https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 30 May 2026 11:09:06 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-688205 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:01:30 +0000 ironkurtin 688205@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh numbers schmumbers, I've stopped even looking at sizing numbers as a gauge of real sizing and more of a secret language to decode. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-688088 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:47:40 +0000 catgirl 688088@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I was easily a size 10 as a teen back in the early 80s, and I was about the same size as I am now! So confusing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-688073 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:33:51 +0000 JR 688073@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am so glad to get some objective facts on this. It certainly corresponds to my experience: I am wearing smaller sizes now than I did when I got married, and I weighed 15 pounds less then. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-688030 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:49:54 +0000 Mo 688030@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm happiest with actual measurements of the garment. That's part of why I really like to eBay shop, besides finding unique and different pieces. I can find the pant with the 31.5" waist band and 8.5" rise and be thrilled when it arrives and FITS. I don't care if it's an 8 or a 4 or whatever. Doesn't matter what my waist measurement is, or that I have a high waist and so it may be 'off' according to charts anyway. These pants will never see my natural waist lol. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687916 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:29:45 +0000 Gaylene 687916@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Dissatisfaction with irregular sizing is a common topic on the forum. And, although it makes online shopping difficult, I'm so grateful that not every manufacturer cuts garments using one standardized model. If that happened, with my IT shape, I'd be forced to walk around in a plastic bag because my body shape has almost no indentation in the waist and my hip measurement is the smaller than my bust. The IT shape is never represented on any of the sizing charts I've seen.</p> <p>European garments are often difficult for me to fit because they are cut for a much curvier shape. If the top fits, the bottom is huge. I do buy European designers, but I always need to try on the garment to find the right size and, quite often, need to make some fitting adjustments. On the other hand, I like J Crew because many of their items are cut for a rectangular shape which fits better on my IT body. I can usually purchase a J Crew pant online in my size and wear it without making any adjustments.</p> <p>Compounding the problem is the fact some of us like our clothing to fit closely to our bodies, while others prefer a more slouchy, body skimming fit. So, even if three of us were body doubles with exactly the same body measurements and our weight in the exactly same places, I might like the fit of a size 8 jacket while another person could find the fit too snug, and the third might think it too loose.</p> <p>Given all these variables, my vote is squarely for non-standardized sizing! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687901 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:14:22 +0000 MsMary 687901@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Diana beat me to the punch -- sewing pattern sizes and ready-to-wear clothing sizes are completely different. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687837 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:00:42 +0000 Chippy Mia 687837@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I also dislike vanity sizing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687828 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:54:19 +0000 Diana 687828@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sewing pattern sizing is generally quite a bit smaller than ready to wear. </p> <p>For example, compare:<br /> <a href="http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/misses--misses--petites-pages-340.php">Vogue patterns size chart </a><br /> and<br /> <a href="http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/info.do?cid=35406">Banana republic size chart</a></p> <p>I am an 8 at BR and a 14-16 in the pattern sizing! </p> <p>Knitting patterns, on the other hand, are not very standardized (in terms of Small-Med-Large), but generally include measurements, which I really appreciate! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687823 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:50:12 +0000 Anonymous 687823@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I can wear anything from a size 12-18, some Lg tops are baggy on me, while certain XL's are tiny! My daughters is where I see the biggest discrepancy, they can wear anywhere from a 4-14, and they both have 30" waists and weigh around 125. It is maddening! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687821 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:48:20 +0000 Anonymous 687821@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Coldwater Creek recently changed its sizing. I'm now supposedly a petite size XS, which is stupid. I guess they've succumbed to vanity sizing. LOL! Seriously, this change is rather annoying. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687816 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:44:43 +0000 Aziraphale 687816@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Goldenpig, I agree with you. Why can't they just go by measurements, like they do for men? I've noticed that jeans are sold by waist size, and it's so much easier to figure out the right size. My waist is 27", and I'm usually a 27 in jeans (or a 26 or 25, but only if they're really low rise jeans, in which case your hip measurement is more important, and my hips are probably smaller than the "ideal" woman with a 27" waist). </p> <p>Lord knows what "true" size I am in clothes. I've worn everything from a 10 (Australian swimsuit sizing) to a 0. </p> <p>A month or so ago, I splashed out in my first attempt at ordering online. According to the size chart, I should have been a 4 Petite. When it got there it was miles too big. I phoned jcrew for help, and they gave me the actual measurements of the garment (a silk blouse) and they were wildly different than what was suggested on the size chart. I should have ordered a size 0 Petite. What I want to know is, if I'm a size zero, then what are all the graceful tiny Asian women wearing? I'm pretty small, but I'm by no means the slenderest woman in the lower mainland! </p> <p>Also, it seems absurd to me that we need sizes 00 and 000. Can't they re-set the sizing so it starts at 1? