Societal Norms

cbhubbybubble
cbhubbybubble Posts: 465 Member
in Chit-Chat
I really don't know where this topic should fit, but here seems as good as any place.

I've been thinking about societal size norms while shopping for my increasingly smaller wardrobe lately. For many years I've been a large to XL in most things, but discovered I can get into Med pants and some Medium shirts now. (The shirts need some give in the bust as I've always had a lot of personality).

What got me thinking is that I was that my starting weight was at the bottom of the obese range. Obese people should probably not fit a standard size Large. Now I'm overweight, rather than obese, and Med is my base size range. Medium says "average" to me and so the size I'm in tells me that the average person is overweight. When I'm no longer overweight, I'll fit a small, which says to me that as a society we think the population who is not overweight are "small" people. Seems a little off to me.

I was thinking about he often touted, " Marilyn Monroe was a size 12-16", which leads to believe that over the years our clothing sizes in the Western world have adjusted up to accommodate our growing waistlines. That it's a trend to allow people to delude themselves they aren't as large as they are. I read somewhere once (not looking for a link at 5am) that Marilyn's size 12 might be equivalent to a 6 in our current sizing system.

Not sure where I'm going with this....just random too early in the morning thoughts...what say you? Should our sizing systems better reflect our actual size?

Replies

  • jtm4210
    jtm4210 Posts: 108 Member
    As far as I can see clothing sizes (in the UK anyway, not sure about the rest of the world) definitely seem to have grown larger and larger over the years. My mum gave me a gorgeous skirt suit a couple of years ago that she bought from M&S in the 80s. At the time I was a UK size 8 and this suit was a size 12 - I could barely get in it. However if I buy clothes from M&S nowadays I am a comfortable size 10. Go figure...
  • ilfaith
    ilfaith Posts: 16,769 Member
    Clothing sizes have definitely gotten bigger over the years. I found an old (late 1980s) pair of jeans from the Gap that I wore in college. They were a size 5/6 and fit pretty much like today's size 0. I don't even remember size 0 existing when I was a teen. And now there is 00. I am almost embarrassed to tell people I wear a 00 because it seems like such am impossibly small size, and I don't consider myself an impossibly small person. I often wonder if I am wearing an XS or even an XXS, where do the really tiny girls shop? I suppose vanity sizing makes people feel better when they can say they wear the same size they did in high school. If a Medium is truly the average size, it makes sense since the average American is overweight.
  • vixx1405
    vixx1405 Posts: 129 Member
    I think you defiantly have a point!! The thing that bugs me is when I get a size 12 in one shop but in another a 12 is too big or too small or even the same store in a different style or even just a different colour!!!! How the hell does that work how can a different colour make the size different!!!
  • cbhubbybubble
    cbhubbybubble Posts: 465 Member
    How the hell does that work how can a different colour make the size different!!!

    lol...well, they say black is slimming...maybe it's cuz it's sized differently :wink:
  • ilfaith
    ilfaith Posts: 16,769 Member
    How the hell does that work how can a different colour make the size different!!!

    lol...well, they say black is slimming...maybe it's cuz it's sized differently :wink:

    I think the issue arises when different garments are made in different factories. I know I have three pairs of pants in the different colors of the same style from Old Navy (which is notorious for inconsistency in sizing). All three pairs fit differently. One is perfect, one I can only wear on my "skinny days" and one pair stretched out to the point where they are too baggy to be flattering.
  • headofphat
    headofphat Posts: 1,597 Member
    It could just be the evolving clothing industry as well. Fashions are becoming more complex and being made for a wider variety of body types, shapes and sizes.
  • The_Aly_Wei
    The_Aly_Wei Posts: 844 Member
    Sizes have gotten SO big. I figure that it is likely better for the general population's self esteem but it is not reflective of reality.

    Also, it makes it really hard to shop vintage and international.
  • wardamnirish
    wardamnirish Posts: 395
    Also, it makes it really hard to shop vintage and international.

    No kidding. It seems really strange to wear a Large t-shirt in the U.S. but a XXXL in China.

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