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Original poster

Which shops are guilty of Vanity Sizing?

69 replies

likalixer · 29/04/2015 18:28

I think Next are the worst.
I'm usually a 12, but lately their 12's drown me they are so big.
Yet their arms are usually too tight- on everything.

OP posts:
NewTwenty · 29/04/2015 19:19

No one should 'bin' clothing when there is textile recycling available!

It is soft as anything, still the original colour (barely faded) and super comfy to sleep in, so it is staying.

Runningupthathill82 · 29/04/2015 19:31

Fat Face, Gap, Next, Dorothy Perkins. Generally the "mumsy" brands are the worst culprits.

Fat Face is ridiculous. I was bought a cami top from there as a present and I could fit both me and DS in it, just about.

Heels99 · 29/04/2015 19:31

Recycling bins do exist.

Any t shirt hat has been worn for 20 years is due for retirement or fit on,y to do the decorating in.

Pointlessfan · 29/04/2015 19:34

Yes Next trousers are massive. Even their baby clothes come up big!

INickedAName · 29/04/2015 19:42

What do small people do as they can't size down.
I'm a 4 and buying clothes is difficult, more of my stuff is from the kids sections than the adults tbh.

CalamitouslyWrong · 29/04/2015 19:45

I bought a London fog coat in the Us recently. In size XS. It's definitely not an XS. I'd been looking to find a medium but the assistant told me that the XS would definitely fit and it did. I have no idea what thin people are supposed to buy as there were no smaller sizes. Maybe they're not supposed to wear raincoats.

sebsmummy1 · 29/04/2015 19:46

Peacocks definitely and I agree, supermarkets are terrible for it.

Sgtmajormummy · 29/04/2015 19:53

ASOS Curve are huge. Had to send back a pair of jeggings (yes,even with elastication they were too big!) and a couple of dresses. Their styles are nice, though, and I appreciate the catwalk clips they do for everything.

BabyGanoush · 29/04/2015 20:56

I have two t-shirts from 15 years ago Shock.

I sleep in them, they never lost their shape but are soo soft (Mango)

About vanity sizing: Even Hobbs is bigger now.

Original poster
likalixer · 29/04/2015 21:01

So if I were to go back say, to the early 90's, I would probably have to buy a 16, even though according to Next I'm a 12.

No wonder we are all getting bigger - our clothes keep getting bigger with us! They never get tight on, so there is no reality check as in 'this is getting a bit tight on' I could do with cutting down a bit'.

OP posts:
Brillenbar · 29/04/2015 21:10

They all do. If you look at measurements on dressmaking patterns I would be wearing 2 or 3 sizes bigger than I buy in any shop. It annoys me massively -I'm little, and for work clothes I am really restricted on where I can shop. For non work, I buy kids clothes, so I guess the VaT free uplift compensates to some extent!

OvertiredandConfused · 29/04/2015 22:26

Feeling very depressed reading this Sad. Having been properly big for a long time, at least a size 20, I lost a lot of weight and was slim - mainly a 12 but 10 in White Stuff! I'm now just under 1st overweight and feeling worse than I did when I was fat!

Next and M&S size 14 trousers fit me although dresses I'm still a size 12. I've just bought a Next t-shirt in a 14 that's a bit snug. Fat Face 12 is too small.

katiegg · 29/04/2015 22:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

daftyburd · 30/04/2015 00:57

Gap must be bad as I can wear girls top size xxl for 13 years old. I have big boobs too and they are still baggy!! Have a cagoule type jacket for dog walking and a couple of t shirts all age 13. There's not a chance I am the same size as your average young teenager.

workadurka · 30/04/2015 06:53

Sizing has got ridiculous. I'm a flabby size 10 by most standards and don't have massive hips admittedly but had to try on size 6 in Tesco the other day! Even the smallest available size in places like Next and M&S can be an 8 which is often way too big. What truly slim or skinny people do for clothes I don't know, I really feel for them.

Also I was a size 10 18 years ago when I weighed a stone less...

In vintage clothes a size 12 is tight on me.

RitaCrudgington · 30/04/2015 07:11

I agree that M&S GAP and Next are the worst. It's great for me personally because I'm a vanity size 8/10 (probably a 14 in old money, I have size 12s from the 80s which won't do up) so I get flatterered and I can find loads of stuff in stock, and I'm still a healthy size so don't really need any external incentive to watch my weight.

But it must be a pain for slim middle aged women who don't fancy shopping in teenaged shops, and it can't be ideal for people who are in denial about a weight problem.

Original poster
likalixer · 30/04/2015 08:12

I have size 12s from the 80s which won't do up) so I get flatterered and I can find loads of stuff in stock, and I'm still a healthy size so don't really need any external incentive to watch my weight.

This is the trouble.
Then you get people who are size 16 today saying ''but I'm the same size as Marilyn Monroe - she was a 16"

OP posts:
Original poster
likalixer · 30/04/2015 08:16

I wonder what would happen if, overnight, the shops all got together and decided to stop with the vanity sizing and to start putting the correct labels on all the clothes.
Who it make any difference to the weight of the nation?
(would be interesting if nothing else)

Could vanity sizing be contributing to the fact we are getting heavier, on the whole?

OP posts:
workadurka · 30/04/2015 08:23

It definitely affects me. I'm not particularly healthy and have a lot of body fat but because I'm an 8-10 I ignore it.

The actual measurements of clothes are false too. The size 6 I tried on said 24/25" waist. My waist is probably 29".

TwoLittleTerrors · 30/04/2015 08:24

What do small people do?

I'm an 8 and shops in topshop, new look etc. Their sizes are smaller. Topshop jeans are excellent.

TwoLittleTerrors · 30/04/2015 08:26

And I notice next is doing a 6 now. I can wear the size 6 tops as they are all baggy atm. By sizing up they introduce smaller sizes. Soon they will have to do size 4!

Jobless123 · 30/04/2015 08:28

"What truly slim or skinny people do for clothes I don't know, I really feel for them. "

Friend of mine shops in the children's section. Or in Asia.

TwoLittleTerrors · 30/04/2015 08:30

Oh yes Asia is excellent. The H&M in HK do size 32 and 34. And I found breastfeeding tops one size smaller than they do in the UK do I bought 3.

Athrawes · 30/04/2015 08:30

Toast are huge. But they look huge on the models too, so maybe they are meant to look like that.

I have plenty clothes more than 20 years old. Not old, vintage.

Bunbaker · 30/04/2015 08:33

"What do small people do as they can't size down."

DD wears a size 6 and has no problems finding clothes that fit. She is nearly 15 and shops mainly in New Look.

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