https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sun, 03 May 2026 08:49:22 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424644 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:40:39 +0000 DonnaF 1424644@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It cracks me up that some reviewers give their height and weight and sometimes their bra size -- as though that would tell me everything I need to know about how a garment will fit me!&nbsp; Relative horizontal and vertical proportions tell me a whole lot more, including how slim or generously the item is cut in the sleeves or legs.&nbsp; I find it perplexing when some reviewers say TTS, others say or size up, and still others say to size down.&nbsp; I have also learned to take nordstrom.com's sizing advice with a grain of salt.&nbsp; I suppose some of it has to do with one's preferred ease of a garment, but I also wonder if the reviewer's size distance from the fit model makes any difference.&nbsp; For example, if the fit model is a size 8, I wonder if size 4 and below and size 12 and above will more likely be *off* in weird ways?&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424438 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 17:22:09 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1424438@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Further thought on this - I think a lot of larger women think that if they were a bit skinnier that everything would fit them. I used to think that, even though I know now that it's untrue, having lost a significant amount of weight and then put some of it back on. Now I know that with my body type, at any healthy weight I'm going to have a substantial butt and thighs, and actually losing weight makes it harder to get things to fit proportionally, not easier.</p> <p>And I've also seen here on YLF and with friends that even if you have a slimmer, more rectangular body type that doesn't mean everything will fit you. But I used to assume it would. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424208 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:23:08 +0000 Lyn D. 1424208@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>'Sticks and stones will break my bones- but names will (never) hurt me.'<br />:( </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424202 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 05:11:55 +0000 Aziraphale 1424202@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Gigi, I fully sympathize. The thing about this review that particularly bugged me, though, was that these pants AREN'T just for very thin women. They are for small to average-sized women. The size small fit me with lots of extra room, and I'm not what you'd call&nbsp;extremely thin (although I do have stick-like arms, which I'm not thrilled about) --&nbsp;and neither is the model in the photos. She is lean yet womanly.&nbsp;So the reviewer was basically saying that anyone who isn't borderline plus-sized is a 'stick figure', which is a way of dissing all women who aren't curvy, and is unfair. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424194 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 04:59:05 +0000 Gigi 1424194@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Vent away! I have a lot of digestive issues and as a result struggle to gain weight. I get a lot of comments along the lines of, "If you don't eat, you'll blow away!" Not helpful. Not everyone who is extremely skinny wants to be that way, just as not everyone who is full-figured wants to be that way. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.<br /><b><br /></b>I actually get really excited when the reviews for an item that I like talk about it fitting only sticks, because then I know I have a fighting chance that the garment will work for me. Ha ha. :)<b><br /></b> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424188 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 04:54:04 +0000 Suz 1424188@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha, yeah -- and I have actually seen people complain about stuff like that. "These pants were too long, how can they call them cropped!?!" (when reviewer is 4'8").</p> <p>In a funny way, it reminds me of those recipe reviews where the reviewer says: I didn't have whole wheat flour so I used rye; I don't like sugar so I used apple sauce; I put in chocolate even though the recipe didn't call for it; I used almond extract instead of almonds. </p> <p>And then, inexplicably, adds:&nbsp;&nbsp;This dish is horrible, I don't know why the other reviewers gave it five stars.&nbsp;</p> <p>Hunh??? But you didn't even <b>MAKE</b> the recipe!!!&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424184 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 04:48:38 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1424184@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Word. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424180 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 04:40:01 +0000 Aziraphale 1424180@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for the kind words, guys. I just wanted to vent (although I recognize that&nbsp;I may be a little oversensitive these days...).</p> <p>Janet, your comment reminded me of another one I've heard one too many times: 'Real women have curves'. Aaaargh! That's along the same lines as the old, 'she has/doesn't have a bikini body'. If you have a body, and a bikini to put it in, you have a bikini body. Grrr.</p> <p>Suz, the odd time I leave a review, I always put in a bit of description of my figure, because yes, otherwise the review is meaningless. For example, cropped pants are often not cropped on me -- but that's not a fault of the sizing, of course! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424171 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 03:59:03 +0000 Suz 1424171@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It is also annoying because it is just plain confusing. Typically, these reviewers do not tell you enough about themselves. So, when someone says, "The arms on this top are way too narrow, only stick figured&nbsp;Olive Oyl could fit into it!!!!" how do I know what her own arms look like?