Fashion trends and weight fluctuation

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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Fashion trends and weight fluctuation

— by Angie

on June 9, 2008

An article by Francesca Gavin in yesterday’s UK Times online had me thinking. She maintains that the voluminous fashion trend was the real culprit to her gradual weight gain because it was easy to hide extra pounds in sack dresses, bubble skirts, A-line tunics, stretch jeans and smocks.

Francesca wasn’t happy with this and in an effort to curb further weight gain, she decided that there was only one remedy:

“if fashion got me into this mess, then fashion was going to get me out of it”

Instead of opting for the comfort of looser layers, Francesca made a point of purchasing styles that fit close to the body like pencils skirts, highly tailored garments and boned dresses. The idea was that if she physically felt restricted, she’d be aware of putting on weight. Francesca’s weight began to normalize and she felt that the discomfort of ultra-fitted garments was worth it.

This is fascinating. The voluminous trend has definitely given us the liberty of wearing looser clothes with style. Have you experienced a connection between fashion trends and fluctuation in your weight?

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31 comments · Add a comment

kerstin

(website)

My friends and I (late 20’s) have often joked that the billowy long blouses that so closely resemble pregnant tops are to blame for young girls (14-25) developing fupas

June 9, 2008 at 7:09 am

Pat

Hmmmmmm…interesting. I am hippy and curvy but not overweight. After my last baby I adopted a policy of only wearing things with some stretch in the hips…perhaps I should rethink that policy!

June 9, 2008 at 7:11 am

Vanessa Ridley

(website)

I’ve experienced this since I was a teenager! When I started wearing baggy clothes, I tended to gain weight – as soon as I started purchasing tighter fitting clothes, I’d start losing weight. I’ve always said that my clothes have been the culprits of my weight fluctuation. I’m excited that waist cinching belts are in style right now. I’ve been wearing them to cinch in my loose fitting clothes and it definitely restricts my appetite – which in turn keeps the weight off.

June 9, 2008 at 7:13 am

Linda

When tunics first became popular my thought was….”who really looks all that good in baggy clothes?” To me the tunic is akin to the moomoo and makes one look heavier even if they are not. Personally, I haven’t gained weight, but as you mentioned above, even if I had it wouldn’t show. I vote for more feminine lines!
Linda

June 9, 2008 at 7:13 am

shiny

I can tell you that now that I have built up a wardrobe of fashionable jeans, I am very loathe to regain any weight and it does make me more mindful of what I eat.

I can tell you that for most of my life I am happy and content within a 20 lb weight range, which equals about 4 sizes, from a 0 to about a size 6. My basic shape stays essentially the same, I just need a different size of clothes.

But once I start edging into an 8, then – not only do my cholesterol and blood sugar numbers get all out of whack and my health suffers – I get very unhappy with how I look in clothes, and start taking serious measures to get back into shape. The reason is because as sizes go up, they seem to go up not just in width, but in length too, so as someone who is short, it gets more and more difficult to find clothing that looks okay without major alterations.

As for fashion trends, no, I don’t think my weight fluctuates depending on the trend. I was heaviest when minimalist, tight-fitting clothing was the in thing, and I was skinniest and in the best shape the last time volume was in. I remember being frustrated with that!!! So for me, there is no correlation with the trends vs weight.

June 9, 2008 at 7:16 am

Shannon

I can’t believe that quote from Francesca “fashion got me into this mess….”. That makes me laugh. Fashion has nothing to do with gaining weight. Sounds to me like she just needed to blame something for her poor eating habits and lack of exercise. There are legitimate reasons that people gain weight, health issues, pregnancy, etc. but fashion is not one of them.

June 9, 2008 at 7:33 am

Olar

Yes, I agree. I have also thought about that. Not only coming from fashion itself but also from sizing. Since I moved to North America I can’t find pants anymore, the same gos for bras, skirts,… anything that goes fitted). I was a 34/36 in Europe and here even the 0, on the rare occasions that I find it, is invariably big on me. I believe they have been shifting up the sizes for marketing reasons. My conclusion is any people that wear 36/38 wouldn’t fit on the corresponding size from 15 years ago or from other places in the world. They would realize they are instead a 40/42 and will start loosing weight. So yes, I think the fashion industry is in part a culprit for sustaining this. This is as bad as producing a 32 size for young girls atop eating. At the end, it means that the average person is overweighted. Doesn’t sound too terrible but reflects on public health.

