Has U.S. pant sizes changed or am I CRAZY!

were you buying in the JR section before and now shopping in the misses? There is a difference..just trying to help

Vanity sizing!

Sizes have got bigger over the years, without the labels changing.

Shops believe they will sell more clothes if people can get into a smaller size than they were expecting, people don't like to admit they are getting larger!

I have a black size 14 skirt from when I was at school, it's smaller than a size 12 that you buy now from the same shop!

Yes, you are correct. There is definately "vanity sizing" amongst women's clothes. That's why you could buy 4 different brands of jeans that have the same size on the tag and some will fit and some won't.

I've found stores have a pretty big variety in sizing from my shopping experience in the past few weeks. I can fit in size 14 shorts from Old Navy, size 12 jeans from Gap, size 12 skirts from J.Crew, and size 10 jeans from Tommy Hilfiger. It's a bit range, but stores are all different. And I have heard that in general sizes are bigger than they used to be.

But, wasn't it wonderful when we could buy the 'smaller' size 20 instead of having to purchase a 22 or 24?? lol Can't imagine the size I would have had to buy if it wasn't for the 'vanity' sizing...guess I am thankful for that! This subject can be looked at several ways...but, it does make it hard to shop online.

Vanity sizing is annoying. My sister wears a size 0. Really wears a size 0. This vanity sizing has made it so that a size 0 is more like a size 2 or 4 and now she can't find any clothes that fit her. She buys most of her clothing at yard sales because buying jeans that are over 10 years old is the only way she can find jeans that will stay on her 'waist'.

I wear a size 18. I should probably be a size 22 or 24. I really don't care what the number says as long as the pants fit. When I lose weight, if I fit into a size 4 I want it to be because I really fit in a size 4 - not because some clothing manufacturer thinks all women are insecure about needing to wear a size 8 or 10.

I always tell this story when I hear people talking about how sizes have changes...

A year or so ago I was at American Eagle. I grabbed a size 8 and a size 10 to try on and went to the dressing room. I was always a size 8 in my pre-MFP days, so I figured a 10 might be more comfortable. So, I try on the 8's and they're too small- can't even get them up. I try on the 10's- same thing... can't even pull them on. Shocked and sad, I go out and grab a 12- can't even pull them on :noway: I'm thinking "ok, something's up" so I go back out to the table where the jeans are and the woman asks if she can help me. I tell her what happened and she says "yea those jeans are on sale for $19.99. If you try on a pair of these I think you'll find that they fit better," and leads me to some full-priced jeans. I grab an 8 and try them on- they fit perfect. So, in the $20 jeans I would have had to buy at least a size 14, but if I had decided to go with the full priced jeans (almost $50) I could get an 8.

So, clearly it's all about marketing. What size 8 person wants to go home with a size 14 pair of jeans? If you want to wear your true size you have to pay double, I guess :huh: Anyhow, this experience pretty much confirmed for me that things have changed. So, no... you're not crazy! :flowerforyou:

My goodness yes, sizing has changed....I do a lot and I mean A LOT of sewing, and the sizing on patterns has not changed. You should see the look on girls faces when I tell them that the size 0 pants they just took off will mean that I have to sew a size 6 or 8 from an old pattern!!! Patterns go strictly by measurements and "the tape don't lie"...:laugh:

In high school I was a size 9 and 154 pounds. I am now 136 pounds and still a size 8/9...although I know for a fact I am smaller and have much more muscle than I did in HS when I was 20 pounds more. I think that sizes are shrinking to make us feel crappy about ourselves.

I am in mostly size 8 now...I went in to a store last week and tried on a pair of shorts...I would have been in a 13/14 size...at 5/4, 136 pounds. There is NO WAY...if that were the case, I would have to get down to weigh 100 pounds to get in to THEIR SIZE 8, Wwhich would be way too thin for my frame.

Sizes are crazy anymore...I dont trust any of them.

Yes, sizes have changed. I recently took a course in fashion merchandizing and we were told that some manufacturers and retailers are doing something called vanity sizing, whereas they used to use standardized sizing across brands. They're trying to seduce people into thinking they're smaller, when in fact, it's the clothes that are larger in relation to the size labels. They're playing psychological marketing games with the public.

