https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:37:07 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1673025 Sat, 04 Jun 2016 11:18:05 +0000 Style Fan 1673025@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is one of the reasons I find it so difficult to shop online.&nbsp; Unless I have bought the brand before (and even then that is not a sure thing) I am always debating what size to order.&nbsp; It is so much easier to go to a B &amp; M store. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672888 Sat, 04 Jun 2016 02:05:28 +0000 Echo 1672888@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I agree with Angie. If anything, I see that size numbers are now fitting larger than they used to. Of course, with some retailers, they always have. I remember when I was in my early 20's and consistently wearing a size 4 to 6 and Banana Republic's size 2 shorts were enormous. But because the vast majority of American women are now larger than they used to be, number sizes are fitting larger, too. That makes it next to impossible for a true size 2 to find clothing that isn't too big.</p> <p>But like Aliona stated, clothing numbers run quite differently in other countries, too. It is absolutely possible that some things intended for overseas markets end up here, with what we consider wonky sizing.</p> <p>But I find the same thing as Ledonna, except I don't thrift. At places like Marshall's or TJ Maxx, there are often things left because what is marked as a size small fits like a large. I go by eye more than number size in places like that because that is likely part of the reason some of those items ended up there in the first place.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672856 Sat, 04 Jun 2016 00:41:40 +0000 Suz 1672856@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Interesting point and I think Jules has raised a very valid point as well.&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672829 Sat, 04 Jun 2016 00:11:31 +0000 Angie 1672829@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Aliona, I thought the SAME thing, actually.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672828 Sat, 04 Jun 2016 00:10:31 +0000 Anonymous 1672828@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I wonder if the size 10 shorts were destined for another country and mistakenly ended up in the US market--a quality control issue as Angie and others say. A UK size 10 is equivalent to a US 4. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672768 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 23:03:28 +0000 annagybe 1672768@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It probably is a quality control issue in this case. Or as I morbidly say at work when I find a scrub part that doesn't fit, some factory worker in Central America didn't get their daily bowl of gruel.&nbsp;<br />Currently I'm pretty much sized out of anything I like, ie the entire 2nd floor of the downtown Nordies, all of Zara. But eh, I'm saving money.</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672632 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 20:47:51 +0000 shedev 1672632@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I compared my&nbsp;last years 8 AEO skinnies with this years 6 ( they didn't have 8s in the store) The 8s were slightly bigger in the waist, same in the hips. Shorts seem to be sized smaller to me in general, but these seem to be mismarked. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672613 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 20:33:39 +0000 RoseandJoan 1672613@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think part of the issue is the expansion of national brands to an international model.</p> <p>J Crew changed all of their sizes upon entering the Asian market to avoid creating negative numbers.</p> <p>I imagine many brands have made the same choice for the Internet era.</p> <p>Personally I have no issue with the number on the label providing the size guide is accurate. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed/page/2#post-1672574 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 20:07:08 +0000 always trying 1672574@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>There is going to eventually have to be more consistency in sizing if the current trend to more on line and less in store shopping continues.&nbsp; If not returning will get to be a nightmare for on line retailers.&nbsp; Only Fed X and UPS will be making the bigger profits. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672521 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 19:22:48 +0000 Suz 1672521@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Becky,</b> I think sometimes it's just that the fit model is wrong for your particular shape. This is why it pays to do a huge amount of reconnaissance in brick and mortar stores. I tend to go on missions when I'm in a large city, not necessarily to buy anything, but simply to <b>try on </b>a specific company's or designer's clothes. Even if they don't have my correct size in the store (and this is typical), I try the thing I think is going to be closest to my size. From this I get a sense of whether the overall fit model is suited to my body. I still may not know my exact size for a specific item, but looking at the size chart and reading reviews gives me more information to consider before I order online. I look for reviews by people who claim to have a body type similar to my own. </p> <p>I also consider the item in light of Angie's recommendations for body type. For instance, a lot of reviewers will say things like "Really tight in the bust, terrible!!!!" but that probably means it will actually <b>fit</b> me. &nbsp;</p> <p>On the other hand, if I'm looking for a fluid fit tee or knit top, I skim past complaints that an item is "too oversized." What I find is that especially in a time when silhouettes are transitioning, some reviewers won't be as up to date on trends as most readers of this blog. So they may be looking for a very fitted look when fluid is trending (or the reverse). I try to weigh that in my decisions. I love reviewers who provide a lot of detail about their body size and shape and their fit preferences and now when I review an item I tend to include that info. for others.&nbsp;</p> <p>Naturally, I still have a lot of misses, but I get a surprising number of hits this way. I have even successfully purchased bras using this method. It does involve a fair bit of research.&nbsp;</p> <p>I think <b>Angie's</b> probably right about those AE shorts. A big quality control boo boo. Their loss....