Upsizing jeans .. is that normal?

[TheDutchHouse]

I've been a size 12 in jeans for years , but although my weight hadn't changed much , in fact in about 6lbs lighter than this time last year, I'm feeling my jeans feel tight in the waistline , and I looked lumpy , speaking to a sales assistant in M&S ( well moaning really) about how this is becoming an issue, she advised sizing up . Sceptically tried and lo and behold the whole look transformed my body shape.
I feel smoother looking and a bit more put together. Who knew !!

Jeans can become tighter over the years with washing etc. I think it depends where you shop whether you need to size up, but glad you found a pair 🙂👍

Even new ones were just not flattering anymore.. I guess it's not weight but body change as we get older ..
So I'm now two pairs of new jeans up 😊

Jeans sizing is all over the place though. I have jeans in sizes 10, 12 and 14 and they all fit me in different ways - M&S assumes I have a large waist relative to my hips so I need a belt sometimes, H&M seems to expect me to have no bum at all, etc.

I have no qualms about the size, it's all about the fit and shape!

I really don't know what I've been missing out on.
I've sometimes moaned that my regular size is loose on the legs , or tight on waist or bum but kept going back for different styles but same size .
I could kick myself for never thinking oh I'll get a size up and see how that feels. Daft or what !

If your jeans are tight then why wouldn't you think you need a bigger size?

Jeans shopping is definitely best done in person as you never know how the sizes fit and it often depends on the style of jeans. We can get a bit hung up on the size labels I think, when they don't mean all that much these days. There was a thread the other day where people were saying they had the same type of jeans on different colours and they fit differently, or even variation between the exact same jeans. I have (allegedly) 26/27/28/30 waist jeans and they all fit 🤷‍♀️

That's just it , they were not solely tight or baggy they just didn't really flatter my body shape anymore.
I assumed that nothing wrong with the jeans, just me feeling like a sacks of spuds in my clothes. Like I said I've actually lost weight but my shape isn't holding up as much I suppose.

Very true . I think my mentality was well that's my size in M&S jeans for past twenty years and I would obviously looked at larger sizes if I'd put on weight of course.
It's my blind stupidity that it didn't dawn on me to buy to flatter my shape more .

You said tight in your OP @TheDutchHouse so answered on the basis of that.

If you are okay with sizing up then great, if you don't like it then I recommend working out if you don't already, it's really kept my shape and my tummy under control.

I think womens clothes should be sized like men, i.e., the body's actual size in inches. Not all this size 8, 10, 12 etc.....Every shop has a different variation of what that size is and should look like.

Yes I wonder who decided there needs to be a difference.
Levi's sell by inches , waist and length.

I do think it's normal to get a bigger size if your jeans feel tight, yea.

I agree OP, it's a revelation. I sized up in knickers as I entered my 50s and it's really improved the "hang" of trousers on me. I hadn't put on any weight, just changed shape with age.

I wish they also stated the hip size. My waist is 12 inches smaller than my hips. If I bought by waist size I wouldn't be able to get them over my hips.

@TulipCat I also sized up in pants. It was a revelation.

Absolutely, I didn't change size of knickers but style a couple of years ago and that helps with the post baby ( he's 35) tum!

Trouble is when you have a small bum and size up because it's tight on the the waist, you get a baggie bum cause the jeans are too big on the bum.

I'm 53, peri menopausal and my shape has changed. Jeans that were flattering two years ago, even last year are just all wrong on me now. My bum has shrunk and belly has grown 😭. Just when I had started to accept and like my shape I've to get used to a new one

I think it can be hard to adjust to that peri menopausal change. It can be quite dramatic and really does affect your clothing choices.
I'm probably quite lucky as I was really hourglass before so now my waist is bigger jeans actually fit better!(No more annoying waist gap).

I'm finding this as well.

Your body composition changes with age. After 30, you gradually start to lose muscle mass, so if your weight hasn’t changed then you are probably replacing it with fat. Muscle is heavier than fat, so there will be more fat than the muscle lost.