June 9, 2008 at 7:51 am

Nicole

Interesting. I do think the way clothes FEEL has a lot to do with how much I eat. If I’m uncomfortable, then I don’t eat as much. If I was wearing very loose clothing, then I’d probably eat more, and feel thinner. Something about loose clothes makes me feel thin. Many years ago, I was attending Weight Watchers Meetings…and I “shared” a trick I had to get myself thru a slew of summer parties. I wore tight waisted pants to keep myself from nibbling on all the high fat/cal foods. It worked really well for me at the time.

June 9, 2008 at 7:51 am

hajen

I have three young children. I’m happy that there is plenty available currently that’s cut looser. That is much more forgiving to a body with some baby weight still being lost, not to mention while adjusting to the shifts in body shape having children can give you – it is sometimes hard on you to realize you cannot have the body back you had before. Even when I lost all the weight and was back to the size I was pre-pregnancy, I couldn’t fit into most of my old skirts (wider hips) and some of my old shirts (larger, lower bust).

When your body is fluctuating up and down, back and forth, so you don’t even know what size you are or what will fit right anymore, it is practical – and yes, comfortable/comforting – not to have to buy new clothes with every five pounds gained or lost.

But I must say that I do aesthetically find a lot of the very loose styles sloppy, and surprisingly, many of them don’t look good on anyone that isn’t rail-thin – too much fabric.

June 9, 2008 at 7:54 am

Joy

I agree that tight clothing helps me keep the weight off by eating less. I do best when I wear tight undergarments. I started because I had ab flab to contain under fitted clothing. I was afraid wearing tight garments would make my muscles lazy, but the opposite proved true and I actually lost inches in that area.

June 9, 2008 at 8:03 am

Joelle

I agree that what you choose to wear can affect how quickly you notice changes in your weight and therefore your habits. I gained a lot of weight when I was in graduate school because I was extremely busy. I worked during the day, went to class in the evening, and spent lots of time on schoolwork late into the night. Because of that schedule I began to favor knit tops and long stretch skirts or pants. They were easy to wash, no ironing involved, and didn’t look disheveled even at the end of the day. I also began to favor fast food because it was so convenient—just pick something up at the drive through window and eat it on the train on the way to school. At the end of 5 years of this I found I had gained 50 lbs! I knew I had gained some weight but had no idea it was that much. I thought it was more on the order of 10-15 lbs. Anyway, I’ve lost half of it and am still struggling with the rest. If I had worn more fitted garments, or at least ones without stretch, I might not have gained as much because I wouldn’t have been so oblivious to what I was doing to myself.

June 9, 2008 at 8:06 am

Patricia

Oh absolutely! I always purchase clothing that fit snug to my body but no tight (no sausage look for me ). In fact, this weekend I was at the Gap and I was stunned to see so many loose fitting tops. ICK! Why on earth would I want to buy tops that make me look as if I had a gut or pregnant. Out of the 15 tops I tried on, I took only one style t-shirt in multiple colors that I could definitely wear alone or as a layering piece. The voluminous skirts they had I totally stayed away from…sorry but I will only buy clothes that help me look thin…

June 9, 2008 at 8:15 am

Laurel

(website)

A friend once told me that “stretchy jeans” were the culprit in her weight gain. She didn’t realize she was gaining weight because her jeans still fit – but it turned out her jeans were growing along with her.

June 9, 2008 at 8:34 am

Ana

Hmm….I think there’s probably some truth to this, in that if we wear body conscious silhouettes, we tend to be more aware of our body and what is happening to it. However, I do kind of think that if you’re wearing the voluminous trend correctly, there’s got to be some element of it that is tailored and fitted, or else it just looks like you’re wearing a moomoo. So, either the shoulder and bust are more fitted and the waistline is voluminous, or the entire blouse is loose and airy, but in that case I think it looks best with a waist cinching belt or something to add some structure to it–skinny jeans, a blazer, etc. This should help keep you aware of your size as well.

June 9, 2008 at 8:34 am

Renee

That is kind of a slippery slope with me being a recovering anorexic. I always have to beware of being triggered by tight things. Sometimes if I run into an outfit that I wore during my anorexic days and try it on to see if it fits and it doesn’t, it can be emotionally traumatic and make me tempted to stop eating again.

I’d say if you’re not prone to anorexia, this is fine. However, if you have ever struggled with an eating disorder, this can be a very dangerous way to look at fashion.

June 9, 2008 at 9:28 am

Fascinating topic and very timely for me… I’m currently studying nutrition with an emphasis on weight loss/management. I also gave birth to my third child 5 months ago and am facing some short-term issues in my wardrobe. I’m very close to my pre-pregnancy weight, but given that I’m nursing, I know my body won’t really return to pre-preg shape until I wean, which won’t be for 7 months or so. I’ve been shopping for some new clothes to help me feel “good” in this temporary state but I haven’t had a whole lot of luck. Last year at this time shopping was a cinch! I was pregnant and I could buy tons of tops in regular stores simply because of the fashion. I no longer want to look as though I am pregnant, or trying to hide a belly, but I’m having a very hard time finding the right tops. I’m grateful that this won’t last forever and I will one day have my body back.

