When I were a lass, a size 10 was a 24" waist...

[clary]

Admittedly that's a while ago but I was a size 10 or 12 in 1978/80. Size 12 was 26" waist, 36" hip. 2" off that for size 10.

I have lost more than a stone in weight and dropped clothes sizes too (obv). Measured my waist the other day after reading about the diabetes risk associated with a measurement of more than 35". It was 27.5 which I was v happy with but that would make me a size 14 in old money.

But my size 12 skirts from before I lost the weight are sitting on my hips or below; size 10 is even too big in some shops.

I know that shops have sized up to make us all feel happier that we are still a size 12 or whatever, but surely this latest research shows that's not a good thing? If my 27" waist is a size 8/10 (!!) then 30" would be a 12, maybe 32" a 14, maybe 35" a 16? A lot of us would say, oh well, size 16, that's not that fat really. But suddenly it's in this diabetes danger range...

Are we not in danger of normalising being fat and making it acceptable? When I say we, I guess I mean clothes shops. And on another point, what the heck size does someone who is genuinely slim buy?

HOW does anybody have a 24" waist!?

Even when I was fighting fit, calorie conscious, working out 5 times a week for minimum of 45 minutes, and size 8, my waist was still 27"

I couldn't ever get it below that. Having two children hasn't made that any harder or easier mind you.

Oh just fuck off! You are healthy. Be grateful.

Is there any need for that? And slim doesn't always mean healthy.

superscribbler, i think so. having been as health-conscious as it's possible to be, i never saw anything close to a 24" waist.

I think that is like a caricature of a woman's shape. yeh, slim waists are healthy and attractive but it's like the equivalent of an oiled up body builder, top heavy living on egg whites.

HOW does anybody have a 24" waist!?

I had a 23/24" waist before having children, sadly it is now 28/29 I am slightly pear shaped though so my waist will always be smaller than my hips. I take a size 30 in bras which also doesn't match up with my hip size. Buying jeans or strapless dresses is a nightmare.

i am not as old as some posters on this thread, clearly,as i cannot recall ever existing in a time when 18 inch waists were normal (though, i do recall reading that this was scarlett o'hara's claim to fame in gone with the wind [hm])

i wonder what a 18, or 24 inch waist would look like on a woman who was 5'7?

You OK, LEM? You usually talk sense, not snappy insults. Or am I wrong?

You could get it back then Missunreasonable. I know I couldn't because it's clearly just not my shape no matter how lean/fit I am.

Mind you, I'm not fighting fit here myself either ........

I'm a size 6 in dresses... Trousers and skirts-kids 12-14

People were just a different shape. My mother always felt she was a square shape - 36 25 34 and wished she was more hourglass. She was 5'8.5" and usually weighed about 9st2lbs, right up until her late 50s after she'd had a hip replacement. My grandmother was 5'7" and usually weighed about 10 ½ stone, she was a 14/16 until her late 80s.

I think low waisted jeans/skirts have allowed us to sag below the navel.

I was a teenager during the 80s and while I have no idea how many inches my waist was, I do remember having to learn to sew because a 10 was the minimum size most shops sold, and they swamped me.

Although I think size 8 was more commonly sold during the late 80s.

Chibi, it was my mum with the 18-inch waist (and photos bear this out). She is/was tiny, though, and we're talking 1950s for her heyday.

yes, there were different pressures in the 50s and 60s so women were cantilevered into garments. they probably couldn't bend over.

I'm 76lbs and wear one of the smallest Asian sizes...

UK/US sizes that fit are a nightmare to find.

i am probably not using inches in the same sense as other posters- to me, an 18 inch waist on an adult seems (and i don't want to be unkind here) unlikely, moreso if they are over 5'6

It depends on the brand isn't it. M&S size 8 is too big for me. And so is next. I need a size 10 in jeans from topshop. But I can wear a pair of size 10 jeggings from topshop at 35 weeks pregnant! The hips on that thing is so huge.

just saw your post. i am sure your mother had an 18 inch waist. i guess i just don't see that as aspirational.

You could get it back then Missunreasonable.

I probably could if I gave up wine and chocolate and spent more time in the gym and less on mumsnet
I eat far too much these days so any chance of getting back to a 24" waist would require changes which I'm just not ready to make as I lack willpower.

I'm sure you can have a 24" waist. I actually fitted a size 8 topshop Leigh skinny at my lowest point when breast feeding my DD. I was probably that size when I was at school.

And topshop sells size 6 jeans doesn't it? I can't imagine them stocking the size if no one fits them.

I also had a 23/24 inch waist until I had DS when I was 37. My height is 5ft 6inches, but my hips have always been at least 36 inches. My bust more like 32 inches. So I'm firmly pear shaped. My waist now is 27 inches and hips are 38 inches. Until I was 37 I wore a dress size 8/10. I now wear 10/12.

ever notice what an achievement it is for women to weigh as little as possible?

if you are athletic, lift weights, you are never going to weigh less than 100 lbs unless you are very very short

chibi I'm very short. Is that not a possibility? And I'm also Chinese so very small framed. I'm actually quite chunky when compared to the average woman in Hong Kong. The average person here looks at least 2 or 3 sizes bigger.

i'm five two! so not tall! even if I dedicated my entire life to fitness and eating right I couldn't get below 120 lbs. It just doesn't happen. My waist doesn't get smaller than 27"

I'm not saying that I care about this!!! I'm just saying that even in the 1950s there must have been a relatively small percentageo f the female population who were able to achieve this naturally/easily. Maybe 15-20% would have found that bingo hey presto they just had a 24" waist but I'm sure for the rest of the population it would have been a struggle without corsetry.

grapefruit I think body size has a lot to do with it. I was always under 45kg (ie 100lb) in my school years. I was also at 45kg when I was breast feeding. I barely break 50kg normally and that's 110lb. I'm 5 foot 3.

It's genetics. As I said I'm not even thin when I compare to an average person in the Far East. I do believe many would have a 24" waist.

I never dieted to keep my weight. I'm just naturally very light. Hence I can't keep my weight up when breast feeding. I keep losing until I stopped. (The size 8 topshop skinnies were getting loose but I didn't buy smaller).

i am a woman who is 5'7
i run ~15 miles a week, i lift weights and am otherwise active
i do not have an 18 inch waist, i do not think an 18 inch waist would be feasible for me, and i do not see an 18 inch waist as something desirable for me

anyone who currently has an 18 inch waist, or used to, or wishes to is certainly welcome to it