https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Mon, 18 May 2026 19:02:39 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702560 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 08:48:33 +0000 rachylou 1702560@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ok, now that's just fascinating. It may not all be in my head! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702364 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:56:29 +0000 Aziraphale 1702364@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rachylou, I'm not sure that it's an optical illusion -- people get smaller near the coast here, too, at least between the prairies and the West coast. I've been told so by sales assistants in chain stores that are found across the country. The stock more small sizes in Vancouver than they do in Edmonton or Winnipeg. I'm pretty sure part of that must be population distribution, though. We've got a lot of Asian immigrants in Vancouver, and even their Canadian kids who were born here tend to be more delicately built than many white people.&nbsp;</p> <p>Diana, what you say about cultural expectations is probably true. I asked my French sister-in-law, who was recently visiting, about the stereotype of the chic Parisian woman. She said that yes, it's a stereotype and she doesn't necessarily view Parisian women as universally stylish, but she did say that it's true that French women care more about how clothes <i>look</i> than how comfortable they are. She also said that French women pay a lot of attention to their waistlines. Being overweight is not as acceptable there.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702360 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:48:44 +0000 Alexandra 1702360@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not racist. But also no need to be offended, I think. I figure if a store doesn't carry my size, then I'm not their target customer. It's no biggie. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702348 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:23:10 +0000 rachylou 1702348@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm often sized out of European shoes too. It's so sad being a giganto American big foot heff. Haha! </p> <p>On a strange tangent... I feel people are larger inland and get smaller as you near the coast here in the SF Bay Area... Maybe this is an optical illusion. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702337 Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:09:39 +0000 Anonymous 1702337@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sizing needs to at least match the size charts, in my humble opinion. Otherwise, why have them? We have to have something to go by when ordering online and not able to try anything on. I don't think the stores care how many returns they get. I'm lucky that most off-the-rack clothing fits me if I stick to brands that get me. When I lose or gain weight, it goes off/on proportionately. My body type stays the same--just smaller or larger. I still encounter fit problems from time to time, though, so it happens even to those of us who "fit the mold." </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702200 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 21:19:38 +0000 Jules 1702200@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't think it really works for brands to cut clothes from one pattern, based on one fit model, and extend that to a wide range of sizing. So most brands will have a sweet spot they are working from and won't work for everyone. That said, at my boderline size I'd love to see more brands doing 8-20 for example. Then I could be "the perfect size 14" and have fit options in both directions!</p> <p>It's always disappointing to be sized out of an interesting brand, like I seem to be with Soia &amp; Kyo, sigh. Hard not to take it personally when clothes we love don't love us back. I'm still pissed at 90s Club Monaco, they were never into me at all.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702162 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 20:28:07 +0000 rachylou 1702162@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ok, Una. That's hilarious. All of it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702150 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 20:16:31 +0000 Diana 1702150@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ditto what Rachy said.&nbsp; I hate shopping for clothing in Asia because I am a gigantic cow there. ;)&nbsp; And yes some of it is genetics and diet but some of it is also certain cultural expectations in those countries.&nbsp; I could go on and on about this but I will restrain myself.&nbsp; Let's just say that size-ism does indeed play a role here although it's not you who is the problem here....</p> <p>But yes, it's clear that the US is not the target market here.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702028 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 17:19:59 +0000 Ledonna N. 1702028@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Awe, Not racist as some have said.&nbsp; The brand caters to a specific market.&nbsp; I know of people who have been burned ordering things from other countries because of this.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1702005 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 16:57:58 +0000 catgirl 1702005@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My male relatives&nbsp;were more than a little outraged over an article about condom manufacturers having to make smaller condoms for the Asian market.&nbsp; Everything is relative.&nbsp; :)</p> <p>But I digress. In India, I am a really standard size and height - it's easy for me to find readymade items.&nbsp; My friend who travelled with me was offended when they referred to her as "jumbo size" -I had to explain it's just the Indian version of "plus".&nbsp;&nbsp; And when we got items tailored for our wedding, the only way I could convince the tailors that my DH's best friend was 6'6" was by referring them&nbsp;to Michael Jordan.&nbsp; They could not believe a real person could have his measurements.&nbsp; </p> <p>Now, eShakti and the like have caught on to the need for all sizes to have options, and their model is pretty brilliant IMHO.&nbsp; No two bodies are exactly alike! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701917 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 14:48:43 +0000 Marilyn 1701917@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I echo the comments of some others in saying that small women need somewhere to shop.