&nbsp;If&nbsp;she is&nbsp;a slender framed sloping shoulder pretty pear, that comment means one thing. If she&nbsp;is she a broad shouldered tall IT with a large frame, it means another.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>And when someone says, "These pants are so baggy around the butt that two people could fit into them!!!" -- first, what is her own body type, and second, how does she like her pants to fit? Unless I know both of those details, I don't really know anything useful.&nbsp;</p> <p>Sometimes you can pick up clues from the rest of the review, but half the time you are left feeling both insulted (if the body type slagging has happened) and also really unsure about whether to try the item. </p> <p>When I review I always try to give specifics about my measurements/ shape/ size (whatever seems relevant) and the type of fit I was seeking. That's the only fair thing to do. Calling other people's bodies names is hardly helpful.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424159 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 03:37:01 +0000 Janet 1424159@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hear hear. Real women come in all shapes and sizes. I get frustrated at pants cut too small for my thighs (thunderous, lush, or whatever one wants to call them), but I would never call someone else's slim legs sticks. </p> <p>My mom was sensitive about what someone teased her as her "bird legs" but darn I wish I had inherited those! Why do people insist on insulting other people's bodies? It's awful. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424100 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 02:16:35 +0000 Aziraphale 1424100@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Staysfit, it was not a comment on this forum! It was a product review. People here are generally open-minded and polite. :-)&nbsp;</p> <p>LisaP, I know, it wasn't directed at me personally...but it just bugs me that people feel like it's OK to make derogatory comments about any body type. I mean, I get that it's more culturally acceptable to be either thin or fantastically hourglass-shaped (like Kim Kardashian), but making snarky comments about body type&nbsp;isn't going to get all women on one side! &nbsp;Aaaargh. My reaction when I read comments like this -- and this isn't the first time I've read such a comment&nbsp;-- is, 'those pants fit me great and I'm <i>not</i> a stick, thankyouverymuch. And where do you get off calling me a stick? I don't make disparaging comments about your round bum, even if I wish I had one like it'. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424087 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:59:24 +0000 Anonymous 1424087@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yeah, but you know it has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with her frustration and anger at wanting to fit something she cannot. &nbsp;I've been there - felt it, but try to keep it to myself:) &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424086 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:59:23 +0000 Staysfit 1424086@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So sad that someone would use such insulting wording on our friendly forum. &nbsp;You are so right to post this and alert everyone of the ways words can be hurtful instead of helpful. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424081 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:53:03 +0000 Kari 1424081@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, seriously. Criticize the clothing item/cut, or the fact that it doesn't suit many body types, but don't hate on the body type of the person who wears it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424036 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:39:54 +0000 Caro in Oz 1424036@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Indeed!! :)</p> <p>This is&nbsp;why I don't like the concept of clothing body type rules&nbsp;- it presupposes that "the hourglass", or whatever,&nbsp;is the ideal female shape &amp; we all aspire to look this way. same with the oval face shape. Diversity is much more interesting imo. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dear-anonymous-reviewer-dont-slag-my-body-type#post-1424029 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:23:41 +0000 Aziraphale 1424029@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am about to rant about something that bothers&nbsp;me. Please note that my frustration is not directed at the lovely ladies of this forum, who never use this kind of language.</p> <p>Dear Anonymous reviewer:</p> <p>In your review, you stated that a certain pair of&nbsp;pants are&nbsp;'suitable only for stick figures'. Please don't use that phrase. It is insulting and dismissive (and, in the case of these pants,&nbsp;patently untrue; the woman modelling the pants is svelte yet shapely, and not 'stick-like' at all).&nbsp;I sympathize that you are sized out of this style,&nbsp;and I wish manufacturers would include a wider range of sizes. Many women are sized out at the other end of the spectrum, too.&nbsp;</p> <p>When referring to a thin woman, kinder&nbsp;terms include 'athletic', 'slender', 'slim' and 'boyish', just as 'voluptuous', 'curvy', 'lush' and 'full-figured' are more gentle and&nbsp;flattering than the insulting&nbsp;'fat arse' and 'thunder thighs'. (Nobody ever says <i>that</i> on a review, because it would come off as&nbsp;just plain mean).&nbsp;I am aware that in Western culture,&nbsp;thinness is associated with a certain privilege, but if we want decrease the sexist scrutiny of women's bodies,&nbsp;we must encourage the idea that&nbsp;<i>all</i> body types are acceptable. Beauty can be found in every shape. Using terms like&nbsp;'stick figure' (or 'stick insect', or 'anorexic') do not help to make this idea take root. It just makes the problem worse.</p> <p>sincerely,</p> <p>Small (but not a stick figure) </p>