What is the point in a Size 4...

[BlockThatScrote]

When it drowns you as an 8?!

This isn't a teeny tiny poor me thread because I'm genuinely not. This is a Hush thread but there are other perpetrators too.

I'm 5'3, always at least 8st, 26H boobs. I've had two children and the belly to prove it. I'm not a size 4. I'm a size 8!

I knew Hush came up big and it was a fur coat so not something you'd want loads of layers on under (hence ordering a 4)... but you could fit two of me inside it.

I'm annoyed because I loved the coat but it got me wondering... "vanity sizing" seems to get worse every year, so what next? Do they just not want 100,000s of women's custom?

I used to spend so much money with them and pulled way back when the quality went down and the prices went up, but I'm tempted to just boycott them now.

Sainsbury's is another one where the smallest they usually do is an 8 and it's too big. I noticed they have a 6 in petite, but it seems to be getting worse and I'm finding more and more it's only the "younger" fast-fashion cheapo shops where I can buy something that's not the default smallest size (meaning the 100,000+ women smaller than me can shop there).

I guess what I'm saying is, if they're going to vanity size then great, but they should introduce "a number" to represent the sizes they've just shoved out of that size. So Hush apparently needs a 2 to cater to the 8s, and a 0 to cater to the 6s. And if you're actually a 4 (because of genes or illness or medication or eating disorders or whatever) then fuck them I suppose 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Aaaaaand breathe.

Hush is awful for this. I have Amie joggers in a size M and they fit me (size 10) right up til I gave birth!

Yeah hush is awful. Just bought a new tee shirt. Size small. And I am the heaviest I’ve ever been. A decent 14 at the moment everywhere else sensible. It’s not even approaching tight on me. Still oversized.

My Topshop jeans from 20yrs ago (that I found in the loft the other day) are a size 10 and I can't even get them over my chunky knees.

My most recent pair of Topshop jeans are a size 6 and need a belt because the waist gapes so much.

I am not a 6.

I wish we would adopt cm sizes like they have in Europe (38, 40 etc) at least it tethers it to reality.

Lots of clothing is made to be baggy now, it looks good on teenagers but not on grand old matrons like me. I'm way bigger than a 6 but often have to go down a few sizes to get tops etc that are less tent-like.

My Great Aunt was a famous famous designer in the 1950s. I remember her saying in the 1980s that clothes sizing had got so much bigger. People were tiny years ago. You can tell that by shoe sizes as well.

People in the 50’s were tiny due to rationing though.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

People in the 50’s were tiny due to rationing though.

Its not just that, as they were tiny before rationing. It's only the last few decades that women have become gradually bigger. Less physical work, increased alcohol consumption and high sugar diets are responsible for changing women's size and shape i think.

I think the look is oversized or skintight (for the younger market boho.com crowd) so you either have to embrace that look (which doesn't work for most of us) or buy down a size or 2.

There are lots of shops out there, particularly French or Italian like Maje / Kooples where the sizing is more authentic and hasn't moved so much from sizing in the 80s.
I have a size 20 vintage dress (50s) in my wardrobe which fits like a dream - I'm todays size 10

@BlockThatScrote

I can't fathom how thin you must be to be drowned by a size 4 even if it's really more like a small 8

I am definitely slim but my point is I'm not "underweight" or ill looking. There are definitely women smaller than me and it seems like shops are just systematically cutting them off from the size range? So I can think of 2 I've recently ordered from (Hush & TU) that have effectively cut off the "old school" 8s. They're coming for the 10s next .

Yes shops generally commission and sell the most popular range of sizes. If you were size 16-20 you'd be in the same situation where you can't size up in that shop and have to shop somewhere else. Are you really missing out on being able to shop at Next?

It’s crazy isn’t it, I had the same measurements and was the same weight as the OP when I was in my 20’s which was 30 years ago and I was a size 10/12.

I think women are taller now. My mum's mum was 4ft10, mum is 5ft2 and I'm 5ft4. My dad's only 5ft8 so it's not taller genes from his side!

People are becoming taller and bigger in general certainly in this part of the world. This doesnt mean we are worse people or more gluttonous obviously, but obviously living through times of relative abundance will mean well nourished pregnant mothers and babies compared to the past too.
I just wish we didnt attach moral worth or values to it. Im taller than my mum who is taller than my nana was. My boys are all taller than their dads etc.

Clothes sizing is inconsistent. There is no standard sizing and tbh there doesnt need to be as much in stretchy non fitted clothes.
Its not an issue with the size 4s any more than with the 14s or the 24s. You just cant always find clothes off the peg to fit in every shop, but it has never ever been the case that you could.
In the 50s when everyone was on rations and was tiny, most people had few clothes unless r
Wealthy and these would be home made to fit.
At other times in my lifetime there was definitely nowhere near as much choice of clothes and sizes as now. Certainly not for all different tastes and styles. You could get high fashion or you could get middle aged clothes in quite a narrow range of sizes

I anaged to be shorter than my mother 🧐