</p> <p>I agree with <b>Angie </b>that on the whole sizes have crept up rather than gone down. Even designer jeans seem bigger this year than last. (I know they got smaller there for a year or so...but that seems to have reverted.)&nbsp;</p> <p>I've struggled to find tops this year that are not too wide in the body -- and that is even with all my careful reading of reviews.&nbsp;</p> <p>In the 90s I wore a dress size at least 3 sizes bigger than my current size. I am in fact a bit slimmer than I was then, but maybe by one size. In designer clothes, I take a larger size than in most regular American clothes.&nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672505 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 19:11:10 +0000 Anonymous 1672505@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I feel your frustration. I'm just saying that you can't even count on your size between one brand and the next, and sometimes sizes can vary in the same brand. Sizing is most definitely not what it was many moons ago. I've been a size 6 for all of my adult life, but I don't weigh 100 lbs. anymore and I have a tummy from having 4 children - not even the same body type. I do find that charts are helpful most of the time. Another thing I do is call the retailer and ask for the actual garment measurements if they are not provided online. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672486 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:42:28 +0000 cobaltblue 1672486@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I share Suz's feeling - online shopping is where this really bothers me. Size charts don't help, either. Just about every time I have followed a size chart according to my measurements, the item I've ordered turns out too big. I've wondered if it that problem is due to a difference in how one carries weight (side to side vs. front to back, for instance). Or maybe the charts are just unhelpful! The result is that I put many things into online shopping carts and then abandon them as not worth the bother of returns. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672484 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:33:48 +0000 catgirl 1672484@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>BC, I do care, not really because of the vanity issue - I understand that - but because I live where there aren't many retail stores and have to order so much online. As a thrifter and a 50 year old, I know a vintage size 10 is today's 4 or 6. But is it too much to ask that sizes not change within a company in the same year? That's my frustration, as well as the sizing out on either end of the sizing range. Suz and others have expressed it well! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672479 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:28:39 +0000 Angie 1672479@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm sure there's a retail reason for this, Rachy.&nbsp;</p> <p>Elisabeth, YES. I remember buying a dress on our honeymoon in the US 20 years ago, and it was a US4. It's <b>the same size</b> as my size US0 dresses, and some XXS dresses.&nbsp; </p> <p></p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672476 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:24:05 +0000 Aziraphale 1672476@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I agree with Angie. I've noticed that although my body size has stayed relatively steady since I recovered from my second pregnancy 8 years ago (or if anything, crept upwards a bit!), my clothing size has gone down. Vanity sizing, I guess.</p> <p>This is only a problem when you're ordering online, because if you're in the store, you sort of eyeball it, right? You grab the size you think will fit, take it to the dressing room, and try it on. If it's too big or small, the SA gets you a different size.&nbsp;</p> <p>Una, please don't let this cause you one second of angst. A number is just a number. And sooner or later, as recovery from surgery proceeds, you'll be fully deflated in the belly area and you are going to be very happy with how your clothes look -- I promise! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672469 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:18:11 +0000 rachylou 1672469@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That makes way more sense, Angie. I'll bet that's it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672467 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:16:11 +0000 Angie 1672467@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A difference of three sizes over two years is just BAD quality. </p> <p>As an ex- fashion buyer, I bet that shorts order was a quality control issue - but because AE needed the stock, they let it go through. And now, they will pay the price.&nbsp;</p> <p>Actually, the more general trend is that sizes in the US have <b>increased &nbsp;</b>over the last 20 years. What used to be a size US 4 two decades ago, is now a size US 0 or even 00. This becomes VERY apparent when you thrift for old clothing.&nbsp;</p> <p>Designer wear sizes are smaller, and actually more in keeping with how sizes used to run a few decades ago.&nbsp;</p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672455 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 18:05:58 +0000 rachylou 1672455@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Who would make such a giant change in a couple of years? Won't they lose business due to customer confusion?</p> <p>I have found tho that my size has been the same in most of the stores I frequent for the past 5 years...although, you know, I've been sizing up in tops because in my mind, I want a looser fit...I'm talking like Target and Ross here. H&amp;M, for example, has always been crazy. And in boutiques, I let the girl pull sizes for me.</p> <p>But there's another one...in the boutiques, they keep putting me in smaller and smaller sizes! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672439 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 17:54:39 +0000 Anonymous 1672439@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>To me this is all rather silly. I know I'm not the same size I was in high school, or even the same size I was last year. Also, I have lost a tiny bit of weight, and my size 4 jeans now slide down while my size 6 and size 8 pants fit. Who cares? Go with what fits, not by the size on the label. Size varies by brand anyway, so I always look at the size chart when ordering clothing. Most of the time, what I order fits. Not always, and it's frustrating, but the size chart is usually accurate.