Has U.S. pant sizes changed or am I CRAZY!

arewethereyet

Don't care........... I am an 8p WOOT!! :laugh:

I shop at JCP also. Not sure about he sizes because I have shopped there for years and went from size 3p to size 14p in 10 years. Seems I was going up the same rate as my scale.

arewethereyet

Melora, you discovered another fit problem... different weight fabrics, even when cut to a manufacturer's standard size, may fit differently. Let me give you an example based on denim since you're talking about jeans.. if you cut a strip of heavyweight denim to 25 inches, it would not go around the waist of a person with a 24" waist.. the bulk of the fabric takes up room. But if you cut a 25" strip of lightweight summer denim, the strip might go around that 24" waist comfortably. Another factor is the effect of dyes. Some dyes, in certain concentrations, swell fibers. That's why even the same weight and style of denim may fit differently in different "washes".

One thing that hasn't changed is the good old tape measure. 36" is still 36". If you track the changes in your measurements you won't go wrong. An inch is an inch is an inch.

Thank you for the much needed info! I have always thought it crazy when I pick up a light blue, dark blue and acid wash jeans in the same brand and size and get home and one pair is tight......skooshing out my muffin top! This explains it very well.

:flowerforyou: Jeannie

PJilly

Don't care........... I am an 8p WOOT!! :laugh:

I shop at JCP also. Not sure about he sizes because I have shopped there for years and went from size 3p to size 14p in 10 years. Seems I was going up the same rate as my scale.

LOL. I was all excited just to be in a size 6. But now that the pants I like are all baggy on my butt and there is no size 4 in that particular style, I'm not so excited. Now I don't care (as much) what the size says. I just want clothes that fit me right! I'm sure I can go spend three times the money somewhere else and find them, but that's kind of a drag.

arewethereyet

Don't care........... I am an 8p WOOT!! :laugh:

I shop at JCP also. Not sure about he sizes because I have shopped there for years and went from size 3p to size 14p in 10 years. Seems I was going up the same rate as my scale.

LOL. I was all excited just to be in a size 6. But now that the pants I like are all baggy on my butt and there is no size 4 in that particular style, I'm not so excited. Now I don't care (as much) what the size says. I just want clothes that fit me right! I'm sure I can go spend three times the money somewhere else and find them, but that's kind of a drag.

that is why I love Marshals! I can buy the good pants for cheaper.

weaklink109

I recently pulled a box out of storage that had pants in in from about 30 years ago. I checked the sizes, and since they said 18, I figured they might be too big, since I recently bought some 12's at JC Penney. Hah!! I could barely pull the old pants over my thighs!! Yeah, sizes have definitely changed. I know what size I wore at the weight I am now, and I am fitting in 12's whereas I was wearing 16's at the same weight before. It is not because of being super toned up either.

I am almost afraid to get to my goal weight of 125. I know someone else on here who is about my height and weighs 120 now and is having a heck of a time finding clothes small enough.:noway: THAT will be a problem I have never had before.:laugh: :laugh:

Wolfena

When I was 16 years old and 105 pounds (in 1983/84) I wore a size 8 (not junior sizing). I am now 42 years old, have had 3 children and weigh around 145 and I'm a size 8 again.

Yes, they've changed! :laugh:

arewethereyet

I remember when I had my first son I was 22 and the same weight I am now. I wore a 9/10 juniors and thought I was huge :laugh:

I am now an 8p. I have tried on pants from size 6-12 that fit! Gloria Vanderbilt can kiss my tuckus with her size 12's :laugh: but I bet her company is the same today as it was 30 years ago (and they were small then too!)

Just wondering if it is all the manufacturers or just a few.

Nina74

But, wasn't it wonderful when we could buy the 'smaller' size 20 instead of having to purchase a 22 or 24?? lol Can't imagine the size I would have had to buy if it wasn't for the 'vanity' sizing...guess I am thankful for that! This subject can be looked at several ways...but, it does make it hard to shop online.

Ugh, I hate it! When Lane Bryant changed from regular sizes to 0-1-2-3-4-etc I was completely annoyed. I used to be able to walk in, grab a pair of size 18 jeans, and buy them without trying them on. Now that they have silly vanity sizes plus 3 different colors to dig through I have not been able to figure out what size/color I should be in. I go to their outlet stores that still sell the regular sized clothing instead of messing with that system. I think they do the same in Fasion Bug and Torid. The smaller number doesn't make me feel any better about myself. It just means I can't find pants!

For the reason I refuse to buy any more pants from LB. I can NEVER find my size. Nothing fits right anymore there!

Nina74

Yes. I have read many articles that say sizes are getting bigger as Americans gets bigger.:

http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/archive/petite_no_more_as_americans_get_bigger_clothing_sizes_get_smaller2/

jennylynn84

I experienced the exact opposite actually. I had one size of pants hanging in my closet. When I finally fit back into them I went to the same store to buy the same brand of pants, just more of them, in the same size. The store's sizes were about 2-3 sizes smaller, though the same size label as what I had in the closet. I wanted to cry.

And the closet pants weren't stretched out or anything. I had only been able to wear them a few times back when they fit.

