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Original poster

H & M sizing changing (apparently)

69 replies

WilburIsSomePig · 30/05/2018 16:38

I was in H & M earlier with DD exchanging the shorts that I'd bought her the other day without her with me. She's 11 but tall (5'4) and thin as a rail.

I'd bought her the age 12-13 which were tiny so returned them today and she tried on an age 13-14. Still tiny, so she tries on age 14+ which she can't even do up.

So we go downstairs to the adult dept and try on a size 6. Can't even do them up. DD now asks me if she's getting fat. Absolutely not, I tell her the sizing is ridiculous. So she tries on a size 8 and they're massive on her so she settles for a skirt instead (in a size 4). What the actual fuck?

I had a wee gripe about the sizing with the very lovely sales assistant who completely agreed and told me that the new season garments will all be resized so that current size 10 is an 8 etc etc. This is the first time I've shopped in H & M for DD but I reckon it'll be the last if the sizing is so fucked up that an 11 year old kid who runs for county reckons she's getting fat. I hope it's true and they're at least making an effort to stop this ridiculous nonsense.

OP posts:
NotARegularPenguin · 31/05/2018 16:43

They need consistency more than anything. Last week I bought a dress and a skirt from there, one a 14 and one an 18. The 14 is a bit big and the 18 a bit snug.

NerdyBird · 31/05/2018 16:44

h&m has always been wildly variable for sizing. I'm a 14 and usually have to buy 2 sizes up for jeans and trousers. Tops aren't so much of a problem so that's what I mostly buy. It's been ok for kids sizes so far.

MaisyPops · 31/05/2018 16:47

I don't get the angst about H&M sizing.

I'm an 8-10 and take an 8-10/XS-S in H&M depending on style, fabric etc.

If I go to the 'divided' black label area aimed at teens then I'll need a 12 because they run small (which makes sense).

I don't want the sizing to change there. I shop almost exclusively there because I know I can walk in, pick something up and it will fit.

SmackFox · 31/05/2018 16:56

I usually have to go up a size in h&m, particularly for trousers and skirts.

I ordered a top online from the divided range, and got a 14 as I know stuff from that range is smaller.
It was tiny so I passed it onto my 10 year old daughter who weighs 4.5 stone and it fits her fine!

Original poster
WilburIsSomePig · 31/05/2018 17:54

I don't get the angst about H&M sizing.

Well, my 'angst' is really because I found it upsetting that my very slim daughter asked me if she was getting fat due to their ridiculous sizing.

OP posts:
megletthesecond · 31/05/2018 17:59

H&M sizing is creative to put it mildly. I have to look at each item to judge and ignore the label.

bookworm14 · 31/05/2018 18:01

Glad it’s not just me. I tried on a size 10 suit jacket in H&M today and it barely did up. Weirdly though the size 10 shirt fit ok. What’s with the inconsistent sizing?

60sname · 31/05/2018 18:10

I don't shop there anymore. I am a 10 or 12 in most shops and Can't even fit into a 16 in h and m.

Whereas all my clothes are 10/12/M and this also holds true for me in H&M

MaisyPops · 31/05/2018 18:12

I get your situation OP just it seems we can't go more than a month with someone having a 'let's bitch about H&M sizing' fest.

I could complain that there are some makes which assume all women have hips and a bum or lots of the more affordable walking clothing brands who seem to cater for a more typical broader figure, but I don't. I just accept that different shops and makes size differently to match their clintelle. So if I go to a shop and find their size 6 is huge (when I am in no way a 6!), I chalk it up to their sizing and move on. My friend has larger thighs. She'll have to go up a size or so in slimmer fit trousers. She doesn't complain that I'm a 12 and had to get a 16 in shop X. She buys what fits. It's hardly rocket science. Teenagers and those with eating disordera aside, if someone's self esteem is so fragile that a number in clothes causes them to fall apart then they need a reality check.

It always seems that brands and shops who cater to smaller people are an easy target for 'smaller fitting manufactuers are crap and destroying everyone's self esteem' which is annoying.

MaisyPops · 31/05/2018 18:13

Whereas all my clothes are 10/12/M and this also holds true for me in H&M
Same 8-10/Small in most shops, H&M included.

Shelvesoutofbooks · 31/05/2018 18:15

I'm a 12 everywhere else but barely fit a 16 in H&M

Yvest · 31/05/2018 18:18

I’m a 10 in most shops. In H&M i am also a 10. Very Occasionally, a 12, but never bigger

rainingcatsanddog · 31/05/2018 18:24

Dd buys jeans in shops that give the inch size. She's 15, 5 foot 8 and slim. Her clothes range from size 4 right through to size 12! She realises that it is bonkers but wants well fitting clothes and cuts out labels sometimes.

MaisyPops · 31/05/2018 18:30

raining
GAP are quite good for jeans by inch measurements. I find their sizes a little on the generous size in the smaller sizes but reasonable and wrll fitting

Stormwhale · 31/05/2018 18:34

Yep it's loony. I'm 9stone, a size 10 everywhere mainly due to wide ribs, otherwise I would be an 8. In h&m I had to buy size 14 shorts. Hmm

TroubledLichen · 31/05/2018 18:43

I don’t buy that much from H&M as I find it a bit jumble sale/naff quality but I’ve never had a sizing issue. I bought a couple of t-shirts, jeans from the divided range and a blouse online last month in my usual UK size 8 (if I’m getting nit picky I’m a small 8 as I very occasionally need a 6) and all fit fine. Clearly I got lucky!!

