Size 12= about 40 inches of fabric

40 inches of fabric around your waist is quite a lot seeing as how carrying weight around your waist means you're more at risk of heart disease/diabetes etc.
We have an advert here that says if your waist measures more than 80cm for women (which is 32 inches) it is an indicator of internal fat deposits, which can coat the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, and increase the risk of chronic disease.

It IS important.

The OP didn't say 40 inches of fabric around the waist. I'm pretty sure she meant total...or at least one complete garment (pants, shirt...whatev).

Size 12 is 40 inches waist...For God's sake, don't be so obtuse. Where do you think they're measuring???

Actually, it's not. I was the OP on the post that THIS OP is talking about. I'm a size 12 and a 35 inch waist, thank you very much.

NO NO NO NO NO! Where do you wear pants? Pulled all the way up to your natural waist? NO! You wear pants on your hips. 40" hips ffs.

Maybe if I were 20. MAYBE. But at 40? Oh, hell no. My pants fit at my waist. Where they are supposed to be. F that nonsense...

35 inch waist.
46 inch hips
size 12 (actually wearing a size 10 today)
TYVM

I'm about 5'6.5, 161, and am somewhere between a 10 - 14 (US). According to two guys I walked past when I was in St. Croix, I have a big rear for a white woman. Ah, genetics. So I went through this thread and found people who were about my height. I copied and pasted what I found. Holy moly, if this wasn't eye opening.

To the Angelbeee/OP's point, there doesn't seem to be a standard baseline. One person can be 5'6, 187 lbs and a size 10/12. Another person can be 5'6, 150 lbs and a size 12.

So how can two people be the same height, the same size, and there be a 37 lb difference? How can two other people be the same height, have a 30 lb difference, and one of them is a size 2 and one is a size 12? Because, well, because they can. There is no magical number. It's about what's healthy, works on your body and how your body distributes what you have...

**5'6'', 187, waivering between a size 10-12
**5'6", 150 lbs. Size 12 pants, size s/m tops

5'61/2", about 165, varies from 8-14
5'6", 152, 12

5'7" 128-132, size 2 to 5
5'7", 157, 10/12.

5'7 151 pounds , Size 8, almost ready for a size 6
5'7" 155 size 9

**5'7"/ 172lbs/ size 14-16
**5'7 , 211lbs 14/16 depending on the brand.

Edited: This wasn't meant to make anyone feel bad. If anything, it was meant to do the opposite and point out that there IS no magical number for your height and what's on the clothing rack...

Beautiful!

White, 5'7", 176, 12

I really love what you have posted here, and I agree with your sentiment. We need to appreciate the bodies we have, and work towards something that is in the realm of possibilities for our own body type.

I see so many people asking how they can change not only their fitness level but also their body shape. It bums me out seeing women set themselves up for failure.

^^^
What she said!

5'4"
160 lbs
size 12 is a little loose, size 10 is too tight
31" waist / 42" hips
I've been told since high school that I have a big butt and thighs for a white girl.

I'm glad Beyonce, Salma Hayek, and the other hourglass ladies are getting positive attention for their derrieres. Somehow it makes me fell better about mine.

Thank you for your post!

Bi-racial (black and white) 5'1, 135lbs size 6/8.

40 inches of fabric around your waist is quite a lot seeing as how carrying weight around your waist means you're more at risk of heart disease/diabetes etc.
We have an advert here that says if your waist measures more than 80cm for women (which is 32 inches) it is an indicator of internal fat deposits, which can coat the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, and increase the risk of chronic disease.

It IS important.

The OP didn't say 40 inches of fabric around the waist. I'm pretty sure she meant total...or at least one complete garment (pants, shirt...whatev).

Size 12 is 40 inches waist...For God's sake, don't be so obtuse. Where do you think they're measuring???

Huh, and all this time I thought a size 12 was a 30-32 inch waist.... and that a 40 inch waist was a size 20. Where did I ever get a crazy idea like that? oh yeah every US size chart I've ever seen. But yeah, thanks for setting us all straight.

I wear a 20 and my waist is bigger than 40 inches...a lot bigger

White, 5'8", 222lbs, size 18 to 20.

Even at 130, I don't think I was ever below a size 10! Though I have a slim bone structure, my shoulders and hips are proportional to my height, so I'll never be tiny.

Another thing to remember is that sizing charts have changed. Even from when I was in my 20s (in the late 1980s and early 1990s) and now in my 40s. The smallest size you could buy in a regular store back then was a 6. If you wanted a size 2 or 4, you went to a specialty store. When I was 20 years old, I weighed 118 pounds and wore a size 10. Nowadays, a size 10 is something very different.

Thank you for confirming what I remember! So maybe I could get below a 10, with vanity sizing.

I shop for my daughters in thrift stores, which tend to organize clothes by the labeled size. And since some labels have changed through the years, you get a huge variation of size within the size sixes!

White 5'10"
12/14 on top 14/16 bottom
23yrs

AND to the OP You are amazing! I love your perspective! I wish more people thought like you!

White
32
206
size 16

White 150 Size 8

But don't go buy a dress pattern or you'll have a surprise - they put me in a 12!

White. 5'5.5, 182 lbs, size 12

And no, my waist definitely is not 40 inches. It was 30.5 this morning thanks.

White, 5'7", 190 pant size between 12-14

asian/hispanic
29 years
5'8"
181 lbs
size 8-12 (depends on brand, time of month, etc)

Awesome post :flowerforyou:

White, 5'.25", 164ish lbs. Size 14