have women's clothing sizes "shrunk"??-help!

[barkley]

o.k. here's the deal-about four years ago i weighed in around 140 and wore clothes that ranged 6, 8, 10-depended on the style and manufacturer. i then became ill, and due to meds, inactivity...i got up to 180. over the past 4 years i have worn mainly sweats, t-shirts, capris....comfy and loose stuff in x-large that i have picked up at walmart, target, dress barn. so in the past few months i have lost 30 pounds, but more importantly to me a lot of inches. so yesterday in anticipation of our november cruise i went out to buy some blouses. i went to a couple of places and now i think i am going nuts EVERYTHING LOOKS SO SMALL!!!! i looked at mediums and some larges (i don't like stuff tight) and they looked more like petite and smalls. i ended up with more x-large items, but when i brought them home and held them up to similar styles that i bought several years ago they are size for size the same as the mediums i own.

so saavy shoppers-what is the deal? i have size 8 dress pants and blouses that fit (still a bit tight but i have another 10 pounds to go) that measure out to the same size brand new x-larges measure out to. has the shopping world changed so that a small is now size 1-2, medium 3-4...? what is the deal?

 

[Dodie]

So much depends upon body type and shape. I weigh 135-140 and always wear a size 12. I have never worn the sizes you mention in your OP.

 

[ducklite]

I'm having just the opposite problem. I've lost about 1/2 inch in height over the years, and did lose a few pounds last year, but I've gone from wearing a medium and large to a small, and sometimes an XS.

I am wearing different designers and brands than I did in the past, and I really think that is the key.

Anne

 

[helenabear]

Acutally it is pretty much the opposite. They are (on average) about 1 size off in the misses. Juniors are pretty much the same as they always have been. Granted, depending on where you go, you will find this true or not.

12 years ago I wore about a size 6 or 8, now at the same weight (after gaining and losing) I am about a 4 or a 6. My junior clothes are the same though from then to now

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So much depends upon body type and shape. I weigh 135-140 and always wear a size 12. I have never worn the sizes you mention in your OP.

Me too!

I am shocked though when some makers think my derriere is a size 14-16. Who are they kidding? That is not the way to entice me to buy your clothes!

 

[Crankyshank]

It depends on the manufacturer. I lost some weight and my old clothes in a smaller size fit me well. My current size pants were really loose.
I go shopping for pants at the same store and find pants in my current size (the ones that are too big for me that I bought last year) are tight I can barely squeeze into them! I found the same problem with tops as well.

 

[Planogirl]

Styles are small right now. Itsy bitsy shirts and tight pants seem to be the thing lately and that might be part of the problem.

 

[barkley]

i knew things were wierd when trying to shop for my daughter (11)-she has to have "modest clothing" for school (sleeves, no tummy baring...) and i have found it nearly impossible to ever find any simple dresses. i just did'nt realize the changes in women's clothing because i have'nt shopped for any in soooooo long well, i guess dh will not have to worry about me splurging on a new wardrobe, i don't much like what i see out there so i will start going through all the stuff i have packed away.

 

[Kermit]

I agree that many have grown. I never thought I'd wear a 4 again, but lo and behold, this season I do. I only wear a 4 in skirts, though, not pants, so I've started wearing a lot of skirts.

One thing I've noticed is the small-medium-large clothes seem to be smaller than clothes with numbers. Sometimes I need a medium in those things when the number I wear indicates a small.

 

[sleepy1]

Actually it is the opposite, I wear a size zero, which is really ridiculous because I know I am the about the size I was in high school and at that time I was a size five. Designers know that women want to buy a smaller size so they label them that way.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

I wear a smaller number than I ever have. Shirts are styled to be tighter now too. I have to get a Small or even a Petite/Small in most brands. I think we used to wear shirts baggy years ago too.

 

[ThAnswr]

have women's clothing sizes "shrunk"??-help!

Absolutely, no doubt about it.

As a matter of fact, as I get older, my clothes are shrinking in the closet!

Whatta world, whatta world!