This really TICKS ME OFF.

dlyeates

I think it's also important to remember that much of the sizing that is done is not consistent across the board and is not meant for todays average woman. Check this out:

In 2004, a company called TCSquared, published preliminary data after measuring more than 6,000 women in the US. Although they subdivided the women into groups, I've averaged the results below:

Bust Waist Hips

Women 18-35 40.2 33.5 42.5
Women 36-65 42.7 36.3 44.6

Women's clothing used to come in sizes 6-16 and, now, come in sizes 0-22. Either way, the sizes in the middle, the ones you'd expect to fit the average person are 10-12. But, here's a comparison to the size 12's of some of today's most successful manufacturer's of women's clothes:

Bust Waist Hips

Women 18-35 40.2 33.5 42.5
Women 36-65 42.7 36.3 44.6
Talbots 38 30 40
Gap 38.5 31.5 40.75
Ann Taylor Loft 38.5 31.0 41.0
Lauren (Ralph Lauren) 39.5 31.5 42.5


I thought this was very interesting thinking about the fashion world and the real world

http://shopping.aol.com/articles/2008/10/30/is-plus-size-the-average-clothing-size/

rml_16

I have to reiterate that plus size models are a size 8 (UK12) and in the uk plus size starts at either size 10 (UK14) or 12 (UK16). Our body image is totally warped. I watched a documentary called thin - I thought all the girls looked fine and healthy and wished I looked like them, each one of them was receiving treatment for eating disorders as their body weight was dangerously low. I was shocked that I thought they looked normal. They were sick.

And on the other end of the scale I end up judging a size 8 (UK12) as fat (having this size modeling for the plus size range doesn't help the situation). What hope do we have of ever having a healthy body image?

As we get older, we worry less about it.

Not to say that we don't still want to look good, but that takes on new meaning. For me, it's not about a weight or clothing size, but about how I look. I would stay the size I am now forever if I could just not be jiggly anymore! lol

My goal weight is based on how much fat I think I need to lose to really be toned and healthy-looking, not just be skinny. But I have a small frame, so I need to aim low to look the way I want to, which is NOT based on fashion models.

I'm an hourglass, with the bust and hips that go with it. That means, no matter what I weigh, I will always have curves. And I actually like that I will always have curves. I don't need six-pack abs, but I don't want to put on something spandex and look like a sausage stuffed into a stocking, either. :-)

123456654321

I think it's also important to remember that much of the sizing that is done is not consistent across the board and is not meant for todays average woman. Check this out:

In 2004, a company called TCSquared, published preliminary data after measuring more than 6,000 women in the US. Although they subdivided the women into groups, I've averaged the results below:

Bust Waist Hips

Women 18-35 40.2 33.5 42.5
Women 36-65 42.7 36.3 44.6

Women's clothing used to come in sizes 6-16 and, now, come in sizes 0-22. Either way, the sizes in the middle, the ones you'd expect to fit the average person are 10-12. But, here's a comparison to the size 12's of some of today's most successful manufacturer's of women's clothes:

Bust Waist Hips

Women 18-35 40.2 33.5 42.5
Women 36-65 42.7 36.3 44.6
Talbots 38 30 40
Gap 38.5 31.5 40.75
Ann Taylor Loft 38.5 31.0 41.0
Lauren (Ralph Lauren) 39.5 31.5 42.5


I thought this was very interesting thinking about the fashion world and the real world

http://shopping.aol.com/articles/2008/10/30/is-plus-size-the-average-clothing-size/

I get what your saying, but on the flip side, it's not that the sizes getting smaller.......the people getting fatter. I do not believe vanity sizing is a good thing. I think it does us all a big disfavor if the sizes are ever changing to make average American feel better about themselves. Sure, fashion models/celebs are sometimes too thin and that can contribute to a distorted body image and unrealistic expectations. I understand why that makes people upset, it makes me upset too. On the other hand, obesity is a bigger issue for us here in America so I don't think it's good for us to go too far in the other direction either.

I think we need to just stop worrying so much about inconsistent numbers and focus more on being happy and healthy.

FunRun08

I think we need to just stop worrying so much about inconsistent numbers and focus more on being happy and healthy.

AMEN to this!!!!!!!!!!

CMmrsfloyd

Plus size models are usually size 8.

models don't count. :grumble:

Yeah regular size models are like a -4 (yes negative 4 LOL) so you can't really compare real life to what's considered 'plus sized' for models.

P.S. OP, thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to check out my local Goodwill again...

VeganGal84

It does depend on your height and frame and all that, but for the average American build, yes...I do think a size 10 could be a plus size. I'm relatively tall (5'8) and when I was at a size 10, I was still a little chubby. I wouldn't say I was "obese" or anything like that, but I was certainly a little overweight . Idk, with over 60% percent of Americans falling into the overweight category, I think our idea of what is healthy/unhealthy is really skewed. I also think we are waaay to sensitive about our weight and how it's classified. It is what it is. A little extra chub around the midsection or on the thighs, regardless of weather or not it can be well hidden, is still a little extra chub. Can you be healthy with a little extra chub? Sure. Can you be comfortable wearing a little extra chub? Sure. Do people still find others with a little chub on them attractive? Yeah...I know people that do........but that doesn't mean that it's not still a little extra chub though.

This kind of offends me. Not everyone who is a size 10/12/14+ has a "little extra chub".

On the other hand, you are right, I shouldn't let myself be defined by a size.

Seriously though?! A size 10 = extra chub?! I don't think that's always the case. Maybe if a person is short with a small body frame or something...

Were you "a little overweight" by BMI standards, or by your own standards? Just curious, because I find it hard to believe that a 5'8'' size 10 could be even a little overweight.

CMmrsfloyd

I am currently just a smidge over 151 lbs and I'm right at a size 12. My healthy weight range for my height tops out at 147 so in 4 lbs I will be in that range. I don't know if I'll be ready for a size 10 in just 4 lbs but once I'm in my healthy weight range I will refuse to be referred to as 'plus sized' regardless of whether I can squeeze my childbearing hips into a size 10 or not. LOL

a_smaller_steph

I was a size 12 at 180 lbs. I am 5'6". That is my goal now and I don't give a smuck whether or not it is "plus size". I like how my body looks at that size. That's all that matters. You can't tell if someone is healthy or not by looking at the size of their clothes.

Ghlt4

A US size 10 is a UK size 14.
We would consider this to be rather large in England..

I have known more than one person who is quite thin and wears a size 10.

But do you mean a UK size 10 or a US size 10.. This is where it gets very confusing!
If your a UK 10 then u are nice and slim..

I am from the UK but live in the US. From my experience the US sizes are just one size difference. For example a US 14 is a UK 12. All my friends and family that visit only have to buy one size bigger in the US. That was the same for me when we moved. Also UK sizes do NOT stop at size 18. They go up to a UK size 28.
But according to the fact that a UK 10 is a US 6. Then i would imagine that a UK 14 is a US 10.
And a UK size 18 is our cut off point, i think you have to get clothes made if you are bigger than that.. Or mayeb its 20..
Which is like a US 14, if im getting my calculations right..
Its hard to picture how big someone is when they wear a foreign clothes size.

Ghlt4

Bump

123456654321

It does depend on your height and frame and all that, but for the average American build, yes...I do think a size 10 could be a plus size. I'm relatively tall (5'8) and when I was at a size 10, I was still a little chubby. I wouldn't say I was "obese" or anything like that, but I was certainly a little overweight . Idk, with over 60% percent of Americans falling into the overweight category, I think our idea of what is healthy/unhealthy is really skewed. I also think we are waaay to sensitive about our weight and how it's classified. It is what it is. A little extra chub around the midsection or on the thighs, regardless of weather or not it can be well hidden, is still a little extra chub. Can you be healthy with a little extra chub? Sure. Can you be comfortable wearing a little extra chub? Sure. Do people still find others with a little chub on them attractive? Yeah...I know people that do........but that doesn't mean that it's not still a little extra chub though.

This kind of offends me. Not everyone who is a size 10/12/14+ has a "little extra chub".

I clearly said that it does "depend on your height and frame" and that a size 10 "COULD" be plus sized. Not "is" or "was".......but "COULD." So I see not why you are offended.

On the other hand, you are right, I shouldn't let myself be defined by a size.

WOOT!

Seriously though?! A size 10 = extra chub?! I don't think that's always the case. Maybe if a person is short with a small body frame or something...

Again, I never said that....your putting texts in my posts yo.

Were you "a little overweight" by BMI standards, or by your own standards? Just curious, because I find it hard to believe that a 5'8'' size 10 could be even a little overweight.

I cannot remember the exact weight I was when I was a size 10, only the jeans I wore, so I can't really answer the BMI question. All I know is that I was carrying some extra weight (fat) around my midsection that was not needed. I was not HUGE by any means. Most people would have looked at me and thought I was just average I'm sure...but I was carrying a little bit of extra weight, and it wasn't muscle weight if ya know what I mean;) Again though, that was ME. We all have different body types and carry our weight differently too.

Ghlt4

I am from the UK but live in the US. From my experience the US sizes are just one size difference. For example a US 14 is a UK 12. All my friends and family that visit only have to buy one size bigger in the US. That was the same for me when we moved. Also UK sizes do NOT stop at size 18. They go up to a UK size 28.

dad106

I'm 5'9 and when I gained all my weight 3 yrs ago(I went from about 145 to 150/155.. and then gained even more which put me at 180) I was wearing a size 10 and I def. had excess fat in my mid-section and legs and was overweight according to the BMI scale.

Personally that disgusted me.. mainly because I had never been bigger then a size 6 before, so a 10 seemed huge.. and still does seem huge! Now that I've lost most of that weight and am more fit, even though I weigh the same I can easily fit into a 6 or an 8 when they were way to small before.

So yea, I think body type does have a lot to do with it.. as does where the fat tends to hang out.

Helice

A US size 10 is a UK size 14.
We would consider this to be rather large in England..

I have known more than one person who is quite thin and wears a size 10.

But do you mean a UK size 10 or a US size 10.. This is where it gets very confusing!
If your a UK 10 then u are nice and slim..
But according to the fact that a UK 10 is a US 6. Then i would imagine that a UK 14 is a US 10.
And a UK size 18 is our cut off point, i think you have to get clothes made if you are bigger than that.. Or mayeb its 20..
Which is like a US 14, if im getting my calculations right..
Its hard to picture how big someone is when they wear a foreign clothes size.

I mean a US size 10.

This is what a US size 10 looks like:

http://www.mybodygallery.com/photos-9958-body-shape.htm#img

http://www.mybodygallery.com/search.html?height=any&weight=any&pant=10&shirt=any&zphoto=Large&new=1

You dont look pluss size at all!

DannyMussels

How the hell do women even measure sizes?

Guys is inches.

36" is the waist in pants.

16" is the circumference of the neck of a dress shirt

12 is the shoe size, that's also 12"

WTF is a womans size 10?

I've never understood this. Then again, I've never researched it.


Semi-related i posted a few days ago, earlier this summer i bought a 'small' dresshirt. Best fitting shirt I've ever boughten. But I'm far from 'small'. I'm 6'0" and at the time about 200lbs.

Sizes nowadays are a lot larger then they were 10 or even 20yrs ago.

Ever try on a 'medium' from the 80s? Its like an XS.

People are getting larger.

MrsFarrow

I just want to know why I wore a size 6/7/medium in underwear but a 12 in pants.

I can't even read all of these responses because it honestly upsets me. I know most posts weren't meant in a nasty or demeaning manor, but I am 5'9 and I've always been a 12. I know there's a difference between an overweight 12 and a healthy 12. I know it depends on your frame. But at a size 12 I was always thrown into the "plus size" category which made me laugh and started my spiral into eating my feelings. On one hand I was being told by my track coach and friends that I looked unhealthily thin. On the other hand, I was being told by clothing shops and the media that I was "plus sized".

THAT is disgusting. Not the size you wear.

UsedToBeHusky

I get what your saying, but on the flip side, it's not that the sizes getting smaller.......the people getting fatter. I do not believe vanity sizing is a good thing. I think it does us all a big disfavor if the sizes are ever changing to make average American feel better about themselves. Sure, fashion models/celebs are sometimes too thin and that can contribute to a distorted body image and unrealistic expectations. I understand why that makes people upset, it makes me upset too. On the other hand, obesity is a bigger issue for us here in America so I don't think it's good for us to go too far in the other direction either.

I think we need to just stop worrying so much about inconsistent numbers and focus more on being happy and healthy.

The point that I am trying to get across is that distorted body image causes eating disorders of all kinds, from anorexia to binging from bulimia to emo eating... it all relates back to he core issue.

AND... I don't have official citations to quote from but I'm fairly certain that if you research the subject you will find that eating disorders, regardless of which end of the spectrum they fall under, are physiologically equivalent in the brain. I, personally, believe this because I've gone from bordering on anorexia to over-indulgence. Why? Because society has imposed a poor body image on me since early childhood simply because my body does not fall within the definition of ideal or beautiful.

FURTHERMORE... from my own perspective, I would say that if someone were to calculate the average frame and height of the American woman they would ultimately find that they would not be able to wear sizes below 6 or 8 and still be healthy.

UsedToBeHusky

How the hell do women even measure sizes?

Guys is inches.

36" is the waist in pants.

16" is the circumference of the neck of a dress shirt

12 is the shoe size, that's also 12"

WTF is a womans size 10?

I've never understood this. Then again, I've never researched it.


Semi-related i posted a few days ago, earlier this summer i bought a 'small' dresshirt. Best fitting shirt I've ever boughten. But I'm far from 'small'. I'm 6'0" and at the time about 200lbs.

Sizes nowadays are a lot larger then they were 10 or even 20yrs ago.

Ever try on a 'medium' from the 80s? Its like an XS.

People are getting larger.

It's funny that you mention this. It seems like I read a study that examined the sizes of uniforms issued to soldiers in the Civil War to the sizes of uniforms issued in World War I to the sizes of uniforms issued in recent war times. In all, each generation is a little taller and a little larger than the previous.

New_Hope

At a size 8/10, I looked pretty good and I most certainly didn't consider myself plus size! I'm glad that none of our salvation armies or goodwills label clothes like that. They start at a 16.

writtenINthestars

Plus size models are usually size 8.

Most I've read about are a size 10/12....however the clothes they're modeling are for sizes 14 plus so it's still a bit irritating...and they're all 5'10 and up