Actual sizing?

[NotQuiteCockney]

Ok, I appear to be shrinking, and will probably have to give in and buy clothes.

The last time I tried buying clothes online, I went to Boden. I looked at their measurements, I measured myself, and found I was apparently exactly an 18. Which was a bit weird, as by that point, all my size 18 clothes were hanging off me. So I bought a 16. Which fit fine.

Now, I am apparently exactly a 16 by Boden (I think, will check again). So does this mean I am a 14? Are there any websites which don't lie about the appropriate measurements?

bump?

Ok, I realise it's boring, but please?

don't know but hate you for shrinking

I don't normally take much notice of the measurements, as it doesn't always have any bearing on the actual fit! I have chunky thighs and I don't see any measurements for that It tends to depend on the shop, and the style... never ordered from Boden so I can't comment on that, but if most of your clothes are a 14 I'd stick to that.

Not sure re sizing but you could always order several sizes and return the ones which don't fit (if you click through the MN link to Boden you get free returns).

I'd love to shop online but finding stuff to fit is a complete pain so I'd send it all back!

I find sizings in general useless - how can one size 12 be massive in comparison to another in the same shop? & how come in some shops a 12 in one thing is smaller than a 10 in another. So frustrating!!!

I guess the only thing to do is order both sizes to start of with & see which fits better?

Oh god, I don't think I can face that, ordering and returning and all the faff. I'm probably not cut out for internet shopping for clothes.

Can't go by sizes of my clothes, as most of my clothes are 18s. And baggy. Hence the problem.

I see what you mean re: shape etc. I am very pear-shaped, and hence take a smaller size in waist-fitted stuff than hip-fitted.

I guess I can try to actually go into shops, it just seems so much like hard work.

I promised DH I would get clothes I actually liked, after I figured out what size I was, post-DS2. But we're trying to be sensible about ££, and I can't tell if I've stopped shrinking, so maybe I'll just stick to baggy clothes.

Any tips on how you've managed to shrink?! Looking at your OP, do Boden clothes come up big then? IME Wallis are quite good on sizing as what they say are their measurements on the website does correspond with the actual size of the clothes.

I think Boden clothes are about normal, not sure. There have been other threads on their sizing, and the response was mixed.

Why am I shrinking? Hmm, I always shrink, starting about 9 months after a baby comes out. Also, my mom died in early feb, and I've lost interest in food. And then, a few weeks back, I had a really nasty gastric 'flu, that I still haven't recovered from.

Oh, I am eating reasonably healthily, and exercising a lot. But I'm shrinking by accident really.

I find Boden comes up a bit "square" for want of a better word. I like my clothes quite fitted as I have big boobs and if they don't come in underneath them it looks like I'm in a maternity smock. Their tops are no good for me, and really only the low waist trousers/skirts. They're not really for the hourglass figure!

Yeah, that sounds right to me, but then, I'm not hourglass, I'm pear, and nothing ever fits both waist and hips on me.

Hm, think all shops are unreliable with sizes.. I also measure myself and buy online accordingly and things don´t fit.. I´m anything form a size 14 to 20, depending on the brand. Best thing to do is have your clothes altered to fit perfectly by a seamstress.. probably much cheaper and saves the bother of going shopping!

Oh, and I went into Dotty P's today, to try on something and see what happened. Tried on city shorts (boy were they not suited to my figure!), and 14 was a bit tight, 16 was a bit loose. Both looked like shit, though.

Why didn't they have any slightly shorter baggier shorts? Blah.

My impression is that Boden is pretty inconsistent with sizing unless they've improved a lot recently. I think places like M&S give actual physical measurements somewhere on the site don't they?

Boden give measurements, but don't stick to them.

I looked at Wallis, think I'm a 16 there. I'll try M&S, they're the gold standard aren't they.

Bizarrely, though, the Wallis shorts I was trying on were 42 and 44 European, I think? Meanwhile, the (slightly baggy) linen cropped trousers I bought in a French supermarket over easter were a 48. I think the whole thing's gone mad.

Mark my words, it's going to be totally bloody random here, like in Canada. I can be just about any size there, depending on how trendy the shop is.

Yes- there's no standard sizing any more, imo. Every shop does it differently.

There's only one answer, and it involves needles and yarn...

No, I'm not knitting shorts. Sorry.

(I'm doing lace now, though. Using my albatross yarn to make lacey baby hats.)

Not an attracive thought, is it? Especially if you were out in the rain.. (one I mean, not you).

City shorts are not for the pear shaped. They work on slightly narrower hips tbh (not the size as I am a 14, but my hips are narrower than my shoulders IYKWIM)

My hips are narrower than my shoulders, too. Maybe? But then I have really broad shoulders.