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687802 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:26:51 +0000 goldenpig 687802@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, so according to that I would be a size 12-14 instead of 4-6? I do remember my wedding dress was a size 10 even though I probably wouldn't fit into it now.</p> <p>I wish everything would just be sized in a standard way and based on measurements instead of arbitrary size numbers. My husband can buy jeans and shirts based on waist and inseam and neck size/arm length, why can't women have something similar? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687788 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:13:08 +0000 Suz 687788@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, Lemonade, I believe you are correct. I wear a 0 or 2 (petite) in many American brands but if I buy a European size it would be an 8 UK, a 36 FR, a 38 Italian....(with some variation depending on the manufacturer). I definitely do NOT have a model thin body. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687728 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:15:16 +0000 Irene 687728@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think size numbers have changed a lot, but I get the feeling that that's even truer in the United States. I've seen photos of women here -in their WIW or K/R- that claimed they were a size 0 (and I guess it IS true). However, although slender, they do not fit in MY idea (or the European idea) of a size 0.</p> <p>A size 0 should correspond to a Spanish size 32, which is an extremely slim body -think runaway model legs. Most women in the forums that say they wear a size 0 would be considered a 36-38 in Spain, still slim but not extremely so.</p> <p>(FWIW, I am a size 36-38 (UK 8-10) in Spain, which I guess would be a 4-6 in the States... and it is a pretty slim size here, while I get the feeling that a size 6 woman would be of average size -neither big nor small. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687716 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:49:34 +0000 Anonymous 687716@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I like the downsizing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687555 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:06:03 +0000 Lyn D. 687555@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The size, after all is just a number! In Australia it is equally frustrating- designer pieces are often 'down-sized' to appeal to buyer vanity, so everything really needs to be tried on and assessed on an individual basis. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687528 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 03:11:08 +0000 Gaylene 687528@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A few years back, I was at a museum which hosted a traveling retrospective about Marilyn Monroe's costumes. On display was the white dress that she wore when she sang "Happy Birthday" to JFK and a red dress from Some Like It Hot.</p> <p>Marilyn Monroe was TINY with an incredibly small waist. If she represented a size 14 in the 50s, those of us who wear a size 6 or 8 today would have been wearing a size 24 if we lived back then. I think I'm a bit happier living in this era.... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687432 Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:35:37 +0000 DonnaF 687432@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I've been led astray by size charts, too, even on patterns. I remember in the mid-sixties my home ec sewing teacher would pull the measuring tape quite tight to get measurements that would line up with the correct pattern size. Wouldn't some type of size consistency be nice? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687297 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:27:44 +0000 K. Period. 687297@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I see that a lot in size charts in catalogs too. The stated measurements would have you buying clothes many many times to big. What I can't understand is why they don't update them. Seriously, if I order a 12 or XL as instructed by a size chart and at the end of the day find that an 8 or M fits me, I'm not happy. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687270 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:57:23 +0000 Anonymous 687270@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>When I got married (19 years ago at age 18) my waist was 30", my wedding dress was a size 10, which means I was a true size 4-6 since in bridal you order 4 sizes up. How can a 30" waist now be a size 16? For crying out loud I'd be in a size 22 if that were the case!!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687269 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:56:51 +0000 Anonymous 687269@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Post removed by Shabby Chick </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687268 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:56:10 +0000 Anonymous 687268@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sorry for the double posting - not sure what happened here and I don't know how to delete my post. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687266 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:54:16 +0000 Suz 687266@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I discovered the same thing in looking at old patterns. And it explained why my tiny, Size 2 petite mother keeps insisting she is a 14!! She used to sew her clothes...</p> <p>The worst of it was that she kept BUYING 14s even though they were falling off of her. In the 80s it wasn't so bad -- styles were boxy (and she weighed much more). Now? It's crazy difficult trying to get her into clothes that fit. </p> <p>It's a good reminder that when shopping in vintage stores we need to ignore the stated size. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687260 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:47:27 +0000 Ornella 687260@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for sharing Great pieces of information. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/size-inflation#post-687253 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 20:37:09 +0000 DonnaF 687253@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yesterday, I got my elderly mom to part with a huge bag of sewing patterns since they were going to my friend. This is what she discovered: </p> <p>My first pass through the stack of patterns was very entertaining. A couple of 50's Donna Reed style. 60's Mod. 70's not really disco, but close... The earliest pattern is size 16, bust 34" waist 24". Later, size 14 is bust 34", now size 12 is bust 34" waist 26"(&amp; size 16 is bust 38" waist 30").</p> <p>The whole thing about Marilyn Monroe being a size 12 or 14 means she was fairly slender as can be observed from her photos; she wasn't zaftig at all. </p>