https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sat, 16 May 2026 06:57:09 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-390218 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:41:20 +0000 Freckles 390218@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks ladies. I don't mind different sizing in different brands but within the same brand grrr.</p> <p>Deborah, yes exactly the same pair of pants and an inch difference, drives me bonkers!</p> <p>Devon, yes the big and tall are a misnomer. Both my Dad and brother were tall and thin and could never find any clothes. They did better in the States than here but that was many years ago.</p> <p>No, I didn't try any size 8's but that is because by the time the fit was better in the 10's I had already decided that there was something about the pair of pants that I didn't like. I contemplated on one pair for a very long time but then had a YLF moment. The thing I was worried about, I would never be happy with and alterations wouldn't fix the see through quality. I also wasn't keen on the fabric. As per Angie's recommendation I was looking for a more elegant trouser. Today I was out at another store looking at white pants and when I got down to the right size the rise was too short. I think perhaps I'm not looking in the right store for my body shape or something like that.</p> <p>That's so true Elizabeth, in a teenage type shop things run a lot smaller. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389933 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:21:19 +0000 devon7 389933@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Some brands even carry 000 now - no lie! I have often wondered the same thing as Mo. I am 5'10" and almost always wear a size Small these days. I used to be a Medium at my same weight. Sometimes I even have to get an XS. I wonder, "What about the women who are 5'2" and really tiny?" </p> <p>I think a lot of women are excited to wear the smaller sizes. I have to admit that I do get a bit of a rush when I have to grab a size 4 instead of my usual 6-8, but I know it's not "real." I mean, if I lost weight and really needed a smaller size, that would be different, but I am not thinner or smaller; the clothes are just bigger! </p> <p>Sizes are strange. I have been trying to find workout pants for my tall and thin husband for MONTHS! Manufacturers all seem to think that tall men are also BIG (you always see "Big and Tall," not just Tall). I ordered him a Large Tall from a big and tall men's store and the pants were HUGE! When I returned them, they said that their Large (their smallest) size is a size larger and more like an XL. Go figure! The search continues... I have the same problem being tall and slim sometimes. Some manufacturers start their Talls at Medium, not Small. I was always a Medium before, but not anymore. The tailor is my friend, and becoming more and more so... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389773 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:42:35 +0000 bran888 389773@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm a fairly petite lady (though there are smaller/slimmer ladies out there), but I don't usually have a problem finding my size. Usually brands that run large also provide 0's and 00's. I have noticed a change in sizing over the last 10 years or so. I think in high school I used to wear a size 2 or 4 and now I'm generally a 0 and I'm about the same weight. </p> <p>What I find tough is the high variance in sizes across brands...it makes it difficult to order a new brand online, and if you are buying in store, you have to try on a few different sizes. They claim to standardize their sizes, but I find those size charts that convert sizes to inches to mean virtually nothing. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389750 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:03:20 +0000 Queen Mum 389750@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Unfortunately, retailers aren't concerned about selling to the ends of the spectrum. They are concerned with making money, and they are going to make their money by selling clothing in the sizes that are most commonly purchased. They can call those sizes whatever they want, but they are going to fit women who fall in the mean of american sizes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389744 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:57:44 +0000 chewyspaghetti 389744@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>NY &amp; Co is notorious for running large (duh- misread Jones NY). I have a size 8 dress from them, and it's the only size 8 in my closet. Did you try the size 8's? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389737 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:48:39 +0000 Deborah 389737@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Last week I bought a pair of jeans in an Australian size 12. They fit perfectly so I went and bought the same jeans in a different colour today again in the size 12. Tried them on when I got home only to find they are an inch smaller in the waist? This frustrates me when the same two garments can vary so much in size?! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389205 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:25:24 +0000 Anonymous 389205@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I also don't mind the sizing variation. I sometimes get "sized out" of an item, but usually by trying a different designer or even different cut from the same place, I can find something that fits. If they all used the same fit models I might be out of luck! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389186 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:04:59 +0000 rae 389186@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I believe I have everything from a PP to an 8 in my closet... and that's not taking the British sizes into account. I don't mind the variety from brand to brand, as long as they supply measurements to help us buy. However, when size varies greatly within a brand, I get a bit cross. :/ I don't see this resolving, though, as everyone can't use the same fit model. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389175 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:52:51 +0000 Jonesy 389175@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I do commiserate with people having trouble finding clothes that fit--I know it's tricky at both ends of the spectrum--I'm just saying that I haven't experienced any size changes in the last 25 years :). Just my own personal experience! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389141 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:14:03 +0000 Di 389141@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm with Queen Mum, but you're totally right that it stinks, Queen Mum. I wind up being a 0 a lot of times, and y'all, I'm not a toothpick. I'm slim, but I'm not bony by any stretch of the imagination. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389139 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:12:59 +0000 Aziraphale 389139@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Mo, us "real" size two gals only shop at places where the sizes aren't skewed upwards! They do exist. </p> <p>Interestingly, when I occasionally buy a graphic tee shirt at a surf store, where the women's clothes are marketed to teenagers and young twentysomethings, I have the opposite problem. The clothes are too tight. I often get a medium at surf shops instead of a small, when in a regular women's store I'm an XS. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389124 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:05:53 +0000 Mo 389124@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't know, Jonesy - I'm not a tiny little flower and I had to get the smallest size available (petite xs) in that wonderul Old Navy linen moto. There are scores of ladies smaller than I on this very board - are they just out of luck? I find it to be "smallist" (like my new term?) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389120 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:03:14 +0000 Jonesy 389120@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I haven't experienced any of this mysterious business with sizing. Twenty-five years ago I wore a 10-12 in pants and L in tops, and I still do, and I'm the same size. I know I'm the same size because I still have close-fitting clothes from that time that fit me the same way today, and I weigh the same. Go figure :)! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389119 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:02:32 +0000 Mo 389119@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not to rant off topic too much (I know we've debated vanity sizing before) but I still find it silly that just because people are getting larger they should somehow get to 'take over' the smaller sizes for small people. When a size 2 now is "Americanized" to be what used to fit a 6, what is the poor real size 2 lady supposed to do - shop kids sizes?? It makes all the sense in the world that you could add more larger sizes as people grow (unlimited, really) but you can't get smaller than 00, no? If this keeps up, we'll have to have negative sizes for small frames like Taylor!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389118 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:58:49 +0000 Queen Mum 389118@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>yes elizabeth, I was thinking the same thing.</p> <p>here's a blog post Angie wrote on the subject.</p> <p><a href="http://youlookfab.com/2007/08/16/vanity-sizing-more-efficiency-than-ego/" rel="nofollow">http://youlookfab.com/2007/08/.....-than-ego/</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389117 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:58:05 +0000 Aziraphale 389117@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>If you buy European clothes, this doesn't happen. Small sizes are truly small. I think that says something about North Americans. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389112 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:55:21 +0000 Mo 389112@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am always checking size charts for measurements in inches. Numbered sizes don't seem to mean anything - they are so far from standardized that I find them pretty much useless. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389106 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:49:40 +0000 sarah 389106@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yep, I used to be a 6 or an 8, and now I'm a 2, 4, or 6. </p> <p>I'm definitely not getting thinner as I have babies and get older! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389103 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:42:51 +0000 catgirl 389103@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think Kim is exactly right. I used to be a 12 and my size has not changed that much, now I'm a 2, 4, or 6 depending on brand. CRAZY. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389102 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:41:10 +0000 Queen Mum 389102@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think part of it is that on average, we are getting larger as a society. Rather than doing away with size 0,2,4, etc, they just cut the garments for each of these sizes larger. Kindof like grading on a curve I guess. Did I make a lick of sense? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-is-up-with-sizing#post-389097 Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:37:22 +0000 Freckles 389097@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I went out this morning to Jones NY Outlet to buy a white pencil skirt or white pants.</p> <p>Now my too small Evan Picone pants are size 10. Most of my other pants, various brands, are size 12.</p> <p>Today the 12's fell off me and the 10's were a much better fit but still a bit big.</p> <p>Do they do this just to drive us crazy?</p> <p>Came home itemless, sob. </p>