they can do as they please. I would say im a size 10 but yet most of my wardrobe is an 8 as i always say the likes of dorothy perkins and next have generous sizes so 10s are too big but i dont really think of myself as an 8. The article i read also said that a size 10 in a trendy young persons shop isnt going to be the same as a 10 in a shop aimed at older people like m&s for example and that m&s and others have increased the sizes of their clothes but have left the labels the same so that their customers can feel good about the size they buy. Of course all based on the assumption that you gain a bit of weight as you get older. So personally i always find the opposite and that i cant get cheap clothes from asda as their size 8 is too big, seems more like a generous size 8. But i guess we are all shapes and sizes and all the shops are different.

this is always really frustrating, but not nearly as bad as bra sizing. How can 8 bras in M&S all with a label claiming to be a 32DD all fit differently? 2 pairs of jeans in Next, the same design in the same size, these also had different fits! I blame cheap manufacturing in distant shores!

rockinhippy, that's really interesting but I guess our grandmothers were wearing corsets so weren't really a size 12 either. I've certainly got some old clothes from my mother (60s, 70s) which say they're a larger size than I currently buy but I haven't a hope in hell of getting into them. I guess things have changed!

Generally I've noticed

XS = 8ish
S = 10ish
M = 12ish
L = 14ish
XL = 16ish

which is reasonably really as it probably covers most of the female population.

Except in Zara, where size 10 me was apparently an L. (I am no longer size 10, so I suspect I wouldn't fit into anything at all in Zara now.)