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?

5'7''
10st 3lbs
Size 10

5'4"
10stone, 4lbs
Size 10-12.

5'5"
8st 4lbs ish, sometimes nearer to 8st 7lbs (after a ton of Easter eggs!)
Size 10 in most shops, more often need a 12 in Primark

BMI shows me as slightly underweight so I'm always surprised when I need a 12 - looking at other people's weight on here it doesn't make much sense.

But - I have a small waist, small frame and big hips, so I reckon that's why. Trousers that fit me on the hips hang off the waist.

1.75m or 5ft 9inch
94kg or 14st 11lb

Size 16 bottom, size 14 top

I am 5' 6" and just under 16 stone. I'm a size 18 (though in some fitted tops a sz 20).

Your actual build and frame makes a lot of difference as well- my mum was same height as me, at her lightest was 8 stone 13, bones protruding everywhere and still a size 14. She had a large frame, wide shoulders and hips.

This all really confuses me. I am 5'11" and approx 12.5 stone. I am a size 16 on the bottom (although V occasionally a 14 in generous sizing) and vary between a 14 and 16 on top (small-ish boobs!).

There are some people on this thread who are 2 or 3 stone heavier than me, same/shorter height and the same dress size. Does this mean I must have particularly poor muscle tone? Even when I didn't have an ounce of fat on me at about 10 stone, I was still a 12 (v occasionally a 10) then. I have got quite broad shoulders, but am not particularly big boned.

When I am talking to friends about weight, they often claim to be a smaller dress size than me, but (without being horrible!) look bigger than me IMHO!

5' 4"
Normally 8 stone 10 lbs
Size 10

Currently 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow and 11 stone 4lbs. Can't wait to get back to my normal weight!

5ft7
8st8 and size 8/10 depending on shop pre-pregnancy
9st4 and in my 'fat day' size 10s today (DS is 3 days old) but hoping to maintain around this weight for a but just toning up tummy to get back into my bottoms. Tops may need to wait until milk settles but size 10 mothercare support vests have a little bit of room for extra norkage!

Height 5'6.5
Weight 10.5
Pear shaped - size 12 waist - skirts fit well. Have to wear a size 14 jeans or trousers to accommodate the booty. Size 10 or 12 top.

5ft 4"
Weigh 9st 9lb (31 wks pg)
Normal range 9-10st
Can be an 8,10 or 12, purely dependent on shops.

My monsoon wedding dress (married last August) was an 8 and I was 9 stone. I can't zip it up now but there is a baby stuck to my front. Really depends on cut & material of clothes and body shape I think.

Runningjustasfastasican I suffer from a fat arse too, its like shelf, you could rest a cup of tea on it.

Where you shop makes a huge difference in sizing. If friend told me she is a size 8 and shops in GAP I would know that she is more likely to be a 10 -12 as American sizing is smaller. Next, fat face, white stuff and wallis sizes are on the larger size.

Depends on your height and build and where/how you carry your weight.

And the shop that your "size 16" is from.

I carry a lot of weight on my legs, which doesn't affect clothing sizes, so I am a stone and a half heavier than a friend of a similar height and yet we wear the same sized clothes because her weight is carried on her boobs (she'd be a size smaller than me if not for her boobs, and I'd be probably two sizes bigger if I had her proportions with my weight)

5'7", 10st 2lb, size 10/12 depending on the shop.

YNBU to not understand it, it is confusing, but common sense then tells you its relative to a few points - 1 being height & the other being do you carry fat or muscle, muscle being heavier, therefore you could well be over weight & very fit & healthy, as are a couple of muscle mary friends of mine - bodies to die for & technically obese

Dress size is the same, in that someone who was very small, say 4'10" & a size 16, would be perceived as overweight, & probably by quite a bit - though they could be a smaller size, muscle bound & tinier in size & weigh more.

I'm 5'5", not sure what I actually weigh now, but probably close to 10 stone - size 10/12 in general, but can sometimes need a 14 on top to fit my ffs in - yet I am a 32 in bra width, so my back is considered tiny.