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672384 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 16:42:25 +0000 Janet 1672384@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>AviaMariah, yes! I had that problem when considering ordering dresses to try on for my stepson's wedding. It was bad enough in the stores, but since so much more is available online, I considered some online options. However, I really balked at ordering three sizes of a dress -- particularly daunting when there are multiple dresses you want to try, at $200 or more apiece! Even though the bill would get credited when the wrong sizes are returned, that's still a huge chunk to put on a credit card!&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672360 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 16:08:19 +0000 AviaMariah 1672360@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm with Suz in that this makes online shopping even more frustrating. &nbsp;This is one reason I tend to shop with stores/brands that I've found to be more consistent. &nbsp;I have a hard enough time ordering two sizes to try on; there's no way I'm going to order 5 or 6 sizes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672356 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 16:02:49 +0000 Gail 1672356@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have seen size shrinkage too. I used to buy size 2 or 4 jeans from the LOFT. I tried to buy white crops this year and the size 6 were too tight on my thighs! I have pretty skinny legs and that seems crazy. I was always a small in other items but am finding that armholes are too small and so the item is uncomfortable, yet mediums don't fit as the body is usually too large.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672341 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 15:34:29 +0000 Janet 1672341@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, Diana! Premium denim and designer lines are where I'm seeing this most. Hence my frustration at possibly being sized out at my "whopping" size. It's demoralizing and makes me feel judged as "too fat" by the designers.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672336 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 15:23:03 +0000 Diana 1672336@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've definitely seen size shrinkage in premium denim and possibly designer lines recently.&nbsp; I did also find recently that all the jeans at the Gap seem to be cut too slim for me in my regular size now... including the GF jeans which I own from last year and which still fit fine (in fact that pair is looser than it was last year). &nbsp; </p> <p>I have been buying more things from J Crew lately, which I'm afraid to admit is a bit of a hit to my ego because I CONSISTENTLY have to size up in their bottoms (but in the size up they have been fitting great).&nbsp; I have to keep reminding myself it's not me, it's them...&nbsp; but I don't think this is a size shrinkage thing, they have always run small for me.&nbsp; I do think their tops are super inconsistent when it comes to sizing though.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672320 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:58:00 +0000 Anonymous 1672320@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>*deleted*</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672284 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:24:56 +0000 texstyle 1672284@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think I'm with suz on this one <br /><i>"For me it does not provoke body dysmorphia so much as shopping<br /> frustration, especially since I'm more or less restricted to online<br /> shopping and don't want to pay for returns."</i></p> <p>But I happen to buy shorts and jeans from AE and I have not found this to be true at all. I bought size 10 or size 8 over the last few years and I still buy those two same sizes this year - I see no change.</p> <p>I also buy pretty regularly from J.Crew, Madewell, Gap, Current Elliott, AG, Splendid and others and though sometimes there is a slight difference, I have not been seeing a huge size differences in most of the things I buy.</p> <p>Now, the Loft - yes, their shorts/pants seem to be huge on me and I almost always have to size down to a 6 it seems. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672282 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:23:27 +0000 El Cee 1672282@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Interesting article. I can't say that, overall, I have had the same experience. I am a cusp size - 14/16/18 (Misses - Tall) depending on cut and brand. Within a brand, I find that my size has not varied - e.g. I have consistently been a size 16 in Kut from the cloth jeans, an 18 in American Eagle jeans, a 16/18 in Eddie Bauer jeans (depending on cut), and a 14/16 in Old Navy jeans (also depending on cut). This has not varied at all year to year. I know what size to order within a specific brand and I have had very few returns. Perhaps sizing is more consistent with the larger Misses sizes.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672276 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:20:38 +0000 Jaime 1672276@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Makes no sense, but neither did size inflation. Sorting and thrifting has cured me of any belief in sizes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672260 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:07:34 +0000 JAileen 1672260@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is the opposite story, I think:</p> <p>It was the late 90s, and I remember finding a pair of my old pants in the spare room closet. They were Liz Claiborne, size 8. I was excited because I wore size 8! The pants were from the 80s. I tried them on. They were one or two sizes too small. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/interesting-article-on-how-sizing-has-changed#post-1672249 Fri, 03 Jun 2016 13:43:55 +0000 unfrumped 1672249@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I agree; some variety is excellent because people aren't all the same <u>shape&nbsp; </u>and so the "size" in terms of measurments can never be fully consistent (no perfect proportions). And some variation within a brand is also good or else likely that brand could never fit different shapes.<br />AT I had thought was pretty consistent but I have moved down one to 2 sizes &nbsp;in jackets (now a 0 ) while at the same time, a lot of knit tops I prefer a size L !<br />I don't care a fig about the labels, but as noted, it makes Internet almost impossible--ordering 3 sizes just to find the right size and then paying return cost. Whereas in the store, I'll just load up the dressing room and it's no problem </p>