Page 8 | Is size 12 seen as "big" generally?

piperoo1095 · 2025-01-13T17:51:58+00:00

Hi all, Not trying to cause controversy here as I am genuinely interested. But do most people consider a UK size 12 to be "big"? I only ask because I see a lot of posts online at people "horrified" that they reached a size 12 and to me it's never seemed bad at all. Perhaps I've been living under my nice little rock of ignorance. Of course I'm sure height and build plays a massive role too!

OhcantthInkofaname · 14/01/2025 22:39

In the US size 10 is equivalent to a UK size 12. In letter size its "M" medium. So not large. I'm a 4-6-8 US.

MyDeepZebra · 14/01/2025 22:52

OhcantthInkofaname · 14/01/2025 22:39

In the US size 10 is equivalent to a UK size 12. In letter size its "M" medium. So not large. I'm a 4-6-8 US.

I'm UK born but I've lived between both US and UK for the past 30 years and my clothes are mainly from the US. A US Size 10 is a UK 14, the dress sizes are two apart rather than one.

I'm an 8/10 in the UK and a 4/6 in the US.

TessTimoney · 14/01/2025 23:23

A UK 12 is a US 10. The average British woman wears a size 16. The average American woman wears a 14 (same size). In the 70`s the average dress size was 2 sizes smaller! As long as you feel good in your clothes, who cares what size is on the label. If it bothers you, cut it off.

MrsSkylerWhite · 14/01/2025 23:26

Completely depends on height.

5ft, it’s large. 5ft 8, it’s thin.

Happilyobtuse · 14/01/2025 23:29

I’m 5ft 6” and broad shouldered with narrow hips and thin legs, however thin I am I vary between a size 12- 16 depending on the brand and the allowance made for broad shoulders and an E cup chest. My waist is 10/12. Weigh about 11 stone.

So someone much smaller but carrying more weight could be quite fat in a size 12. I have friend who is 5ft 2” and wears 10/12 size clothes but she is quite fat compared to me and is always amazed that I am usually in size 14 though much thinner than her. She has narrow frame and a smaller chest.

EmeraldShamrock000 · 14/01/2025 23:32

No, a size 12 is perfectly slim.

Size 16, usually overweight unless the person is tall.

NonplasticBertrand · 14/01/2025 23:36

TessTimoney · 14/01/2025 23:23

A UK 12 is a US 10. The average British woman wears a size 16. The average American woman wears a 14 (same size). In the 70`s the average dress size was 2 sizes smaller! As long as you feel good in your clothes, who cares what size is on the label. If it bothers you, cut it off.

Isn't a UK 12 a US 8?

MyDeepZebra · 14/01/2025 23:40

NonplasticBertrand · 14/01/2025 23:36

Isn't a UK 12 a US 8?

Show quote history

Yes it is!

I don't know why posters keep spouting incorrect information.

US is TWO sizes out, not one!

cornflakecrunchie · 15/01/2025 01:08

Bloodyhell, I'm a size 18, I THOUGHT I was ok, but after reading all these comments, I feel like a monster!
Is that all people think about? And BMI - I wouldn't know what that was if it jumped out & bit me.
Hugs to others the same size or more than me. You're beautiful - don't let it upset you. Luckily, as well as apparently being the same size as a rhino, I have a skin like one, too, so am confident & couldn't give a f*ck what the self-obsessed skinny minnies think!

NattyTurtle59 · 15/01/2025 03:22

cornflakecrunchie · 15/01/2025 01:08

Bloodyhell, I'm a size 18, I THOUGHT I was ok, but after reading all these comments, I feel like a monster!
Is that all people think about? And BMI - I wouldn't know what that was if it jumped out & bit me.
Hugs to others the same size or more than me. You're beautiful - don't let it upset you. Luckily, as well as apparently being the same size as a rhino, I have a skin like one, too, so am confident & couldn't give a f*ck what the self-obsessed skinny minnies think!

Well said. I was in a shop yesterday and the young woman behind the counter told me she was an 18 - 20, and while she obviously wasn't small she looked gorgeous.

Anothernamechane · 15/01/2025 06:45

I can’t get into a size 10 unless my bmi is close to 20 because of my body composition, and while 20 is still a healthy BMI, I personally look very gaunt in the face at anything under 21, so perfectly happy in a size 12 and definitely look slim at that size.

SugarPlumpFairyCakes · 15/01/2025 06:55

Interesting news about BMI today and its accuracy in terms of body fat. Redefining obesity beyond BMI.

Octomingo · 15/01/2025 07:04

I do think perception depends on what era you grew up in. My mum was always 10-12 and very slim, so I'm my head, 12 is grown up slim size. Size 10 was for teeny tiny women like my gran.
Like I said before, tall gangly me at a teen was a 14. I felt huge, but was just taller. Today I'm in a pair of size 14 trousers from h+m c2005. There is no give in them. They fit absolutely perfectly, but are still slightly smaller than some of my 12s. Especially my jeans. My hips haven't changed since 2005 (39) although waist has increased from 26 to 28 (thanks kids)but my bum is probably slightly smaller and definitely less pert. Again, thanks, kids.