But back to the issue – I’m more inclined to think that retail and fashion have only responded to a trend of increasing weight in North America – not the other way around. More than 60% of North Americans are over weight or obese. If you want a market, you’re going to have work with what you have.

It is laughable to think that fashion could ever “make” someone gain weight. However we can use fashion to cope with, detract from, or diguise, our feelings about ourselves. I may be naive, but I still believe that WE influence fashion – not the other way around.

That’s my two Canadian cents! :o) pc

June 9, 2008 at 9:32 am

NancyF

(website)

In his 2003 book “Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World,” author Greg Critser includes stretch fabrics, “easy-fit” clothing, and size inflation (a size 10 in 1990 is a size 6 today) among the primary culprits in the obesity epidemic. Here’s a review of the book by NY Times health columnist Jane Brody: http://tinyurl.com/663u43

June 9, 2008 at 9:59 am

Margie

I think the association goes the opposite way. It seems to me that many women (even skinny women) are getting more ‘belly fat’ that seems to be associated w/ higher sugar diets (ie. American diets!). I think that the trends for looser fits has been a response to a need for them. Trends that are very forgiving like peasant tops, baby doll tops, smocks and tunics are popular among those trying to cover up those bellies. I suppose this could in turn make women less likely to care about forgoing that morning scone.

June 9, 2008 at 10:46 am

Julia

I believe that there is a relationship between loose cloth and weight gain. In Winter we tend to gain weight, not only because of the holiday binges but also the thick clothes that can cover us up. When Summer comes, we get paranoid of showing the bulges in swim suit or sun dresses so we start to lose weight.

So if the voluminous fashion is going on longer, we could see more people who will only dress in them and never want go back to fitted ensembles, and it will cause the retail to produce more voluminous clothes…

Personally I would only adopt this trend on sleeves and nowhere else.

June 9, 2008 at 10:53 am

Judy

Wow, I guess Francesca doesn’t own any skinny jeans!

I can relate to what you are all saying here, and Shiny, yes, as I’ve invested in that better denim, it does help me to commit to maintaining a stable weight. I’ve discovered at menopause that my diet really has to be impeccable and now I don’t have a problem with the fifteen pound gain I once had. But I see women my age get discouraged with the weight gain as I once was…and then give up and start buying those elastic waist gathered pants that just end up making you feel dumpy…uh oh! And so I see the point the article is making…there’s nothing in your wardrobe “not stretchy” to give you a reality check!

Americans unfortunately eat large amounts of high fructose corn syrup (corn being subsidized by the government, isn’t it?) in many items and which I think is illegal in Europe?…it amounts to drinking liquid starch and packs on tremendous weight, in addition to those ridiculous portion sizes in restaurants.

Great subject, Angie…your blog continues to be favorite place for me to visit every morning!

June 9, 2008 at 10:59 am

Maya

You know, I don’t find that volume or baggy clothes really conceals your weight.

-if you’re wearing volume correctly, it means that it’s tailored somewhere. My H&M shirt is very fitted at the shoulders and then gradually floats away, but you can still get an idea of my size from the fit of the shoulders, and also my arms since it has a 3/4 sleeve. It’s not as though I look big or wide, and likewise a larger person will not look small.

-Also, if you’re wearing volume correctly, you’ll only wear one voluminous piece at at a time, as Angie has mentioned before. So I guess if you gain weight on your top half, you can wear a billowy shirt and tailored pants, or wide leg pants and a fitted top if you gain weight on the bottom, but again…they both have to fit somewhere.

-It’s easy to tell when someone wears baggy clothes out of self-consciousness because they tend to wear them everywhere.

-It also depends a lot on your face/neck, I would imagine.

I think volume will assuredly conceal lumps and bumps that we all have, regardless of size, but it won’t make you look bigger or smaller if worn correctly. Some weight fluctuation is normal, and that can probably be hidden by a voluminous garment, but if it’s really unusual or extreme, I think it would be more noticeable.

June 9, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Jennifer

Absolutely a connection. When waists went lower (instead of at the waist), I didn’t notice my waist getting thicker and thicker… the clothes still fit in the hips but the tight waistband wasn’t an issue any more.

Sit-ups are my solution. And, I hope waistbands at the waist won’t be coming back any time soon.