Just remember, size is only a number, and that number isn't reliable. Try an experiment... go into the back of your closet and pull out some old clothes [at least 10 years old if you have them] lurking back there... measure the waist and/or hip... or bust... and then compare that measurement/size label with some new clothes of similar style You'll be amazed. But beware... there's another factor, called "ease"... that's the extra fabric necessary for wearing comfort. Some manufacturers allow more wiggle room, others skimp on that and their clothing fits snugly. Confusing, isn't it?

Melora, you discovered another fit problem... different weight fabrics, even when cut to a manufacturer's standard size, may fit differently. Let me give you an example based on denim since you're talking about jeans.. if you cut a strip of heavyweight denim to 25 inches, it would not go around the waist of a person with a 24" waist.. the bulk of the fabric takes up room. But if you cut a 25" strip of lightweight summer denim, the strip might go around that 24" waist comfortably. Another factor is the effect of dyes. Some dyes, in certain concentrations, swell fibers. That's why even the same weight and style of denim may fit differently in different "washes".

One thing that hasn't changed is the good old tape measure. 36" is still 36". If you track the changes in your measurements you won't go wrong. An inch is an inch is an inch.

Melora, you discovered another fit problem... different weight fabrics, even when cut to a manufacturer's standard size, may fit differently. Let me give you an example based on denim since you're talking about jeans.. if you cut a strip of heavyweight denim to 25 inches, it would not go around the waist of a person with a 24" waist.. the bulk of the fabric takes up room. But if you cut a 25" strip of lightweight summer denim, the strip might go around that 24" waist comfortably. Another factor is the effect of dyes. Some dyes, in certain concentrations, swell fibers. That's why even the same weight and style of denim may fit differently in different "washes".

One thing that hasn't changed is the good old tape measure. 36" is still 36". If you track the changes in your measurements you won't go wrong. An inch is an inch is an inch.

Thank you for the much needed info! I have always thought it crazy when I pick up a light blue, dark blue and acid wash jeans in the same brand and size and get home and one pair is tight......skooshing out my muffin top! This explains it very well.

:flowerforyou: Jeannie

Don't care........... I am an 8p WOOT!! :laugh:

I shop at JCP also. Not sure about he sizes because I have shopped there for years and went from size 3p to size 14p in 10 years. Seems I was going up the same rate as my scale.

LOL. I was all excited just to be in a size 6. But now that the pants I like are all baggy on my butt and there is no size 4 in that particular style, I'm not so excited. Now I don't care (as much) what the size says. I just want clothes that fit me right! I'm sure I can go spend three times the money somewhere else and find them, but that's kind of a drag.

that is why I love Marshals! I can buy the good pants for cheaper.

When I was 16 years old and 105 pounds (in 1983/84) I wore a size 8 (not junior sizing). I am now 42 years old, have had 3 children and weigh around 145 and I'm a size 8 again.

Yes, they've changed! :laugh:

But, wasn't it wonderful when we could buy the 'smaller' size 20 instead of having to purchase a 22 or 24?? lol Can't imagine the size I would have had to buy if it wasn't for the 'vanity' sizing...guess I am thankful for that! This subject can be looked at several ways...but, it does make it hard to shop online.

Ugh, I hate it! When Lane Bryant changed from regular sizes to 0-1-2-3-4-etc I was completely annoyed. I used to be able to walk in, grab a pair of size 18 jeans, and buy them without trying them on. Now that they have silly vanity sizes plus 3 different colors to dig through I have not been able to figure out what size/color I should be in. I go to their outlet stores that still sell the regular sized clothing instead of messing with that system. I think they do the same in Fasion Bug and Torid. The smaller number doesn't make me feel any better about myself. It just means I can't find pants!

For the reason I refuse to buy any more pants from LB. I can NEVER find my size. Nothing fits right anymore there!

I experienced the exact opposite actually. I had one size of pants hanging in my closet. When I finally fit back into them I went to the same store to buy the same brand of pants, just more of them, in the same size. The store's sizes were about 2-3 sizes smaller, though the same size label as what I had in the closet. I wanted to cry.

And the closet pants weren't stretched out or anything. I had only been able to wear them a few times back when they fit.