Similar weight completely different size - how?

[oilyskinproblems]

I’m really confused and wondering if someone out there can enlighten me. Was just reading a different thread with people posting height/weight/dress size. Someone on there is the same height as me, about 4lb heavier but they are a size 12 and I am a size 8.

I’m probably being incredibly thick but how is that possible? Is it to do with weight distribution or something? If I type my height and weight into Asos it suggests size 8 is the best size for me.

Well it's to do with the vanity sizing isn't it? It's crazy, if you read the labels, in America an Eng. size 10 is a size 6 (I think, I may be wrong) In the old fashioned days (when I was aged 20 or so) the english vanity size 10 was a size 12 (depending on the shop a size 14 sometimes!!!!).,

The best thing is to ignore dress sizes and go by your own size (what you see in the mirror!) and how you feel in the garment.

I have about 7 pairs of jeans (various colours so use them for different occasions) and they range from a size 6 to a size 12.

I also have tops that range from a size XS to a size L - because I like the slightly looser feel in some tops.

So it also depends on how tight you like your clothing.

I'm not sure about this. I think other factors are at play also. It depends how big your back is - which isn't always a weight thing. How wide your hips are - the actual bone structure - not the fat on them. Some people carry weight on their legs and have a smaller thinner top half, which will decrease their dress size. It also spends on the fit of the dress.

Also if you carry a lot of muscle, you might be a smaller size for your weight. I am 10.3, 5'7 and I'm an 8 whereas I've been the same weight and been a 12 (before I got fit!)

Muscle always weights heavier than fat, but means your body is much smaller in inches!

And the cut and style of clothing- eg. I need a bigger size in shorts than I do in jeans for some reason.

Thanks for the replies - it’s all true especially about bone structure and the cut and fit of clothes. All of my clothes are the same size apart from a couple of tops that are a size bigger and one dress which is a size smaller. Maybe I’m only shopping in shops which follow a similar size guide? Or maybe It’s psychological and I’ve conditioned myself into just picking up “my” size rather than what feels best. Who knows?

It's mainly because dress size has been meaningless for quite some time, so the size you think you are reflects the sizing policy of the shoos you frequent.

But it's also because of frame (boob and hip/bum size can make quite a difference) and how toned your muscles are (muscle being denser than fat)

Also the vanity sizing is because a lot of clothes are made with added elasticity, lycra etc, especially for jeans. I suppose that bras are the nearest to your proper size but they have a good long elastic stretch at the back and sides.

Muscle
Frame
Vanity sizing

I am the same size as SIL, even though she weighs about 3 stone more.

She likes to wear her clothes really fitted, I like my clothes to hang, to be loose

FWIW she is the more stylish dresser! But yeah, we are the same size, yet look v. different

Frame has a lot to do with it. When I was underweight (eating disorder. Recovered now) I was never below a size 10. Because I have wide hips and also the small amount of body fat I did retain sat as saddlebags on my thighs, making me need a larger size than my bodyweight would indicate.

My upper body, on the other hand, is small. I have a narrow back, so now, even with a bit of meat on me, I can fit into smaller tops. Dresses, if fit and flare type i can wear up to 2 sizes smaller than something that's got to fit hips.

It's not only vanity sizing. It's also because of standardised sizing. E.g. if you have a bust of x, a waist of y and hips of z inches you are a size 14, say. But few people match all three perfectly, so depending on the cut of what you're wearing and where it needs to fit best, you could be any one of 3 sizes. Thats even without vanity sizing messing it up even further.

"depending on the cut of what you're wearing and where it needs to fit best, you could be any one of 3 sizes. "

Yes. I suppose a lot of people can fit into a much smaller size in a dress that is only fitted around the chest. Something like trousers that have to fit around a waist would be in a bigger size (if you're pear shaped).

When I read these threads on MN I'm also amazed at people who are the same size and height as me, but a size or two smaller. I think it's because they're hourglass shaped or have a large chest whereas I am a rectangle with a large waist.

Vanity sizing is part of it, but you'd think people would know that if they always shop in Next or Hobbs, they're not really the size of their clothes there...

I weigh the same as my best friend. I wear a size 8 top and size 12 trousers. She wears size 10 trousers and 12 tops.

We are just different shapes. Bit of a pain we can’t swap clothes though.

Has it ever occurred to you that different shops have different sizes? If you ever want to drop a dress size or three, go to M&S.

Honestly it does depend on clothing preference too.

I am wearing size 8 jeans: they are really tight and skinny fit. A ten would be comfier, probably.

I have clothes from 8-14, I fit a lot into them all.

People wear their stuff differently, apparently I look lighter than what I actually am I. E heavy bones if you like, lots of muscle maybe? Lol

"If you ever want to drop a dress size or three, go to M&S."

Or Next or Hobbs.
For a reality check, go to H&M.

Taking the shops and sizing out of the equation though, my waist, hips and height are the same as my mate - but she weighs almost two stone less than I do (eep!) But I have large feet (10.5), large hands and wrists, and broader shoulders. She has teeny feet and hands and narrow shoulders.

We're just all different, all "perfectly imperfect" in our own ways and while I am happily active, fit and healthy (and my waist measurement meets healthy guidelines without yanking on the tape measure ) I am not going to focus on the weight too much.

It's because of frame and dress sense too.

For example someone could be pear shaped with a small waste and buy 50s skirts which would be a smaller size if it were based on their waste. The same size and shape person could like skinny jeans, and need a 12 because it's focusing on your bum. So it depends how the clothes you buy fit and your style as well. As well as distribution of your fat, bone structure, how much muscle you carry etc.

Also some people size up, some people generally size down. I would tend to err on sizing up if between sizes. Some friends prefer tighter clothes so wet towards sizing down.

Tbh I am generally a 10 wherever I go, the only place I'm a 12 is h&m. Even in the magic m&s i am still a 10, I don't find their sizes particularly big but it could be their cut is not for my body, their arms are really small. I have been much skinnier and still a 10, I don't think I could ever get my body into an 8, some friends similar weights wear 8s all the time because they are more evenly distributed than me.

I have one friend whose waist measurement is the same as mine but she is quite clearly significantly skinnier than me, and wears the size below. I think even if your measurements are the same clothes size depends on your shape at that point.

My waste is round and podgy, hers is wider but much much flatter and I think that means clothes fit better. Technically our measurements are the same but I think I have a much smaller frame and so we are clearly not the same size bodies.

Our bodies are complex 3d objects, you can't really just take 3 measurements to determine how big they are.

I have a smaller frame so more fat is what I mean so our bodies measurements are similar but entirely different shapes

Muscle does not weigh more than fat....nothing can weigh more than anything else, 1kg of muscle is exactly the same as 1kg of fat.
Muscle takes up less room in your body than fat, you can weigh exactly the same as your friend but they could look obese and you look like Hercules.

I know many people who weigh 75kg but have high body fat and I know people who weigh 110kg and have below 10% body fat

Erm, muscle DOES weigh more than fat. Not by weight of course (e.g. thr old 1 pound of lead vs 1 pound of feathers riddle) but by volume.

@NutellaFitzgerald you mean it's more dense.

Exactly. 1 cubic inch of muscle is going to be heavier than 1 cubic inch of fat. Our clothes fit according to how much space our bodies take up. Our body volume, not weight.