&nbsp; I'm currently in 00 pants and I tell you it's hard. I need to either buy petites (limited availability), shop at stores that run small (like Club Monaco) or stores that offer small sizes like J Crew. &nbsp; And no, I'm not super scrawny.&nbsp; I'm petite and I'm fit.&nbsp; </p> <p>In high school I was a size 5/6 and I weighed less than I do now.&nbsp; So, it's ridiculous that at almost 53 I'm in a 00.&nbsp; It's nothing more than vanity sizing to make Americans feel better and the result is smaller women are sized out.&nbsp; European sizing and even Canadian brands run smaller than American brands.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701870 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 13:17:51 +0000 Anonymous 1701870@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't think you're being racist at all. You are simply recognizing the size differences of people of different countries and diets. I do, however, wish that sizing could at least be consistent within brands. Is that too much to ask? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701813 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 10:58:44 +0000 kkards 1701813@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>allow me to rant for a minute….as this is one of my&nbsp;pet peeves…Small, Medium, Large are relative terms….something is small only if it is compared to something else, it is not an actually size….it drives me crazy that fast food places sell medium soft drinks, but no small….thus the medium is really the small!&nbsp;<br />ok sorry, rant over….it think this is just a case of a non American company taking the definition of small, medium, large&nbsp;at face value, instead of how we Americans have come to think of them…. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701801 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 09:59:48 +0000 Sally 1701801@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Funny.. I went into a shop in auckland the other day. This particular group of shops caters for Asians.. like foreign students etc...I asked what sizes it went up to and she said a 10. A new Zealand 10 is equivalent to a US 6 I think.<br /> On the other hand when I was a few sizes bigger than I am now, I used to shop in a plus size shop and I was an xs. I couldnt shop there now. You just have to know where to look. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701599 Mon, 25 Jul 2016 01:14:30 +0000 Suz 1701599@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not racist...but I agree with the others. Smaller women need clothes that fit them, too! There are many, many options for women in the mid-range within North America, but not so many for those who are positioned at either end.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701466 Sun, 24 Jul 2016 21:09:37 +0000 rachylou 1701466@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well, not racist. Maybe country-ist, lol. Because I'm Asian but American, and apparently I'm giganto. I went to China thinking I could shop, because everything comes from China, right? No can do. I have apparently eaten too much dairy and am a heffer. Lolol.</p> <p>Altho, have you seen that Amy Shumer video - I think it was Amy - that was linked to here on YLF? About shopping in NYC? I'd never heard of size 0 let alone 00 until going there. The experience is totally available here too. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701460 Sun, 24 Jul 2016 21:00:26 +0000 Traci 1701460@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It's all different spectrums. &nbsp;There are lots of smaller women on this forum that can give a laundry list of brands they are sized out of. &nbsp;While we could argue that the plus sized market is really just getting started with bringing real fashionable clothes in larger sizes, there are lots of lines made for 14+. </p> <p>I try not to take it personally that there are brands that don't fit me. &nbsp;We are all so unique in our sizes and builds, there can be no *one brand fits all* brand. &nbsp;The fact that different brands use different body types, sizing schemes and fit models means we all possibly get a chance at finding clothes that are geared towards our body type. If everyone designed to the average, hardly anyone would be able to buy well fitting clothes off the rack.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701455 Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:47:37 +0000 Aziraphale 1701455@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What does COS mean? :-)</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701454 Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:45:55 +0000 old chic 1701454@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Azitaphale, I agree with you on all counts.But I've yet to find a site that considers the bigger woman the norm.Maybe COS? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701453 Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:43:10 +0000 Aziraphale 1701453@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Well, somebody has to make clothes for the tiny women! :-)</p> <p>All joking aside, I wouldn't be offended. Not only is sizing incredibly inconsistent between different brands, but people vary widely in size and shape across the globe. It's a plain old fact that Americans are big, on average, compared to a lot of the rest of the world, and American sizing reflects that. Danes are tall (<i>average</i> height for a man is over 6'!), while many Koreans tend to be small-boned and short, and I have no doubt Danish and Korean clothing brands reflect the average sizes within their own populations. It is what it is. The brand you posted above happens to cater to small women, and I am sure many of them are delighted that they can find beautiful clothes in their size! (My sister in law, who is about 5'4" and very slender, was recently commenting on how hard it is to find clothes in Montreal, where the average woman is much taller and of heavier build than she is. Maybe I'll point her in the direction of this website!). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/am-i-being-racist#post-1701442 Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:25:50 +0000 old chic 1701442@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This site has some great-looking clothes: <a href="http://www.dezzal.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.dezzal.com/</a></p> <p>But their idea of a size 2XL is equivalent to American size 10. This is definitely sized for tiny Asian women, but it is being marketed here in the USA, where the <i>average</i> size is American 12. I am feeling a little offended. Is that racist? Or sizist? Or what?</p>