Wow, this is enlightening. Lynn, I agree with Auburn that you do not look like a 10/12 from that photo. I'm pretty convinced that there are certain ways people carry weight--or don't-- that read very differently in pictures.

I'm 5'7" and have a couple of 6s and 12s in my closet, but I'm usually a US 8 or 10. The top of me is more an 8 and the bottom a 10. I'm at close to my peak weight right now but working on that. I think I usually look big in pictures because of my hips and thighs. Even when I was a teenager and weighed 120 lbs, I still had hips and thighs! Oh well, gotta work with what we got!

I'm a small on top, but an 6 - 8 in pants (M). Though skirts and dresses are more toward the 6 range. I'm definitely a regular at the tailor! And I love Target pants for a quick esteem boost because they usually run around size 4 :o)

Usually a 4, occasionally a 6:)

I feel like I typically am a size 4 and a small in tops. But i can also tell you I have a pair of pants that are a size 2 and a pair of pants that are a size 9 and they both fit me perfectly. >.>

Most frequently a size 4. Occasionally at 2 or a 6. Jeans are usually 27. Height 5'9"

For those who are confused about people like me, with all-over-the-place sizing, it may be because I shop everywhere.

A size large in bottoms at F21 (where I rarely buy clothes) = a size 8 in the Halogen line = 6 in Gap = 4 in vintage clothing. And so on.

Right now I'm a US 4 Petite in most bottoms. In tops I'm usually an XS Petite.

Great topic!
Mostly a 4P although sometimes a regular 4 for jackets. In pants, a 4 or 4P depending on heels or flats. S or XS tops. In premium denim, mostly 26. I've been wearing a few size 2's lately. I don't know if my size is changing or vanity sizing is rearing it's ugly head again.
Shoes..left foot 7.5 right foot 8. Shoe shopping is such fun..not!!
Oh, and I'm 5'3" tall.

I am 5'4" and an Australian 8 mostly (USA 4?). Sometimes 10 or 6 (in the few ranges which carry six). In Ezibuy I get XS but I suspect I'd be bigger in boutique sizes

Sizes are so weird, they are supposed to be guide posts but often are just confusing. I am generally a 4 in pants, sometimes a 2 - 4 in skirts. A 2-4 on top, though mostly 2.

Yesterday I went to buy a pair of Long and Leans. They fit me in a 4 in the light wash and a 2 in the dark wash. The sales associate told me they fit differently by WASH ! How wierd.

I range from 0 to 4 at LOFT (where I shop almost exclusively thanks to my interests, discount, and time). And from many of your posts it seems that we've got some interesting sizing going on there. Tops tend to be in the 2's and XS and bottoms in 4's. No idea what size i am elsewhere, but I would guess bigger.

So what have you learned from the responses, Chewy, that you didn't know before?

Wow, everybody is so tiny.

I'm 5'8" and I seem to fluctuate in sizes so that I need several wardrobes. I am wearing size 28-29 jeans. Last year it was 26-27. It gets expensive to try to keep up with my sizes.

I'm a size 8 shoe, but as I get older and my feet get more wear and tear they spread out so that I'm probably an 8 1/2.

When I was a teenager I bought a size 15 pants in the cheaper stores. That really bothered me at the time, I still remember it to this day. I had bigger hips back in that day, I also had apple cheeks (which I hated then, but would love now). Where did they go?

picture circa 1977

San, what was size 15? Was that juniors?

You are adorable in that photo! Love the rosy apple cheeks!

Yes Laura, 15 was a junior size. I used to have a big butt. Wish I had one now.

Oh San, that's a fab picture. You were too cute.

Ha! San, your pic is so cute I just had to finally jump in! I love those apple cheeks

I'm 4-6-8 on top and 6-8-10 on bottom. That puts me smack inbetween every S or M - grrr!

I'm 5'5" (that's actually almost 1 inch taller than age 20-50!!! Thanks, yoga

San, I love that picture too. I wish I could miss my apple cheeks but they seem to stay plump while everything else starts to sag!

Note to self: Check out yoga for heightening!

Well MPJ,there are quite a few women here in the same size range as I am that I would not have thought. I always feel like a giant, even with all of the weight that I've lost. Many of the ladies here are the same size as my 11 year old dd- or smaller. She wears a 0 in women's (not juniors)- and she's starting to grow out of them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I always am. It kind of helps me to see where size issues in my head came from. I haven't been this size since Junior High, and I'm still at the higher end of regular women's sizes for many brands.