PJilly

I remember when I had my first son I was 22 and the same weight I am now. I wore a 9/10 juniors and thought I was huge :laugh:

I am now an 8p. I have tried on pants from size 6-12 that fit! Gloria Vanderbilt can kiss my tuckus with her size 12's :laugh: but I bet her company is the same today as it was 30 years ago (and they were small then too!)

Just wondering if it is all the manufacturers or just a few.

Have you tried Gloria Vanderbilt lately? They just happen to be the size 6's that are too big for me now.

arewethereyet

I remember when I had my first son I was 22 and the same weight I am now. I wore a 9/10 juniors and thought I was huge :laugh:

I am now an 8p. I have tried on pants from size 6-12 that fit! Gloria Vanderbilt can kiss my tuckus with her size 12's :laugh: but I bet her company is the same today as it was 30 years ago (and they were small then too!)

Just wondering if it is all the manufacturers or just a few.

Have you tried Gloria Vanderbilt lately? They just happen to be the size 6's that are too big for me now.

:noway: No! I swear they are made smaller............tried a pair on over a year ago and hers were size 12's and I was wearing 10p in all other brands.

Wear those sixes girl!! :glasses:

arewethereyet

But, wasn't it wonderful when we could buy the 'smaller' size 20 instead of having to purchase a 22 or 24?? lol Can't imagine the size I would have had to buy if it wasn't for the 'vanity' sizing...guess I am thankful for that! This subject can be looked at several ways...but, it does make it hard to shop online.

Ugh, I hate it! When Lane Bryant changed from regular sizes to 0-1-2-3-4-etc I was completely annoyed. I used to be able to walk in, grab a pair of size 18 jeans, and buy them without trying them on. Now that they have silly vanity sizes plus 3 different colors to dig through I have not been able to figure out what size/color I should be in. I go to their outlet stores that still sell the regular sized clothing instead of messing with that system. I think they do the same in Fasion Bug and Torid. The smaller number doesn't make me feel any better about myself. It just means I can't find pants!

For the reason I refuse to buy any more pants from LB. I can NEVER find my size. Nothing fits right anymore there!

Are they owned by the same line as Chico's? They are the same way.......The clerk followed me around 'braggin' I was a 0.........No, I am not! I am an 8-10..............I hate being treated like I am stupid:grumble:

SayRah

It depends on where you buy it. Some brand tend to run a little big or a little small. I fit anywhere from size 8 to size 10.

lessertess

I don't know about recently but I purchase a lot of vintage clothes. If you purchase a size 12 or 14 from the 60's and 70's it is usually equivalent to today's size 8 and 10.

So the short answer is YES sizes have changed drastically over time. The other complication is that different manufacturers size clothing differently. right now I can wear anything from a size 8 to a size 14 depending on the style and who made it.....

swimmstar92

I think it all depends on where you are buying from and when you are comparing to. I am going to be a sophomore in college this year and I would like to fit in to the jeans I wore my freshman/sophomore year of high school which were a size 3. It seems that I went up at a pretty steady rate, but I would like to point out that even back then when I was a "size 3" I owned jeans that were mostly size 3 and 5 but I had to get a size 9 from Walmart. There's just not really any standardizing.

a1schwei

i've found that a lot has to do with the cut too...with lower rise jeans/pants i need a bigger size than with a medium rise...and how they are cut against my hips and thighs makes a difference too (because no matter what i do my legs will always be muscular and my hips will always exist in excess haha)...oh and juniors sizes can do a number on one's self-esteem!! what i find interesting though is that sizes seem to differ slightly from fall to spring...a pair of jeans in the exact same style/cut/wash that i bought in the fall are much looser than a pair a bought in the spring...and i have had this happen multiple times...weird!! overall though i have to admit that most of the time i am okay with the 'vanity'

lcwiney

WELL, I KNOW THAT I RECENLTY REALIZED THAT A SIZE 11/12 JUNIORS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CUT THAN A MISSY'S SIZE 11/12.....IF THAT'S NOT THE CASE FOR YOU...DON'T KNOW.....LET'S JUST CELEBRATE THAT YOU ARE A SIZE 6 GIRL!! YAY!!!

rcatr

Like everyone has said, they have absolutely changed. My grandmother was such a fashionable young woman and kept most of her clothes in amazing condition. I have been lucky enough to inherit some amazing pairs of dark rinse jordaches (think skinny jeans waaay before they were popular) and awesome sun dresses and they're a size 8 but i wear a 2 or 4 anywhere else. Go figure. But like someone earlier said, I think how your clothes and (I might add) how you feel in your clothes matters a whole lot more than the number on the tag.

kgrutch

i have teenagers so i understand the junior sizing. Juniors are 0, 1, 3, 5, 7 , 9 ,11, 13. regular womens clothes are sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. they do not compare. i can wear size 4 womens jeans and 7 or 9 in juniors. often though i like the way the juniors fit (even though i dont like looking at the higher number). try different sections, especially pants vary so much from juniors to womens. also i have found that the bealls do not carry ant clothes smaller than a womens 8 (except in the juniors section). good luck with looking good ladies!!