Are you a sizer-upper? - YouLookFab Forum

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Are you a sizer-upper?

catgirl

Veteran

I confess: I tend to size up when in doubt. Yesterday I checked out the Gap Friends & Family event - they have some great plaid shirts, including the one below that is a Burberry lookalike, and I got these velvet skinnies in deep blue (blue velvet pants have been a HEWI since I joined YLF!).

I got the second shirt below because of the subtle metallic thread (so much for no black and grey!), but I sized up because I love the oversized look and feel, and I seem to have an irrational fear of things constricting my upper body. Reading the reviews now, I see that it runs small which makes me feel better about my choice.

Would love your thoughts on sizing up or wearing your true size in terms of figure flattery, shrinking clothes, and buying for your current body.

Flannel roll-sleeve henley

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Flannel shimmer roll-sleeve henley

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Velvet side-zip pull-on leggings

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Dressing

66 replies

Latest reply was from Penny

deb

Veteran

Una, I size up all of the time and always have. to me, there is something comforting in hiding my body no matter what I have weighed.

Peri

Veteran

Yes, in then last year or so I have sized up a lot. I just like the flowy look and the looseness. In B&M stores in my area I still get a lot of grief from SAs about it...I guess fitted is still the norm here, and just plain tight is the expected in pants. Skinny is still standard for where I live.

Susie

Veteran

I definitely lean toward sizing up rather than down. I don't like tight fits. Even if I was really thin, I wouldn't wear a body con fit. I find that the Sales associates at WHBM are the worst for wanting to put me in a smaller size.

kkards

Veteran

hmmm, i don't know if i deliberately size up, but i can say that i tend to wear my clothing looser, I do find most SA's will try to get me in a smaller size (especially in jeans!)

JAileen

Veteran

Yes, of course! I'm not fond of the fitted look that is popular now.

kellygirl

Veteran

Definitely a sizer upper although in general I always just get medium. I bought a Gap button down not too long ago and feel like I should have sized up to a L. It fits but I hate how close it feels under the arms. I used to tend to size down (vanity, I suppose) but I almost never do anymore.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

Oh yes, I definitely size up when in any doubt. Esp when ordering online without the option of trying on multiple sizes. I feel that maybe IT's can get away with pretending it's "oversized" rather than it just looking "big".

I actually had a great example of this the other day when a friend, who's pretty much the same size as me on top, but maybe a smidge (half size) smaller, but a very different shape, showed me a new sweater that just looked sloppy on her. But on me... same size me... it looked great (unfortunately not a good colour though!). My shoulders allowed it to hang in a totally different way.

catgirl

Veteran

Elizabeth, that is very true! I often HAVE to size up because of my shoulders, but in the oversized look, when the shoulders often fit well, it helps the whole look be more flattering.

MsMary

Veteran

Sizer upper on top, notsomuch on the bottom. I feel like I am huge on top...

Also: I just ordered the GAP shirt!

catgirl

Veteran

Which one? It does run a little small according to reviews... I sized all the way up to a L!

old chic

I would size up if I could on at least some items, but most of what I like doesn't come in a size larger than the 12 I usually buy. At 5'8", I could carry an oversized fit, but designers don't want to sell it to me. (To quote KL some years ago, objecting that his pieces in collaboration with H&M were made -- quelle horrors! -- all the way up to sz. 12: "My clothes are for slim people.")

abc

Veteran

Being a L/XL I don't always have the option to size up, sadly. In button front tops I almost always do end up in the biggest size available.

Anonymous

I never size up.I have an hourglass figure and my arms and legs are slender so if I size up it looks weird or unpropotional on me.

My biggest problems are shirts and wish more manufacturers would incorporate darts. But I love t-shirts and only wear them form fitting.

Dee

Veteran

I didn't used to size up, but have been the past couple of years. More so in tops than bottoms, since so many jeans/pants stretch out. That's probably the only reason most of my tops still fit despite a bit of weight gain this year...

Nebraskim

Veteran

I often size up. In fact, yesterday I was looking for workout shirts and ended up going up two sizes because the shirts I was liking were "compression" and felt too tight in my usual size M, so I bumped up to XL. I know they no longer met the criteria of "compression" but I do not like feeling like I am wear Spanx when I am running. I have a lot of arm flab and sometimes I have to go up to accommodate my bat wings even when the shirts/jackets are too big in the body. In the past couple of years, I have lost about 25 pounds and I am learning to at least first look at my actual size and then adjust up/down if needed. It's taken a while for my habit of reaching first for the XLs to adjust to the "try the medium first." I still tend to bracket and take all three sizes into the dressing room, though. Sometimes in styles that are supposed to be floaty/billowy, I actually size down because I don't like all that volume. This often happens in brands that tend to be generous like Eileen Fisher, JJill and Chico's.

elpgal

Veteran

All the time for the same reason as you. My weight fluctuates throughout the month so I like the ease in pants as well.

deb

Veteran

Elizabeth P, yes the shoulders are the trick. I have straight across shoulders and even when I weighed 105 I purchased size large tops.

Sara L.

Veteran

I usually size up when ordering online. I don't have a large bust (in fact it's very small) but I have a wide ribcage that makes shirts frequently feel too small. I got out of the habit of sizing up when I shopped with one particular friend because she had very definite opinions that clothes should be form-fitting. I don't shop with her much anymore (we're still very good friends but our schedules are rarely in sync for shopping) and I've gotten back in the sizing up habit. I'm sure she would be appalled.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I size up nearly all the time - sometimes I regret doing it on the bottoms but usually not. I prefer a less fitted feeling in my clothing.

