Clothes size/ Has vanity sizing gone insane?

marieamethyst

dark_sparkles37019 wrote: »

I wear size 20 AMETHYST jeans 5'8 240lbs. Some xl mens tshirts fit me and some are too tight, so it would be a 2x in women I'm guessing. Sizing varies on the clothing

They still make AMETHYST jeans?! Those were my jam back in college! BRB, off to see if I can find a pair!

lucerorojo

When I was 103 lbs. In 1980 I was a size 10 in juniors.
In 1987 I was 115-125 lbs.and a size 4-8 in ladies. In 1990s I weighed between 130- 145 and wore a size 10-14 in ladies. I don't have them anymore but none of these outfits match up with today's sizing. They were all MUCH smaller.

I was a size 12 about 10 years ago at 175 lbs. Not the same size 12 of 30 years ago.
Sizing changed drastically with size zero which did not exist before. Size 4 was the smallest size you could find in most stores before.

dramaqueen45

I wish women's sizes were like men's- just inches and that's it. Vanity sizing is absolutely ridiculous. When I hear that someone is 170 pounds and wears a size 6 or 8 I just roll my eyes.
In high school I was consistently 115 pounds and wore a size 7. Junior sizes did not exist and I believe the smallest size you could buy was a 3 (although I think I did have a friend who was very tiny who wore a 0, but she was the only person I knew that had that size).
When I got to my highest weight I was 180 and was only in a size 12-14 (really?). If it was high school it would have been like a 20 probably.
So so stupid. The clothing manufacturers are not fooling anyone.
The only type of sizing that hasn't really changed is clothing patterns for sewing. I know that our sewing teacher has girls in tears when she measures them and tells them what size pattern to buy. They insist they don't wear that size but she then pulls out a skirt she wore in high school that looks very tiny to them and it has a tag that says size 9.
Oh also if you go to Goodwill the clothes are much older so get ready to buy a larger size than what you're used to. Just sayin.

sytchequeen

size varies in the same shop!! ignore the number on the label, try them on, buy what looks good.
I've had a 12 and an 18 from the same shop on the same day (H&M, sort your sizes out!)

lucerorojo

I think the saddest thing is the vanity sizing makes women feel better about themselves because it's a smaller number. We shouldn't be so tied to these numbers. Second, it is misleading. I don't blame vanity sizing for my overeating but if sizes had remained the same (like men) if I had reached a size "30" as opposed to a fake 14 or 16 -- true sizing might make us more vigilant about weight/fat.

rachelr1116

lucerorojo wrote: »

I think the saddest thing is the vanity sizing makes women feel better about themselves because it's a smaller number. We shouldn't be so tied to these numbers. Second, it is misleading. I don't blame vanity sizing for my overeating but if sizes had remained the same (like men) if I had reached a size "30" as opposed to a fake 14 or 16 -- true sizing might make us more vigilant about weight/fat.

Yes! I wore a size 9/10 in high school (at around 140 lbs) and my wedding dress was I think a size 12 or 14 (at around 160 lbs). I gained weight slowly and was able to keep buying size 14 for a long time because the size of the clothes kept getting bigger. I'm 193 lbs now and still buy a size 14 in some clothes. Even at my biggest (almost 240 lbs) I was "only" buying a size 18 so even though I knew I'd gained weight I didn't think it was really that bad because I was only wearing a few sizes bigger than I had when I got married.

Vanity sizing is one of the reasons I prefer to buy clothes from thrift stores or sew my own clothes. Sewing pattern sizes haven't change for a long time and are based on body measurements. Thrift store clothes sizing is all crazy anyway because of vanity sizing over the years so I just don't pay attention to the size on the tag at all, I take a small tape measure with me and just measure things I like so I don't have to try everything on. In one shopping trip I might buy clothes in anything from a M to an XL depending on how old the item is.

Vonny198334

Totally & absolutely!

The other week I was trying on Bardot style jumpers. I ended up buying a UK size 6-8. I'm at least a size 12 in all my other top half clothes so this would drown someone who was actually this clothing size. If I compare it to my size 12 jumpers, they match almost perfectly.

I also still have my secondary school dance dress, a UK size 16. It's *cough* 16 years old now *cough* & only just fits well. It's solid fabric with no give & all my present day dresses with a bit of stretchiness to them are a size 14. Again, when I hold them up armpit to armpit, they are the same size across.

Not sure how vanity sizing helps anyone. Can imagine it could be the cause of much upset for some folk when they come across a(rare!) garment that's properly sized...

mom23mangos

dramaqueen45 wrote: »

I wish women's sizes were like men's- just inches and that's it. Vanity sizing is absolutely ridiculous. When I hear that someone is 170 pounds and wears a size 6 or 8 I just roll my eyes.
In high school I was consistently 115 pounds and wore a size 7. Junior sizes did not exist and I believe the smallest size you could buy was a 3 (although I think I did have a friend who was very tiny who wore a 0, but she was the only person I knew that had that size).
When I got to my highest weight I was 180 and was only in a size 12-14 (really?). If it was high school it would have been like a 20 probably.
So so stupid. The clothing manufacturers are not fooling anyone.
The only type of sizing that hasn't really changed is clothing patterns for sewing. I know that our sewing teacher has girls in tears when she measures them and tells them what size pattern to buy. They insist they don't wear that size but she then pulls out a skirt she wore in high school that looks very tiny to them and it has a tag that says size 9.
Oh also if you go to Goodwill the clothes are much older so get ready to buy a larger size than what you're used to. Just sayin.

They even vanity size those now!!! I was so excited to see Target selling jeans based on waist size...until I tried them on and realized they were nowhere close to accurate.