'Vanity Sizing' ; help or hindrance??

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  • ottilieziv
    ottilieziv Posts: 5 Member
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    I've been almost the same size according to the tape measure (only varied by an inch, and that was just this year!) since I was about 14 (now 33), and it has been very weird watching my size *in the same shops* drop from a UK 12 to a 10 to an 8 to even the occasional 6. I have trousers I bought less than 10 years ago that are still a perfect fit, size 10, and now in that same shop I have to look for 6 - and there aren't very many! I think the huge variance in the use of the size numbers is still less irritating than the 'size guides' online that just plain lie though: according to Levi's website, which purports to convert your actual measurements to their sizing, I should be wearing a size 28 in their demi-curve jeans. I tried them on in the store and I was utterly lost in there! I could pull them on without unbuttoning the waistband: they were looser than my pajamas! I ended up with a 25 - and lo, most of their styles aren't available in that size with a long length leg. Dammit, I'm really not that skinny: I just want to buy clothes that fit...
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
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    In fairness I used to feel SO GUTTED to buy a size 'XL' on ASOS for a top which is a UK size 12 (US 8), because L is a 10(6) M is an 8(4) and S is a 6(2)
  • calliekitten9
    calliekitten9 Posts: 148 Member
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    It's why I never discount looking at sizes smaller and larger at the thrift store. Each brand fits differently and since thrift stores are selling clothes that for the most part have been previously worn...you have to take into account shrinkage. So my range is size 4-size 12.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
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    I consider vanity sizing a pain in the behind. Actually women's sizing in general is a pain in the behind. I would love for size to be across the board, every store, every line, period. (And here I'm going to say that I love HerRoom for the universal bra sizing they do and the tagging of most, if not all, bra lines with those universal sizes.)
  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
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    It's so annoying that I have mostly given up trying to shop in stores. I'll browse, but if I want to shop and enjoy myself, I use ebay. I measure myself, and measure something that fits nicely. Then, I look at the measurements of the clothes I am interested in. It is very, very rare for something to show up and not fit.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    It's why I never discount looking at sizes smaller and larger at the thrift store. Each brand fits differently and since thrift stores are selling clothes that for the most part have been previously worn...you have to take into account shrinkage. So my range is size 4-size 12.

    Also take into account that previously worn clothing may have been altered at a tailor. I'm sure the clothing I drop off at the thrift store perplexes people because I've had the clothing tailored to a smaller size, in the waist and occasionally the legs as well.
  • bowbeforethoraxis
    bowbeforethoraxis Posts: 138 Member
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    I don't mind vanity sizing so much. I just go into shopping with the mindset that I will have to try everything on.

    One thing I know, clothes today are made differently than they were 50 (or however many) years ago. Most clothes are made in factories in third world countries where they layer 20 pieces of fabric together and a machine punches down to cut all the fabric at once. This often results in some warping and distortion in the lower layers of fabric, which is why two pairs of pants at the same store in the same style can fit completely differently.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    I don't understand how it is an advantage to not having standardized sizes for women clothing. My husband can pick any online store, type 31/33 and boom, pants will arrive at our doorstep fitting him perfectly. I don't know what size I am. I went to Marshalls the other day, and I tried sizes between XXS and 3, and I honestly cannot say that one fit me perfectly over the other. Some XXS were too large and some 3s felt snug. I also find it difficult finding clothes that fits me to begin with. Regular department stores do not carry small enough sizes, and junior stores have styles that are not particularly appropriate for my age.
    Vanity sizing has been hitting mens clothing as well, with 2-4 extra inches in the waist compared to the actual measurement on the label. I have two pants of the same size, and one fit fine, while the other didn't fit.

    http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-090710
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
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    When I fit perfectly into a size small from Gap this weekend, still 15 pounds away from my goal, I wondered about the skinny girls and how they would have as much trouble with sizing as I did when I was bigger. I don't think they would be able to find much at Goodwill because there are very few extra smalls there.

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