Am I plus size?

[Swinglower]

Today I went shopping with a friend of mine. We walked into one shop and I picked up the first thing I saw which was a slim vest. My friend immediately asked “are you not coming to the plus size section?”

I was a bit taken aback as I don’t class myself as that big. I’m a size 12/14 on the bottom and size 14 top for reference.

I followed her to the plus size section to giver some company and found some of it went down to my size.

have I just been living under a rock or has plus size got lower? I always thought it began around 18/20

Plus size is usually 18+. Are you very petite by any chance? Just as I think people sometimes wrongly assume you're plus size at a lower size when you're petite!

Or maybe she knows the plus size section in that shop starts lower.

Simply Be and the like start at a 12/14 I think. But I think of them as more of a plus size brand.

I would have thought plus size started at a 16

im 5’5” so not too short. I’m glad I’m not alone thinking it was 18+.

She might have known they start lower so tried to help. I’ve always shopped in the middle sections as I’m not small enough for petite and don’t have the assets for the curvy range

I'm size 14 and wouldn't describe myself as plus size.18 onwards would be plus size.

It's all a farce anyway because every shop is different sizing and it's anyone's guess whether that 14 will fit from shop to shop.

I don’t know why the sizes aren’t standard. I was a 16 in primark for a dress then 12 for some pyjamas. Don’t get me started on bra sizes I refuse to buy from anywhere but M&S

Back in the day 16 was a plus size, when Evans was the only place you could really shop at that size or bigger

Ive been different sizes all my life, as small as an 8, as large as an 18, Im now 8 bottoms, 12 to 14 tops/dresses and you know it pisses me off when in somewhere like TK Maxx , 14 is large and 12 is medium. And cheaper clothing made in China, a 14 is xl or even xxl

Thing is sizes have changed considerably over the past 30/40 years. Not a mission would I fit in the size 8 skirts I wore when I was 16, Id say my size 8 now would have been a 12 back then - it is what it is

Same with shoe sizes, Ive been a 5 for 30 years, now I have shoes as small as a 3 which I wear in comfort

Dont be worrying about what the label says. When I buy I take in what I think will fit, and one size up and down because there is no consistancy

I think your post is more about getting a gunk having a friend consider you being a plus size.

Sometimes it starts at a 14, like Yours clothing does
Varies between shops
I've been between a 14-16 my adult life and always said I'm plus size

Of course you're not!

I follow a lot of “midsize” creators on TikTok and they are generally a 12/14/16. (I’m a 10/12 and definitely wouldn’t describe myself as plus sized.)

Plus size is 18+

A quick google suggests that that plus size typically starts at size 14

e.g.

www.curvissa.co.uk/

It's 18 in M&S though so obviously depends on the retailer

Thanks everyone.

I’m glad it’s not just me thinking it. I did look through a few websites to see their opinion also. Some just say curvy not plus size but I’d say that’s something else completely imo.

does anyone else agree plus size and curvy are separate things?

No, not plus size, and I wear 18 trousers, and buy my clothes from normal ranges, not plus size shops.

“does anyone else agree plus size and curvy are separate things?”

In the past, I think curvy meant you had a lovely hourglass figure. Today, I think many people are using it as a polite or alternative to plus size.

I’ve been described as curvy, I’m not. I’m pear shaped, so not curvy at all. I see curvy as bigger boobs and hourglass shape. Think Marilyn Monroe.

Of course you are not! I'm a 16 and I don't shop in the plus size section.

I agree, Evans was pretty much the first plus size high street retailer a was for women sizes 16+ (as I am). Hence plus size was 16+?

Edited to add: of course things have changed and places like Yours and Simply Be start from a 12 although go through to a size 30+ so although imo OP doesn’t need the ‘plus size section’ by any standard, she could shop in some traditionally plus size shops should she choose to 🙂

i also thought it meant an hourglass figure not just a larger size. I see curvy as size 12-16 with at least DDs up top and a decent bottom. Without the big bottom you are just busty.

if I used primark bra sizing I’d be curvy but else where I’m just C/D.

Size 16/18 gives you masses of choice, you can shop in regular and plus sections! I love it from that point of view 😂

That's a strange mid- thread mission drift.

Everyone told you you're not plus size. Now you want to debate whether curvy is the same as plus size. For no particular reason.

I genuinely think it depends on the bloody shop, but your friend was definitely a dick for saying it like that. Showing her prejudice for sure.

Sorry I was awake half the night with a child that refused to sleep. My mind was all over the place when I replied

I thought size 16 and up was plus sized and 12-14 is midsized.

I think 16+ is plus size. I've varied between a 10/12 and a 16/18 and I feel plus size when I'm an 16.

Sizing is a crazy business.
If you have any form of boobage you are immediately in the plus size section as far as I can see.
Young women seem to aspire to extra small, but also aspire to big bums.
I say that you shouldn't worry about the sizing rules a manufacturer has, and pick whatever ( whether it be children's section, mainstream or plus size) fits your own body shape well.
It's all even more skewed when you order online from a manufacturer that uses Asian sizing.
Don't give it a seconds thought.

Did you try on the stuff in the plus size range? In my experience everything's a little bigger, e.g. a size 14 in plus size range is comparable with a 16 in the regular range.