DropZoneOne · 31/05/2018 18:44

This year's sizing seems particularly odd. I picked up 3 pairs of their stretchy cigarette trousers in the same size but different patterns. One fitted perfectly, one was a bit tight round the bum and one pair I couldn't even get over my bum! I ended up buying 2 sizes bigger than in other shops.

I don't care what the number is but I do mind having to take in 2-3 sizes of the same item.

Same with DD who is a tall slim 10 year old. I know what size to buy in all other high street shops and supermarkets. But not H&M because it's not bloody consistent between one item and the next.

HildaZelda · 31/05/2018 20:32

H&M are an utter nightmare! i'm a 6-8 in pretty much every other shop, but in H&M I can be anywhere from extra small to a size 12 and some of the xs tops are massive on me.

Original poster
WilburIsSomePig · 31/05/2018 20:49

I get your situation OP just it seems we can't go more than a month with someone having a 'let's bitch about H&M sizing' fest.

I could complain that there are some makes which assume all women have hips and a bum or lots of the more affordable walking clothing brands who seem to cater for a more typical broader figure, but I don't. I just accept that different shops and makes size differently to match their clintelle. So if I go to a shop and find their size 6 is huge (when I am in no way a 6!), I chalk it up to their sizing and move on. My friend has larger thighs. She'll have to go up a size or so in slimmer fit trousers. She doesn't complain that I'm a 12 and had to get a 16 in shop X. She buys what fits. It's hardly rocket science. Teenagers and those with eating disordera aside, if someone's self esteem is so fragile that a number in clothes causes them to fall apart then they need a reality check.

It always seems that brands and shops who cater to smaller people are an easy target for 'smaller fitting manufactuers are crap and destroying everyone's self esteem' which is annoying.

I think your post comes across as rather rude, I'm not sure if that's intentional or not. I feel like you expect me to apologise for my perceived 'let's bitch about H & M sizing' thread, but it appears from others' responses, I'm not alone in finding the sizing ridiculous.

H & M don't 'cater for smaller sizes'. If their sizes are so inconsistent that a size 12 woman cannot fit into a XXL piece of clothing, or a size 10 pair of shorts are too small and the size 8 too big, then they're not really catering for anyone at all. I'm not a fan of vanity sizing either, simply because it's dishonest and, again, inconsistent.

OP posts:
TheClitterati · 31/05/2018 21:05

My 10yo got the age 14+ shorts yesterday.

My super slim 7yo wears size 9-10 at H&M.

Bizarre sizing.

Branleuse · 31/05/2018 21:17

i think like with all high street shops, you have to pick it up and look at it to see if it looks like it might fit you, rather than go by the size

Clothes sizing by number is generally redundant. We all know there is no consitency from shop to shop, or even in the same store

MaisyPops · 31/05/2018 21:21

Rudeness wasn't intended. Exasperation was though.

I totally understand why you are feeling irritated after your experience and concerned about your DD. I don't expect you to apologise for the zillions of 'complain about H&M' threads either.

More an observation that they size as they size. It works for some and not for others (just like every other clothing brand out there), people go up/down sizes depending on cut/item/line etc.

I find a lot of their stuff tends to fit narrower framed people (which is why I like it because I hate buying ladies trousers with loads of hip/bum space). It's not for everyone. Some shops seem to fit on broader builds or curvy builds.

I have a large bust so sometimes I go up a size in certain tops within H&M because that's how that item is sized. Hell, I even bought a size 6 top last month from one of their 'designer' capsule ranges. Am I a 6? No. Do different items fit differently? Of course.

I do find that instead of a common sense 'some shops fit differently but i'll just buy what fits me and suits me' some women seem to feel like some sort of injustice is done against them because shop A tells me i'm a 10 but H&M tell me I'm a 14. Obviously H&M can't size properly so i'll have a pop and act like they're the worst place on earth.

You don't get smaller people saying I really like X shop but seriously their sizing is messed up because I fall off the bottom. I love GAP. 80% of the XS in there (other than jeans) fit big on me. Tough luck. I just deal with it.

cantkeepawayforever · 31/05/2018 21:25

I think it is particularly difficult because it is, in general, a 'young person's' shop relatively cheap, quick fashion, aimed at children / teens / the young. It is at these ages that young people are most vulnerable to body image issues.

As an older adult, I can laugh about the fact that ome brands are huge on me and others small for the same size. I chalk it up to experience, pick another one off the rack, and move on.

If my developing DD, already sensitive about her changing body shape, is convinced after trying on clothes that she is suddenly a size 16 and starts talking about being 'obese' and 'needing to diet radically' (whereas in fact she remains an entirely healthy, extraordinarily fit size 10), that is an issue.

Yarnswift · 31/05/2018 21:35

I was in there with a friend and we were both looking for stuff for our kids - same age, mine a boy, hers a girl.

What struck me was the size and cut difference between similar girls and boys items - the girls stuff was TINY in comparison, cut skimpy and tight and with thinner fabric.

Original poster
WilburIsSomePig · 31/05/2018 21:35

If my developing DD, already sensitive about her changing body shape, is convinced after trying on clothes that she is suddenly a size 16 and starts talking about being 'obese' and 'needing to diet radically' (whereas in fact she remains an entirely healthy, extraordinarily fit size 10), that is an issue.

Absolutely. DD is exactly at that stage just now. I don't give a toss if something fits me in H & M or not, I'm not their target market at all, girls like my DD are. The inconsistency in the sizing is the biggest problem - i.e. two garments in a size 8 actually physically being completely different sizes.

OP posts: