Vanity Sizing - Who are the worst offenders?

juliebeannn

ann taylor LOFT is by far the worst i've seen. i'd say i'm a normal 6, maybe TIGHT 4 right now. but 4s SWIM on me at LOFT. i literally laughed out loud when i slipped on a pair of size 2 pants and an XSP trench coat. such bullsh*t.

i understand they want to make people feel good by slipping into smaller sizes, but dude, come on! keep it within REASON!!!!

i go to H&M to figure out what size i actually am.

jtave003

Express, Yes. I wear a 4 or 6 but I am trully a 7/8 or 9 in juniors. I feel that all womens sizes vanity size but juniors tend to be smaller.

Myndi73

Old Navy is the WORST!!! I can only buy the shirts and dresses in extra small, which is NOT the case.

As far as miss me jeans, I believe they are true to size. I have about 15 pairs all the same size. They go by measurements so they are generally spot on.

jzrharv

Oh, of course! I see what you mean now.

I personally think Old Navy is the biggest offender.
I'm normally a size 8 jean on the bottom. BUT when I was a size 12ish, I had to buy a size 6 skirt and even then it was loose... maybe it was that article of clothing specifically, but I mean a 6 size difference is enormous!

Yeah, I purchased some Old Navy relaxed fit pants, after first trying on the 36 and finding they were like clown pants, way too big. I ended up with their 34, which was a good fit, not loose, not tight. BUT I still have some of my old clothes from 15 years ago, and those 34s are still assuredly snug. So I'm guessing that even in the men's clothing, where the number supposedly refers to inches, there has been an "expansion" of the yardstick. Is that proof that the universe is expanding?

lporter229

Old Navy seems to be the most common answer here. Thing is, after you wash the stuff a few times, it becomes the size they said it was! I stopped shopping there because their clothes always turn to crap in my washing machine.

FloraSin

JYC - Nothing makes me feel like an overgrown and overweight freak better than sipping a bubble tea at Pacific Mall and browsing the JYC. All the stores there have clothing for children being passed off as adult attire, but they're the worst.

I only go in because the styles help get my own creative juices flowing and I can go home and make something for myself. In a size FloraSin.

Note: Pacific Mall is a Touristy type mall outside of Toronto, in Canada. It's mostly known for bootleg DVDs, but has a great selection of nerd things (like plushies and funky jewellery).

Dudagarcia

Kinda like what rickie lake says she a particular size. Hmm

hawaii86442

I agree--although my GF -bestie--is a zero there at White House..... Of course she is 105 tops and 5'3'.

artbkward

I used to work at a Plato's Closet so I saw jeans of every brand from Old Navy to Abercrombie to Rock and Republic to Seven and there is no consistency. The only good thing is that high end denim tends to start sizing by waist and inseam measurements like men's jeans do. By the end of my nearly 4 year employment there, I could tell you what size I wore at each store and they were not all the same.

People get mad when trying on wedding and bridesmaids dresses but that sizing hasn't changed for 50+ years which is why someone who is a "size 8" has to buy a size 12 wedding dress.

itsuki

Sizing for women's clothing is completely ridiculous and stupid. It should be like men's clothing. The numbers = inches. BAM, you're the same size everywhere you go.

FloraSin

Sizing for women's clothing is completely ridiculous and stupid. It should be like men's clothing. The numbers = inches. BAM, you're the same size everywhere you go.

Too easy. Better to make it up as we go instead.

dhakiyya

I think America wins, as in the UK I am a size 10, but in the US I am a 6............

That's just a different sizing system based on country; a US 6 is a UK 10, a US 12 is a UK 16, a US 0 is a UK 4, etc. That's why we don't have 'size 0' clothes in this country, because that's a 4 to us.

The size difference between UK and US is only one. So a US 6 is a UK 8, 8 is a 1o, 10 is a 12, etc..

Maybe it used to be just one size difference, but it seems USA is more into vanity sizing, so the gap between USA and UK sizes are widening.

According to this site: http://sizes.darkgreener.com/ for skirt/jeans in the UK in most shops I'd be a size 10, but in the USA in many shops I'd be a size 4.

meldaniel

I find most of the chains like Banana Republic, Limited, Gap, etc are the worst. They are at least 1 size off, if not 2. Designer clothing like the brands in the Savvy dept of Nordstrom are much more accurate. I wear clothing from everywhere and so I have sizes from 4 to 8 and S-M-L in my wardrobe.

DrMAvDPhD

People get mad when trying on wedding and bridesmaids dresses but that sizing hasn't changed for 50+ years which is why someone who is a "size 8" has to buy a size 12 wedding dress.

Yeah, not so much. I bought my wedding dress and my bridemaid's dress at the same time, both from Alfred Angelo. My wedding dress was a size 8 and my bridesmaid a size 10. Both fit off the rack. The brand vanity sized their wedding dresses so that the bride can feel skinny!

pdworkman

Except they're not. Go and measure some of those waistbands, and you'll find they are several inches wider longer than advertised.

Sizing for women's clothing is completely ridiculous and stupid. It should be like men's clothing. The numbers = inches. BAM, you're the same size everywhere you go.

Flass

Yeah, not so much. I bought my wedding dress and my bridemaid's dress at the same time, both from Alfred Angelo. My wedding dress was a size 8 and my bridesmaid a size 10. Both fit off the rack. The brand vanity sized their wedding dresses so that the bride can feel skinny!

yeah i think so! i just bought an alfred angelo wedding dress in a size zero!

artbkward

Yeah, not so much. I bought my wedding dress and my bridemaid's dress at the same time, both from Alfred Angelo. My wedding dress was a size 8 and my bridesmaid a size 10. Both fit off the rack. The brand vanity sized their wedding dresses so that the bride can feel skinny!

yeah i think so! i just bought an alfred angelo wedding dress in a size zero!

I don't doubt you on the Alfred Angelo brand, but a lot of wedding brands don't vanity size. Other people mentioned it in comments on the thread too. One of my best friends worked in a popular bridal salon for seven years and this was a frequent complaint of hers, brides would be mad that they didn't wear the size they thought.

hilly215

Yeah, not so much. I bought my wedding dress and my bridemaid's dress at the same time, both from Alfred Angelo. My wedding dress was a size 8 and my bridesmaid a size 10. Both fit off the rack. The brand vanity sized their wedding dresses so that the bride can feel skinny!

yeah i think so! i just bought an alfred angelo wedding dress in a size zero!

I don't doubt you on the Alfred Angelo brand, but a lot of wedding brands don't vanity size. Other people mentioned it in comments on the thread too. One of my best friends worked in a popular bridal salon for seven years and this was a frequent complaint of hers, brides would be mad that they didn't wear the size they thought.

I agree artbkward...I had mentioned it as well. My mother's been a seamstress her entire life, working in the bridal industry. 99% of bridal gowns and bridesmaids dresses are not vanity sized. Someone had mentioned it's because the bridal industry hasn't changed their sizes in 50 something years...I would agree with that.

And, to address the men's sizing just equating to their real measurments, that's not always true. My boyfriend will pick up 4 pairs of kahaki's, all the same size but different brands, and they don't always fit. Some are too big, some are too small and some are just right. I'm sure other men would agree.

taylorcampbell93

i'm 20, about 5"2' & currently 89 lbs. & am slowly getting back (hopefully) to at the least 95-100 lbs. (normally, i'm about 97ish, maybe a lbs. or 2 more) i have cystic fibrosis & was ill recently, i swear i love food & i'm not a recovering anorexic, lol. my weight just fluctuates when i'm sick. i wear a small when i'm at my very heaviest (which is difficult to achieve) & xs-xxs any other time, i wear 00, maaaybe a 0 if i reach at the least 100 lbs.
but if i'm sick enough & lose too much weight, i plain out can't wear jeans, or any other pair of pants i own & i pretty much just have to wait it out in loose fitting shorts, baggy t-shirts & sports bras, since my bra doesn't even fit without straps & bands playing slip & slide. & i wear a 32c of course, one of the most difficult sizes to find & a 34b's band is gigantic on me, even on the tightest notch at my heaviest, ridiculous, right?
but i guess with small lungs come small rib cages, haha. & it's not a thin to be jealous of, even when i'm a healthy weight you'd still look & probably think i'm a little too thin, a visible rib cage is not attractive.
now that you understand how truly small i am, lol, i am truly the prime example of who gets straight screwed by vanity sizing. when you're as small as i am, if a lb. or 2 makes a total size difference, you notice a few centimeters of difference in your pants. haha. & while i'm not like the rest of you, though i wish i was, i'd like input on this subject.
i have to say every company these days vanity sizes at least a little bit, but there are definitely some that are much worse than others. a few of the worst ones that i've even attempted clothing at being american eagle: a 00 even at my heaviest, being 115, was like i tried on a size 6 thought their skinny jeans fit but in those my legs look like those of a chicken lol, aeropostale: their shirts & skirts are great but their 0 jeans are about on the same wave length as ae but a tad bit smaller, old navy: they're even worse than aero but since i've only ever seen a 0 to try on there for jeans, not as bad as american eagle but the only thing i've ever fit into there were child sized boots, so i could be wrong & i'm sure there are a few i'm forgetting.
the only places i've found with jeans that fit me well, meaning no 6 inches of extra crotch & no saggy looking butt, are pacsun: though sometimes they tended to shrink in the legs & i don't love all of their washes, & hollister: they had the best fit, length, washes, & are really sturdy, the only downsides are that they tend to stretch out throughout the day & that they've come victim to vanity sizing too! at first, i thought it was just unreliable jean sizing, before i was aware vanity sizing existed, & it was just hit & miss when it came to each pair, which somewhat it is, but when i got some items online a few days ago i realized that wasn't the case, i had purchased a few xs shirts, i thought they looked larger than the usual xs from their store, so i compared a few older hollister shirts i had, the xs i had was significantly smaller but i figured it was just the style, but when i compared a small to the new xs & the old SMALL was a good 4 inches smaller than the new EXTRA SMALL!
i don't know what i'll do now, the sizes are getting bigger & i'm staying the same & sometimes even getting smaller. there are some stores & junior sections that have basics & shirts that still fit, but i can't just go without wearing any type of real pants besides yoga pants ever again, which are fading out in the stores that they fit me in anyway, i am literally running out of clothing options due to vanity sizing, children's sections have too many hearts & butterflies for my age & their pants are too short for my long legs & i'm not rich by any means, i live off of s.s.i & can't have a job due to health issues, so out of the country & high end aren't much of an option unless they're reasonably priced & guaranteed to fit perfectly because i can't sew & have no one to hem garments & am not about to drop big bucks on ill fitting items. if it keeps up & sizes continue to grow i won't be able to fit into juniors, the biggest section i fit into, if this vanity sizing moves over to shoes, i'm totally screwed, since i'm a size 5-6ish & fit into a child's 4. haha.
i'm sorry for this long rant-ish comment, i know it's a mile long & i didn't mean for it to come off like a rant or like i'm bragging or anything like that in any way & i'm sorry if it did, it's just infuriating & beyond frustrating! if any of you have any suggestions for me, i would greatly appreciate it! if anyone even takes the time to read this lol, thank you for listening & thank you to anyone who leaves feedback directed towards me. (: have an amazing day, everyone! - taylor. (:

Ocarina

LOL taylorcampbel your post is vanity sized!

I have to say, for jeans, I spend WAY too much money on them. Rock Revivals is the only brand I buy. They are a bill and then some but they last FOREVER and are the same damn size each and every time. They measure like men's pants do, with inches instead of the wacky stupid female measurements 0-20+. I know that 29 sounds HUGE and a single digit number is so much better sounding but at least I know my true pant size. 29=8. I find that much more flattering and gives me more of an urge to purchase them again. The reliability and reassurance I have the right size is so much more enjoyable then dreaming or being disappointed.

I agree about Express! I buy all their tops in smalls when I should be a medium/large in other smaller sized stores. I'm not fat at all but my body is NOT petite. I don't mind though... the prices suck kind of but their stuff is just so insanely cute and always look good on me.