Khris, I know you already know all of this intellectually, but no one sees your size except for you, and everyone's sweet spot is different. When I see you, all I see is how fabulous you look. You look better and better as time goes on...and seriously...how many people can say that?! With all due respect to everyone else who posts here, I feel like you have gone through the most dramatic and awe-inspiring transformation since you started posting.

I assure you, even at your DD's end of the spectrum, there are battles to contend with. I have mentioned this before, but I have this idea in my head that I don't "deserve" to be a size 2. Size 2's are slender and willowy, and I am not. I'm afraid that when I mention my size, people automatically think "OMG, vanity sizing strikes again!" or something like that. Or maybe they think I am lying. Even now I have trouble accepting it. I tend to always try on 4's first, and it always surprises me when they are too big...no matter how many times I do it.

BTW, the average dress size is a 14, so you are actually below average if you're in the 8-10-12 range.

That's interesting Chewy. The average size for a woman in this country, I believe, is a 14. Yet women feel large in that number. And many "boutiques" or more "sophisticated" stores don't carry many sizes above 12. ( though that is starting to change now ) It is hard NOT to have issues, the industry and the magazines make it seem that way. We don't talk about health or body image.....we perpetuate comparisons to unhealthy ideals. We must remember that models are picked because they are genetic freaks. I don't say that to be rude , I am trying to be funny, actually they are very rare. That is why they are chosen. Their legs are unusually long, their faces and bodies are unusually symmetrical and so on.

It is funny, since I found this site, I have no interest in magazines anymore.

( One interesting fact - though the average size is 14, the average size sold is a 10..that makes me sad. )

I am currently a size 6, on my way to a size 4. I had a baby 9 months ago. I wear a small or medium top depending on the store. I am 5'4''. Curious if I look this size in my recent pictures.

The most bought size in America is a size 12. Sometimes a size 14. That's why both size spectrums (regular and plus) carry size 14. It's necessary and clever.

The average height of the American women is about 5ft 3. That's actually petite.

50% of my clientele are bordering petite in height and between a size 8 and 12. But the other 50% fall outside these sizes and height norms. So I really do get to dress all sizes and body types.

Style is NOT a dress size. That I can assure you. It's what YLF is all about.

As I've scrolled through the responses, several thoughts have occurred to me:
*I'm not very good at telling size from a photo.
*With the variety of sizes represented here, we are living proof that beauty and style are in no way related to size.
*I wish there were some better way to standardize clothing sizes or at least make them more meaningful (especially for people like me who have no choice but to shop online most of the time).

My sizes are usually 0 or 2, XS or S, often petite sizes. I'm 5'0", though since I've been doing yoga for 6 months maybe I should get measured again! Shoe size: 6EE.

Chewy, I want to second Maya's comment--though I haven't been here to see all of your transformation, you don't look like a giant at all. You look beautiful, and I hope you get to a place where you feel fantastic about your new body!

Angie, I stand corrected ( I had read a couple of news stories that said it was 10. )

Becky, you point to the conundrum of buying off the rack, we are not standardized as people but their is no other way to sell clothing. And unfortunately, the industry, for various reasons, can't seem to agree or doesn't want to agree on sizing proportions. That is why I say, get thee a good seamstress !

I'm a pretty solid 6 in dresses and shirts. More of a 4 in pants/skirts, although in extreme vanity sizing I've been known to fit into a size 2 skirt. If the choice for tops is 6/8 I'm there! Garnet Hill uses this sizing and I love it....plenty of room and even a little big sometimes.

For some reason, I thought that almost everyone was a size or two bigger than they are. I often think that I look stocky and wondered if it was simply body dysmorphia but now I know I wasn't imagining it. At 5' 2", being a size 6/8 is on the chunky side.

I want to second that too Chewy. I dont think you look chunky at all. You look slim to me and very stylish. I still have hangups about my weight and can't believe it when i go into a shop and the shop assistant will say "but you should be looking in the small/medium area". It doesn't really matter because I have noticed that size has absolutely nothing to do with style or attractiveness. I just need to keep beating this into my own head!