Size 14 is the new size 10?

[OceanAnnie]

Interesting article on the CNN website:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/07/10/attitudes.overweight/index.html

I know it's "nothing new" about retailers changing size standards. But this seems to be a bigger leap. I have a hard enough time finding the right fit. I wish the retailers and manufacturers would just leave well enough alone. Just my .02.

What are your thoughts?

 

[lsyorke]

Retailers need to base sizing on measurements...don't they realize that most woman don't want to try on a million things to make a purchase? If sizing was standardized most would purchase more, instead of getting frustrated!

I know what my body looks like and it ain't no size 8 no matter what the ticket says! .....rant over.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

They must think we're pretty gullible to fall for something like this.

I hate clothes shopping more than paying taxes (I'm 5' tall). This is gonna screw me up completely.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

This makes me crazy. I have so much trouble finding clothes that fit anyway, since I'm petite (and not all that short, but my proportions are definitely petite).

When I was in high school, I was 5' 4" and weighed 100 pounds and was a size 3/4.

35 years later, I'm still 5' 4" (probably--haven't measured my height in 20 years and people do shrink as they get older ) and I weigh 125 pounds and guess what size I am?? Yup, size 4 (or 6P).

When I get down to 115-118 pounds (what I consider my ideal weight) I also go down a size and can't find a darn thing locally in a regular size 2 or a 4P.

It's just crazy, 'cause I know I'm not that small--where do all the really tiny people shop?? I end up buying most of my clothes online.

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[OceanAnnie]

It drives me crazy too. Then there are loose fit, relaxed fit, and everything in between. I'm can't always go by size per se. I'm seeking the right fit. I have to gather several sizes of the same item to ensure the proper fit. It's nuts.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I read that article at work yesterday and it actually made me pretty happy. The size thing was just a small piece of the article. I think maybe we're moving away (at least a little bit) from the horrendous expectations that people place on themselves.

If that's being accomplished by switching up the sizes, I think that's a good thing.

 

[Chuck S]

I never understood why womens clothing uses sizes and men's clothing uses measurements anyway. I understand some women have larger hips than others, so that is where a waist size could be combined with "lean cut, full cut" or to sound better "relaxed cut, petite cut, etc."

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I must be the only one...in the past 2 years, I've lost 30 pounds and several inches, yet my clothing size hasn't changed. And I don't try different brands/fits - a few particular brands/fits work, so I've stuck with them, and my size is still the same as it was more than 2 years ago.

 

[hellokitty86]

I just went shopping and 3 different sizes in 3 different brands fit me. Explain that one!

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I just went shopping and 3 different sizes in 3 different brands fit me. Explain that one!

That's usually my experience as well... I just assume that's how it's going to be. If it looks good and I like it, I don't care if it was a XXXXL. LOL.

 

[ajk912]

I actually kind of like it. I remember when I was in my 20s I was around 132 at 5'5, so well within the healthy BMI range for my height. Well, that pull me at size 11 or even 13 for normal sizes (Target, Walmart, JCPenney, many mall stores) but I think I was size 10 at the time at Gap. Still, I rarely shopped at a lot of those stores because it bothered me that I was almost plus sized (the largest juniors was 15). I was hardly plus sized. Oh, and for tops, I was buying XL! I have a 34D chest, it was hard to cram into something smaller.

Now, I am 153 and 5'4 (three kids and 10 years later ) and I wear size 10 and size medium or large top. I like that a lot better. I am about 8 lbs outside of the healthy BMI range, so I don't expect to be a size 6, but I don't think I am "plus sized" either.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Slightly OT, but does this bother anyone else? The commercials for weight loss where they have a woman who looks "normal" after she lost a lot of weight, and she say's "I used to be a size 16, now I'm a size 4"- and there is NO WAY she is a size 4, she is more of a normal size 10 or 12..Drives me insane, and I don't know why.

My theory about this inconsistency/changes in sizing in clothing is that it will make some women who usually wear a size 10 feel good to get into a size 4-which may translate into a purchase.

 

[FireDancer]

I just find it a sad commentary on the health of our country in general. If someone wants to wear a smaller size eat healthy and work hard and you will. There was a quote somewhere about lipstick on a pig...same idea.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

Slightly OT, but does this bother anyone else? The commercials for weight loss where they have a woman who looks "normal" after she lost a lot of weight, and she say's "I used to be a size 16, now I'm a size 4"- and there is NO WAY she is a size 4, she is more of a normal size 10 or 12..Drives me insane, and I don't know why.

My theory about this inconsistency/changes in sizing in clothing is that it will make some women who usually wear a size 10 feel good to get into a size 4-which may translate into a purchase.

What bothers me is the sheer amount of weight loss commercials that are on. There's more to life than the size of your waistline.

 

[EthansMom]

I don't care what the number is on the tag inside the clothes. I would like more designers to design beautiful clothes for women who aren't just a size 6 or 8... more clothes that are cut for large hips (without looking like a circus tent) would be great. I wear a 12/14 but have a smallish waist and bigger (though not outrageously so) hips. I struggle to find jeans and slacks that are cut for a woman with real curves.

I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about some new designers making jeans with with curvy fits. They interviewed one of the guys in charge of one of the high-end jean ***. (I think it was 7 for All Mankind) and he said they don't make larger sized jeans because most of the jeans they sold are size 4-8. Have you ever thought that most of the people buying your jeans are size 4-8 because that is the fit (slender) that you are selling?

Wake up folks! There are a lot of us women who aren't a slender size 4 and we have money to spend!

 

[AustinTink]

So, you mean to tell me my size 6 clothes are really a 10? I actually knew that already, since I've gained 15 pounds in the last few years and my pants size never changed!

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

I absolutely HATE Target clothes.

I have to go from my size 12/14 to a 17
I was like 'Erhm ...im no health expert but...'

It scared me SO MUCH.

But some places I am 14 and others I am 13. It bugs me because not everywhere has a size 13.

 

[OceanAnnie]

It's not the size "on" the label for me, it's the seek and find to get the right size. I don't care for trying on lots of things. But it's a necessity if I don't want to make a return trip.

It would be nice to pick your current size and that's the end of story. But, noooo. Different brands have different measurements for the same size. Frustrating!

 

[MushyMushy]

I've wondered about that! In my early 20s, I would fluctuate between 125-150 pounds -- at my lowest weight, I'd wear an 11 (yes, at 125!) and highest a 14. Yet I have a friend who weighs close to 200 and wears a 14 or 16 and I couldn't figure out how she could fit into something I was wearing at such a lower weight.

I don't know, on one hand, who cares what the size says as long as you look good in the clothes? But on the other hand I would like, first of all, some standard sizing so I could walk into any store and expect each size to be the same. Secondly, if I ever get my weight down to where I'm in a size 10, I want to EARN that 10, not be in what used to be a 14.

Ethansmom, AMEN!