Dress size vs weight?

[Beth24]

A.I.B.U. To not understand this? - lots of people talk in terms of being a size 16 and that being overweight and others as size 16 as being a healthy weight. Some seem to say that they are maybe 15 stone and a size 16 - I don't understand the parity between weight and dress size that some people have? Do they chose the smallest size they can fit into? Do they declare their dress size as being the largest item they need to buy? Could u please tell me how you judge it - for example - I am 5'4" - 11 stone - I am pear shaped (big bum but smaller waist) skirts I buy size 14 sometimes a 16, tops size 14 (hate anything tight only arms) but trousers always have to be a 16 (sometimes an 18) so they are not tight on my bum and then usually with a belt to stop the waist gaping. I therefore declare myself to be 11 stone and a size 16. - is that right? By BMI I am overweight so from that point not healthy but only a bit (!) so am going to be personal and ask what is your height and weight and what dress size would you declare yourself to be?

Tortu it is amazing how sizes differ between stores. The great thing for me is how they have gone up over the years, so in my early twenties I weighed 9st7lb and was a 12-14 and here I am now at 10st 12, still in the same dress size. Either my weight has shrunk or the clothes have got bigger.

5"2
9 stone 7

size 10 all over apart from some shops where I'm size 12 bottoms.

I'm pregnant atm so not too sure if it counts I was measured up just yesterday with the MW:
5"4
12 stone 2
I'm in a maternity 14 on bottom and 14 on top (32H breasts)

Usually I am:
Still 5"4
11 stone
Size 12 on bottom and 14 on top (32H breasts)

I have 30 inch waist and 41 inch hips (before pregnancy) but massive boobs and I have quite short legs.

I wish arsehole shops would realise that JUST because I need a large bikini top to contain my norks, does not mean I am a size 24 on the bottom.

It's a huge problem when they don't allow you to mix and match.
Have settled paying £50 for a Freya bikini which I haven't even bastard worn yet.

Toomuchtea I read an article a while ago that said clothes sizes are based on the number of people who are x size. I can't remember whether a size 10 or 12 is the average, but now the average size of a person is larger so clothes sizes are larger.

I probably haven't explained this very well at all but I hope you get my drift....

It was years ago when I read it so maybe I'm just a bit confused and an't remember it properly

I think shops are definately "creeping" their sizing to be more generous - people feel better about fitting into a smaller size and more compelled to buy from them then.

I've been exactly the same weight/size for over 15 years but in some shops my size has gone down and the size I would previously have worn is gaping.

Right now 43 years old with weight of 8.5bl stone and a size 10 and I'm 5ft 1. I'm nearly a stone heavier than pre pregancy but I can still fit into SOME of my size 8s. I feel I look huge but I'm all fat. When I was 7.3 stone I was 32% fat so I'm actually better now than I was then. But I wobble.

Can't be arsed to diet as I'm not overweight - I'm just flabby and old. I don't give a shit. I'm happy to wear anything as big as it needs to be for me to be comfy.

Next sizings are huge - I can still get into a size 6 petite jean - a joke really.
Oh yeah and I'm very top heavy I need to by a size fucking 14 to get my breasts in when the rest is bagging around and don't get me onto these boho maxi dresses with breast shaping - I need a 16 just to get my tits in the front material when there's about a half a foot of material bagging around my back.

Try the Universal Dress Calculator

I just did and I came out as size 14-16 US size. You sure? Possibly they measure from your largest point which is my 30g bust a dress but I'm not that size all over.

I think we're a top heavy nation and we need UK dress sizings to reflect that.

I'm 5ft 6 and 9 stone. a size 6,8 or 10 depending on shop.

giveitago It worked fine for me, but then I am not at all top heavy.

5ft 7
9.2 stone

Size 12-14 (34D) on top and 10-12 on bottom half

Yet I always buy Small in H&M and have size 16 clothes from Oasis!

Bonkers then I think they take it from the largest measurement that you give.

Guess it means you just go into a physical shop - try on the damned thing and see if it fits.

Height 5ft7
Weight 9.1 stone
Size 8-10

But depending on what shop i go in i sometimes have to get a 12, others a 10 gapes.

I'm 5'5"
12st 6lbs but have lost 8lb in the last few weeks and not changed dress size.
I'm a 14 all over, but have some size 12 stuff from years gone by that I can wear. I have 34GG boobs which doesn't help!

I've just had a baby and now have a tummy which just never existed before but the clothes I can buy varies massively from shop to shop. I can reliably buy an Oasis 14 though and have no trouble.

Glad to see lots of shorter women on here! Helps me convince DH that I am actually close to average at 5'3" rather than the midget he considers me.

I am 5'3"
about 8st 10lb? haven't weighed for ages.
size 8/10 bottom half size 6/8 top half

Sure this has already been said, but dress size is not a good measurement of whether you are overweight. Your dress size will depend on your frame as well as the amount of flesh on that frame. For example if I was a size 14 I would be overweight, as I'm tiny framed, but my friend who is 5'10" and has broad shoulders and hips is a size 14 even though she is slim.

Ah minipie, we must be twins

I am 5'3"
about 8st 10lbs

Size 8 on bottom half but a 8/10 top half.

I have never liked being short and I think I was subconsciously attracted to my DH

Forgot to include stats earlier

5'4"
10st10lb

Normally a size 10 in trousers

32ff but still tend to wear size 10. Plenty of tops don't fit me at that size due to boobage but going up sizes doesn't get me something that fits either so I just avoid those styles or get something from bravissimo in 10sc

Ha Quick my DH is 6'3" and says I'm only with him for his height genes!
Too early to tell whether it's worked...

5' 10""
9 stone or thereabouts (fluctuates by a few pounds)

I generally think of myself as a size 8-10, but clothes sizing is meaningless; some shops have their own system (like Ted Baker going 0-5, whatever that means) and an 8 in TopShop may not be the same as an 8 in Jigsaw. Sizes vary even within shops sometimes. I think it'd be a lot easier if clothes were sold on actual measurements rather than sizes.

I am 5 feet 8.5
Weight 12 stone 0
Clothes size 12 (occasionally a 14 but 85% of the time a 12)

BMI 25.2 so at the very top of my 'healthy range'

However I find it interesting that people distinctly more pudgy than me seem to fit a 12 according to them...also a friend of the same height weighs exactly the same as me with an objectively bigger bottom! I have quite a bit of lean muscle mass though so perhaps that's it???

I think there is something to be said for 'build' or 'frame' influencing weight, because in my late teens I was just a little less than 10 stone (and on the brink of bulimia) and my periods stopped (insufficient body fat) - my anxious mother took me to the docs who exhorted me to eat....and yet I notice that Lady Clarice is 1/2 inch taller than me and is undoubtedly healthy at her 9 stone ish