Bonnie

Veteran

I do size up - I don't like tight fitting tops. Like Sara L. I have a small bust and large ribcage. Got talked into a smaller size shirt recently and don't like the way it gaps in front. I don't like baggy pants so make sure they fit, though.

Ginger

Veteran

I'm so glad this technique works for so many of you! I don't tend to size up. My shoulders are on the small side, so sizing up is immediately apparent. I don't particularly go for the actual oversized, either, because it tends to go blobby instead of just interesting. I've gotten a lot less tolerant of tightness, especially in shoulders and upper arms, so I'm okay with sizing up when necessary for comfort and flexibility. I'm more likely to size down, especially in trendy tops with lots of room. Not so they're tight, but so they fit better.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Generally not. Usually "sizing up" for me just means I've gained weight. It makes me feel big if I have to size up for the fit I want. And sometimes it doesn't really work, especially in jeans. I've tried to size up in straight legs to get a boyfriend fit, and I just end up feeling like the jeans have that "I don't care; I've given up" look. Occasionally I can be persuaded to do it, though. I know size is just a number and all that. . . .

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Ha, opposite to Mary, I tend to size up on bottom but not on top because I am huge on the bottom.

In all seriousness though, I really have to go back and forth on this. This last two jeans purchases I made, I really could have gone a size down -- both are at Nordstrom being taken in at least two inches in the waist. I doubt the next size down really would have been that much tighter on the thigh. Oh well.

Tops are a little easier for me, but still tricky. Sometimes I have to size up to accommodate the bust even though the rest of the body is big. That sometimes bumps the sizing up to where the shoulder seams fall too wide, which means the cut is just plain not for me. I just took two tops to consignment that fit everywhere beautifully but pulled ever so slightly on the bust, so in retrospect, I should have tried sizing up.

I'll be honest, I kind of hate sizing up. The numbers bum me out, as much as I know they're meaningless. Especially if it involves a jump to a double digit number. I know it's awfully vain and silly, but that phenomenon has been to blame for a few purchasing mistakes over the years.

LaPed

Veteran

Hmm, good question. I think I just try to make sure I buy the size that fits right! I don't *love* the loose/long/flowy trend, because I sometimes feel like higher-volume garments just swallow me up, or else look sloppy, so I never intentionally size up to get that look. I think other people look great in less structured high-volume styles, it just doesn't work well for me.

For jeans and slim/tailored pants, I usually do have to size up so that they fit my hips/thighs/calves, and then have the waist taken in accordingly.

For shirts and jackets, because my shoulders are broader than my bust, I will often go up a size from what charts recommend, because otherwise the shoulder seams are constrictive.

With shoes I have a definite habit of sizing up; thanks to a lifetime of easily cold feet I like to have room for thick socks! Plus, my shoe size creeps steadily upwards...

Nannabella

No. My upper half is very narrow, but with a strong shoulder line (for my size, small compared to others'!), and I often find that even XS or XXS can leave me looking overwhelmed by fabric if the cut is designed to be loose.

My bottom half is more ample, but I still don't size up past what fits. I find that sized-up skinnies can easily just look too big and bagged out and, dare I say it, a bit frumpy. Mind, this is not true for everyone, and I've seen many lovely examples here of sized-up skinnies that flatter. Unfortunately, on me, at least, they slide down my hips unless they're extremely high rise, and it just looks like I lost weight but didn't buy new clothes.

Beth Ann

Veteran

Since YLF, I've been much more willing to size up. I want an ease of fit, and have learned that the stretch in the fabric is more to make movement more comfortable, and that I shouldn't use the stretch to make the garment button or zip. Sounds like a no-brainer, eh?

I often have difficulty sizing up, however, since, at a size 14, I'm usually wearing the largest size already. Amazing, given that I wear the most common size in the country!

Shelly

I don't size up for a loose fit. I am a petite hourglass and if clothes are loose I can look frumpy and like I am wearing a sack. I do size up so I can get clothes altered to fit me in the right places, but I don't think that is the same thing. .

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

I size up for certain top styles - these type of shirts that you are showing, as well as t shirts and tunics. That's a recent thing for me over the past couple of years since "fluid fit" came into style. Other tops - cardigans, vests, pullover sweaters, dressy blouses - I go with my usual more fitted size. Bottoms I hardly ever size up because of "small waist syndrome". I just have to find the style of bottoms that have room for ample hips and thighs. Jackets and coats, depends on the cut. I often size up because I need more room in the arms due to my muscles - yeah, muscles - we'll go with that explanation.

unfrumped

Veteran

Ha, what is "true size"?
I don't like shirts or sweaters to "pull" across the chest. You'd think I would not have this problem but I guess due to small shoulders, I do.
Plus stretchy tops that you have to pull down over hips, will just ride back up, on me, and sit at waist or high hip.
So I often size up in tops and cardigans. The biggest pitfall there is the next size up may be too generous in armhole area and may look wingy when arms are held out, but usually I just ingore that.
Jackets, I can't really size up in, as the fit is usually unforgiving, due to the structure. So there I really have to find the brands that are cut for me.
Pants are more the issue of, true size has to fit in hips and seat, then waist may need altering. I think that's more for trousers, where "sizing up' often doesn't work, again due to proportions--if pants are cut too straight, a bigger size won't work; compared to some jeans, where one size = skinny and next size may = tailored, or something that looks different but still good, due to the characteristics of denim + stretch.

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