I have been keeping up with this story since it broke and I don't think this has anything to do with vanity sizing as some news outlets have tried to stir up a faux controversy about this new size. That's not to say that there will not be some woman who is simply not meant to be a size 000 trying their best to be the smallest of them all. I truly believe this has everything to do with wanting to offer sizes better suited to the Asian market where the women are tiny in comparison to American women. I felt huge when I visited Europe a few years ago and it isn't because I consider myself fat or in need of significant weight loss it's just that people, cars, living spaces etc. in general were just smaller.

I guess I was also peeved with the news media confusing the issues seemingly on purpose by saying broad general statements like the "average woman's" waist size is 37.5 inches (equivalent to an American size 14). American women are not the standard for the rest of the world. (And I happen to be an American woman) So the comment (which I found equally offensive) about 22 inches being the same size as a second grader's waist or 22 inches is the circumference of my head is also American focused and denies the fact that there are a diversity of body types small and large in this great big world of ours.

From a retilaer's POV it must be a great challenge to provide the range of sizes that would be needed in a multicultural setting. I live in an area of Canada where Dutch and German heritage is well represented - yet our local Long Tall Sally (Uk based tall woman shop) and Olsen (German based) both closed down! Thank goodness for online shopping.

Not that I'm in the target market for 000, but I'm really glad they are just adding "0"s, not using -1, or -2.

I think the insane sizing (in this country, at this moment) is actually kind of freeing.

When I say "insane sizing" I'm referring to the wild inconsistencies which mean that Beth can have everything from a 0 to a 10 from the same retailer, while I can have jeans that are a 24, a 25, a 26, and a 27 in my drawer and they all fit me right at this moment.

That, more than anything else, has taught me that the number truly is irrelevant.

DV, yes, you are so right, the media often pick up on something and run with it, but miss the broader context. The real story here is that to compete, American retailers need to play a global game. And that means different sizes, probably different colors, and a labels big enough for the Tower of Babel to accommodate multiple languages.

Thanks Anne, lost my train of thought while typing the comment, so yes US sizes are 2 sizes smaller than ours. This is what happens when I comment late at night!

@April, me too! It's hard to feel angst about your size when you can go up or down at least two sizes just by trying on a different brand. I also think, if companies jump on the trend of adding more ease and fluidity into their styles, many women will end up choosing to downsize if they prefer a closer fit. I know the last few years when the shrunken jacket trend was so predominant, I'd be upsizing two or three sizes just to fit my shoulders into a jacket with the result that the bottom part of the jackets would flop and bag around the bottom of my non-existent hips. It looked pretty funny, actually.

This has been my favourite thread in a long time. I'm really enjoying this conversation.