Anothernamechane · 15/01/2025 07:07

I know this is really difficult for the “we’ve lost sight of what a healthy weight looks like” crowd to accept but it’s not just about height. Body composition makes a huge impact. At 5ft 4in and 9.5 stone I’m a 12. I was still a 12 at 9 stone. The lightest I’ve been in the last 10 years was 8.5 and I could JUST squeeze into a 10, but everyone told me I looked ill and looking at photos of me at that weight my legs are like match sticks and my face actually looks quite haggard. My BMI was just over 20 then, it’s 22.8 now.

im a 32H with broad shoulders and hips and thin arms and legs. In fact even when I was at the top end of a healthy weight last year, I was STILL a 12/14. Everyone’s body and weight distribution is different.

Workhardcryharder · 15/01/2025 07:23

I was definitely big as a size 12. 5 ft 4 and very small frame.

IdLikeMyMomentInTheSunshine · 15/01/2025 07:30

AlbertCamusflage · 13/01/2025 18:06

It depends on what size a "size 12" is. When I was young it was definitely a slim size, but vanity sizing has meant that it has crept up to something more like what used to be a size 14 or even 16. And there is so much variation between brands. It is just a nonsense metric really.

Absolutely this.
In my teens I was a 12 and pretty small.
A modern 12 fits my DM, who was always a size 16 in old sizes.

INeedNewShoes · 15/01/2025 07:43

Sizing has changed dramatically. I have a favourite pair of trousers and a skirt bought in the 90s both size 12 that I've kept hold of in hope... I cannot fit into them. If I buy trousers now I'm a definite 12 in today's sizing. I reckon my 90s size 12s would be an 8-10 today.

I'm 5ft4 and a 12 for trousers, 10 for tops and I'm slightly overweight and flabby but generally happy with how I look fully clothed.

Devilsmommy · 15/01/2025 07:49

Snapncrackle · 13/01/2025 18:14

I’m 5ft 6
weigh 8.11 -9’stone
im a small/ 8 -10 medium depending on where I buy / how tight/ loose I want it
BMI is 19 -20

Edited

Just shows the difference even an inch in height makes. I'm 5'7, 8st12, BMI 19, size 6. Definitely depends on height and build

LostittoBostik · 15/01/2025 07:55

Gowlett · 13/01/2025 18:05

When I was a young woman, growing up in the Kate Moss era, I would have considered size 12 to be fat. And myself to be fat if I was ever over a size 8 / 10. Those sizes were genuinely tiny back then, as well. I think young women have more choice nowadays when it comes to size, attitude, fashion…

Now, post-baby, perimenopausal me wools be quite happy at a size 12. I’ve gone up to size 14 / 16 at times in my 40s. At 5”4, I’d say size 12 is ideal for me. I often resorted to an eating disorder to maintain my “skinny” self when I was younger. I’m focused on healthy eating now, and treating my body kindly.

Yes this. I was always a natural 8-10, never had to work very hard for it. Now I'm in perimenopause post 2 children everything is softer and curvier and I'm mostly a 12 - I'm a healthy BMI of about 23 but I'm finding it hard to come to terms with. Trying to be kind to myself in my forties. The 90s and 00s were a weird time.

LostittoBostik · 15/01/2025 07:57

eurochick · 13/01/2025 18:08

It depends on height. A 6ft woman wearing a size 12 will be slim. A 5ft woman is likely to be well into the overweight category.

Nope! I'm 5ft and have just moved from a 10 into a 12 during perimenopause. My BMI is 23. Yes, that's more than I'm used to, and I'm finding it hard to be curvy and not angular anymore... BUT it's still a healthy weight. Granted a 14 would definitely put me in the overweight category, and 16 would be v obese whereas a 16 on someone who is 5' 11" could possibly still be a healthy BMI

movinghouse12 · 15/01/2025 08:01

I think a 12 is biggish on someone 5'4" or below. I'm 5'9" and look about right as a 12. If I go down to a 10 I look too lanky. Equally, I look a bit chunky if I head towards a 14.

Flozle · 15/01/2025 08:26

I lost lots of weight a few years ago. I was a 12 and was told I was too thin. Depends on the person. A size 12 is, I believe, based on the average measurements of the population, which is probably why very few garments fit properly. 😊

anon666 · 15/01/2025 08:29

God, no. 12 is normal.

Young people like my daughters hover at a size 8/10. As we get older our frames naturally bulk out a bit, bigger shoulders/hips etc. 10/12 as standard, especially after pregnancy.

So a young person could be horrified at being a 12 (my daughters would) without it being a thing for someone older.

anon666 · 15/01/2025 08:31

For comparison my BMI is 29, which is in the overweight category.

But I'm a 14/16.

To get to a 12, I'd definitely have to be a normal weight. I'm 5ft4.

SabreIsMyFave · 15/01/2025 09:34

🙄