June 9, 2008 at 2:22 pm

Sal

(website)

Wow, lots of great comments on this thought-provoking topic! I agree with Shannon that to put actual blame on “fashion” for weight gain is preposterous. Even if you’ve put on a few pounds that were well-masked by the latest trends, it is YOU who gained that weight. The industry can’t be held accountable.

I also second Maya’s point that volume, worn correctly, is balanced. If your entire outfit is curve-concealing, you’re doin’ it wrong.

Finally, I don’t personally indulge in trends that don’t flatter my slightly finicky figure, so the volume trend never touched me. I look like a linebacker in anything that’s not tailored. But I certainly gain weight in winter, and find that when warm weather forces me to show some upper arm, I am quickly motivated to work it off. I know it’s a separate issue – seasonality versus trends – but just thought I’d mention …

June 9, 2008 at 2:48 pm

Maya

I also agree with Shannon. First fashion is blamed for making girls too thin and now it’s blamed for making them too fat!

June 9, 2008 at 3:24 pm

jen

I have 3 young children. I carried my last 2 babies all out front. I’m a small person who was stretched to the limit and is left with a hernia and a perma baby bump (especially after having an almost 10 pound baby for my third). Therefore the current fashions really have helped me a whole lot in not feeling too self conscious. The truth is, no matter I have started working out with a trainer and play tennis several times a week. No matter that I have watched what I eat and eat popsicles for desert rather than ice cream. Nothing is going to cure that baby bulge I have except surgery. For now, I’ll take the styles as they are and hope they last awhile. My legs and arms and face still look great, there’s just the big bulge in my mid-section which is very depressing (it’s actually hard like a baby bump).

June 9, 2008 at 9:20 pm

Wendy

(website)

This was an interesting post, Angie! I confess, I was irked by Francesca Gavin’s article.

I think I like fashion as much or more than the average woman, but I care more about living a healthy active lifestyle than I do whether I am a few pounds up or down. If my weight fluctuates by more than 5 pounds it is because of what I am choosing to eat and the duration and quality of exercise I am doing. If I were to blame fashion, I think I would be absolving myself of personal responsibility.

At almost 50 my body isn’t the same as it was in my younger years, and there are parts of it I like to camoflauge a bit, but I am certainly as fit as I was in my twenties, and that pleases me a great deal.

June 10, 2008 at 8:22 am

Eva

I don’t think fashion by itself makes you fat or skinny, but tighter clothes may make you think more about it. (Or may make you suck your tummy in!) Does tighter clothes make you eat less and exercise more? If it does then I guess it works for you. I know I am more excited about working out when I have new fun workout gear. But that doesn’t hold true for me with other clothes. I just lament my weight gain more. For me weight is more about fitness and health than fashion. Although looking good in my clothes is a bonus!

June 11, 2008 at 6:26 am

Carrie

I totally agree with Francesca. I’m an occupational therapist and I worked in a hospital for a year. Our dress code was scrubs and I blame them for my weight gain that year. Now that I’m back in business casual I’ve lost the weight!

June 12, 2008 at 3:33 am

Glamouricious

(website)

wow, what a great observation. ok to be honest i was thinking this recently but never thought anyone else could relate. now that floaty tops and loose fitting stuff is in, i definatly feel i can “camouflage” any place i’m not liking. even with skirt and the t-bag dresses.
say you have a small pooch like me/ a bit of belly- you can cover it so easily and it doesn’t bother you or even show.

but in the day time i find it a bother to cover since i dont really wear much floaty stuff. i wear rather form fitting stuff or stuff which does show my bod, so yea.. thats the whole reason why i even care to lose the weight. lol, i’m embarrassed to admit fashion is my motive too..

June 14, 2008 at 7:05 pm

virginia

(website)

i felt so good today, i bought a pair of jeans with flowers when my daughter was 15, she is 25 today, i had them in the back of the closet, they are back, i said to myself they wont fit, and to my surprise they did!!!!!!!, i put on a t shirt and felt good, i like loose clothes, but i dont let myself go, i just watch what i eat, when i feel i gained weight, just cut back on food, so fashion trends, are not an influence to gaining weight.

March 1, 2012 at 3:34 pm

Mamavalveeta03

Veteran

While I would never blame my clothing for my weight gain, (I can thank inactivity and desserts for that!) I do think wearing oversized, flowing tops ALLOWS me to convince myself that I haven’t changed a bit and that there is no need to make changes to my lifestyle. It’s easy to do that when a top in a size L could easily fit an XL. There’s sort of a “lack of definition” per se, to items like that flow.

January 10, 2013 at 8:59 pm

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