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Interesting article on how sizing changes

catgirl

Veteran

Showing that last year's size 4 is this year's size 10 at American Eagle. What are your experiences at common retailers? I will say candidly that this type of issue does give me some body dysmorphia.

https://m.mic.com/articles/144......xD3N3KbtI

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38 replies

Latest reply was from Style Fan

Ledonna N.

Veteran

It was actually a great article. I used to really suffer from body dysmenorrhea. The numerical sizing was a dream killer and a soul joy stealing thing. One of the things I love about thrifting is that I nolonger look at sizzling. ,it's like the suggest retail price.

Size or tag size I disregard I look to see if it will fit then try it on. That size med will fit a 2x. Don't be deceived. I think that is why most things end up at the op shop.

Beth

Veteran

Interesting. I know we've talked about this before, and I'm completely in support of sizes varying across brands/retailers, but I sure wish sizing didn't vary so much within some brands. J. Crew is the worst in my experience. I have size 2 shorts and a size 10 coat from them. Makes internet shopping nearly impossible.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

That's a pretty remarkable jump from a 4 to a 10...hmm.

I agree that sizing is inconsistent from year to year and brand to brand and even within the same brand from item to item.

For me it does not provoke body dysmorphia so much as shopping frustration, especially since I'm more or less restricted to online shopping and don't want to pay for returns.

My feelings about my body are more dependent on my body (i.e. whether I've been exercising or not) and how I feel in the clothes than on what the tag says, but if I can't get a decent fit in any size from a retailer who used to "get" my body shape/ proportions (at least to the extent that is possible with ready-to-wear) then I start getting really mad.

RobinF

Veteran

I try not to pay much attention to size or get too upset if I can't wear my "normal" size but it isn't easy. We are so programmed to feel like it is important and it's hard to get past that. But if I really like something and it fits me well I get it and don't even remember what size it is once it is in my closet.

I do wish sizing was consistent though, especially since it would make shopping so much easier. This is one reason I don't do a lot of internet shopping.

Peri

Veteran

Huh. I thought it was my 7 lb weight gain and wanting a looser fit. I could always count on S, but now I can be anything from S to L, even in the same store. Nice to know a little bit of that isn't me...as far as body dysmorphia, I think it was nudging that along.

This doesn't explain why though. For ages, vanity sizing has ruled. Label a size 10 as size 4 and it is supposed to sell better. Then I guess we all got used to being "flattered" and now think a 10 must mean we are huge. It makes me wonder why manufactures might now be moving in the opposite direction. Did they get tired of having to call some things XXS? Did they get too much backlash for vanity sizing?

Anonymous

Maybe the shorts were mislabelled. I bought size 4 jeans a few months ago and I have always been a size 4 in this brand.

If it is true that AE is making their sizes smaller, what is the goal of that? The only thing I can think of is that they want to carry way smaller sizes to appeal to tweens. This would actually be a good thing for my 11 year old daughter, who wants to dress a little more like a teenager, bit who is still limited to The Children's Place and Osh Kosh/Carter's.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

One of my biggest issues with this sizing variation (aside from the ego sag when I have to size up, and up) is that "reverse vanity" sizing threatens to size me out of some lines. If I, at a mere 5'7" and at a healthy weight, cannot fit into the largest of a line offered (high end designers, I'm looking at you), something is really wrong. What is a 5'10" woman to do, or someone who is just a little bigger than me but not plus size? Considering how meager plus size offerings can be, that's a whole other problem for lots of ladies.

I don't mind some variation. It's not that hard for me to take a S and a M into a fitting room, or even a 6, 8, and 10. But when I can't get a 10 over my bust, something is seriously wacky.

LaPed

Veteran

My guess is the same as smittie's. If AE has decided their target demographic is tweens (I always thought it was anyway), then smaller cuts might make sense. But why not just switch to, or add, junior sizing?

I've had the opposite experience with so many companies, where I'm sized out because an XS/0 is just too loose. I was an XS/0 in high school and weighed significantly less than I do now, so I'd argue the overall sizing trend is still toward inflation rather than deflation.

unfrumped

Veteran

I agree; some variety is excellent because people aren't all the same shape 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.
AT I had thought was pretty consistent but I have moved down one to 2 sizes in jackets (now a 0 ) while at the same time, a lot of knit tops I prefer a size L !
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

JAileen

Veteran

This is the opposite story, I think:

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.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Makes no sense, but neither did size inflation. Sorting and thrifting has cured me of any belief in sizes.

El Cee

Veteran

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.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I think I'm with suz on this one
"For me it does not provoke body dysmorphia so much as shopping
frustration, especially since I'm more or less restricted to online
shopping and don't want to pay for returns."

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.

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.

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.

Anonymous

*deleted*

Diana

Veteran

I've definitely seen size shrinkage in premium denim and possibly designer lines recently. 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).

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). I have to keep reminding myself it's not me, it's them... but I don't think this is a size shrinkage thing, they have always run small for me. I do think their tops are super inconsistent when it comes to sizing though.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

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.

Gail

Veteran

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.

AviaMariah

Veteran

I'm with Suz in that this makes online shopping even more frustrating. This is one reason I tend to shop with stores/brands that I've found to be more consistent. 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.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

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!

Anonymous

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.

rachylou

Veteran

Who would make such a giant change in a couple of years? Won't they lose business due to customer confusion?

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&M, for example, has always been crazy. And in boutiques, I let the girl pull sizes for me.

But there's another one...in the boutiques, they keep putting me in smaller and smaller sizes!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

A difference of three sizes over two years is just BAD quality.

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.

Actually, the more general trend is that sizes in the US have increased 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.

Designer wear sizes are smaller, and actually more in keeping with how sizes used to run a few decades ago.

rachylou

Veteran

That makes way more sense, Angie. I'll bet that's it.

Aziraphale

Veteran

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.

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.

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!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm sure there's a retail reason for this, Rachy.

Elisabeth, YES. I remember buying a dress on our honeymoon in the US 20 years ago, and it was a US4. It's the same size as my size US0 dresses, and some XXS dresses.

catgirl

Veteran

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!

cobaltblue

Veteran

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.

Anonymous

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.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Becky, 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 try on 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.

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 fit me.

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.

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.

I think Angie's probably right about those AE shorts. A big quality control boo boo. Their loss....

I agree with Angie 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.)

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.

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.

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