FTW record, I am overweight in that I am over 2 sizes bigger than I was before becoming ill - sprang back to my old size 6/8 within hours of giving birth, I have always been naturally tiny & ate like a horse - I have a tiny frame & therefore even at a size 10/12 I carry more fat than I should, but asking my GP about the extra weight since becoming ill, it affects my mobility as a high proportion of my body weight on top of my old 7,1/2 - 8 stone weight - GP started suggesting I was anorexic

I'm not huge though & do like the extra curves, just not the extra strain on my already knackered legs.

So IMHO too, its all a bit daft & relative to individuals & shouldn't be taken as any indication of healthy weight - also it depends on where you shop - some designer brands I will still fit into a size 8, other cheap boutique type brands - I dread to thing -

thing = think

Wow- this is very interesting.

I'm 5ft 2
Weight 11 stone
Size 12 (32e chest)
Bmi 26

Sometimes size 12 is tight on my thunder thighs depending on the leg shape. My 'normal' weight is 10 stone. I'm still a size 12 at 10 stone but jeans/trousers are roomy. I would say that I'm pear shaped at my current weight but when I'm back to 10 stone I'm more an hourglass shape. I would say I'm a big 12 at the mo. Size 14 hangs off me.

I have found that since I started swimming a few years ago I am much more toned. I am smaller at 10 stone when i swim than i was previously when i weighed 10 stone but did no excersise at all. My bra size went from 34dd (weighing 10 stone) to a 32e (even at 11 stone)

5ft 8
11st 8lb

size 14/16 bottoms depending where from although Primark I often end up with an 18 but then I wear super skinny jeans.

size 16 or 18 tops because of ridiculous shoulders (18" even when I was a size 8 in clothes!!) and decent norks

5"4, current weight 8 stone 7,
weight 2 weeks ago before holiday 5"3,
ideal weight 7"11.

However, I think I might need to bring up the ideal weight to take into account muscle weight from the gym - last time I weighed that was when I stuck firmly to the vodka cucumber diet (university) and I'm currently a size 6/8 so 10lb more off might not be good.

5'7"
8st 11pm

Size 10 waist, size 6-8 hips - no matter how slim I am I still have a little round tummy, but next to no hips/bum.

Like GetOrf, I'm tiny boned, and really don't carry extra weight well

5'3", 9st 7lbs
12 chest (huge shoulders) 34d
8 waist (skirts)
10 hips

clothes shopping makes me feel like a freak, can't even get into a 14 in Coast

5'5.5"
9.5st
12 -14

which is quite depressing seeing as others of the same height and weight are about a 10.
I blame my very flabby tummy, big hips and lack of boobs

5 ft 6
weight-dont weigh myself but I guess about 13 stones
Wear size 14 in most shops.Sometimes 16 in tops as have broad shoulders and norks.
Another poster mentioned coast-I cannot even zip up a size 16 in there so refuse to buy their clothes!. Have a friend who bought a lovely top and skirt from there in sales.Top fine,skirt looks fit to burst as she refused to buy bigger than a size 12!!.

5' 9.5"
Weigh around 15.5st (I've lost a stone since February by not having a car)
Size 18/20, although probably more the 18 now, It does depend on where I shop. I prefer to buy clothes that are slightly too big than ones that actually fit, bad habit I know.

Hmm, my stats are usually:

5 ' 3
8 stone 6
Size 10

However, I have an 8 week old so atm I'm 9 stone 5 and about a size 12.

5'4"
10st
size 12-16

I've lost over 2st since last September. I still wear plenty of my old clothes - M&S 'value' crops today, size 16 but a skimpy cut (cos they're value, what IS that all about). Others I've had to bin - size 16 Boden long denim skirt very nearly falls off me, and 34" waist Gap jeans looked like clown trousers. More rigid stuff like shirts I still need a 16 to encompass the boobs (34G down from 36G) but I can fit in a less structured 14 these days. Bottom half is a 14, but some 14s are a bit big now. I had a few size 18 things pre-weight-loss, which I put down to the fit, but I think I was kidding myself. The main thing is that I've lost loads from my natural waist, which is where very few things are required to fit - my tops fitted there as they were big to fit my boobs, and my trousers/skirts didn't come up that high. I just had one hell of a muffin-top!

missmyoldname it is a COMPLETE mystery. I used to be relatively light for my size and put it down to lack of muscle tone, but I'm now much fitter and have far more muscle mass, and I still seem to be wearing a bigger size than you might expect (and haven't dropped as much in dress size as you might expect from a >2st weight loss).