Since when is a size 12 an "XL"?

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  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    I don't care what size I wear if it fits. What I really get annoyed with is websites that post measurements for sizes, but every single time I have ordered the correct size according to measurements it is too big! I'm totally fine with vanity sizes :drinker: , but vanity measurements?! That just seems wrong. Measurements should be scientific. :tongue:

    Lower quality manufacturers (like Old Navy) tend to not be very consistent in its sizing across batches or subcontractors. A pair of Old Navy pants of the exact same model and size doesn't always fit the same if purchased a year later. It could also be a case of material shrinkage, which again points to lower quality.
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
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    I don't care what size I wear if it fits. What I really get annoyed with is websites that post measurements for sizes, but every single time I have ordered the correct size according to measurements it is too big! I'm totally fine with vanity sizes :drinker: , but vanity measurements?! That just seems wrong. Measurements should be scientific. :tongue:

    Lower quality manufacturers (like Old Navy) tend to not be very consistent in its sizing across batches or subcontractors. A pair of Old Navy pants of the exact same model and size doesn't always fit the same if purchased a year later. It could also be a case of material shrinkage, which again points to lower quality.

    I don't generally buy from places like that though.
  • dsalveson
    dsalveson Posts: 306 Member
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    Just a quick comment on Lululemon sizing...the 2-12 sizing doesn't correlate to standard dress sizes, rather it represents XXS-XL. So something labeled a size 2 would be an XXS and therefore smaller than a standard dress size 2. Size 12 is XL, usually bigger than dress size 12. I've heard them explain their sizing many times in the stores, it's not some secret to keep fat people out.

    Companies are in business to make money, not shun fat people. They're not obligated to carry certain sizes if they find they wouldn't profit from it. No company turns down a profit opprotunity simply because they hate fat people.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    i don't know, i take more issue with stores like old navy, who sell plus size clothes but ONLY online. love the message of 'sure we'll take your money but we don't want to see you in our stores, fatty.'

    It's not about calling you a "fatty". It's business. They only have so much space in the stores to dedicate to stock, so they have to stock what is most in demand. I have shopped at ON with a friend when she was around 250. They had plenty of items that did fit her, so I think they're doing a good job of giving the vast majority what they want.

    If you don't like it, there are plenty of dedicated plus size stores out there you can give your money to.
  • bmxpop
    bmxpop Posts: 353 Member
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    12 is most definitely XL......most guys are nowhere near that.....if you think otherwise, you are setting yourself up for a major disappointment!! Wait .....what??? Nevermind.......
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    12 is most definitely XL......most guys are nowhere near that.....if you think otherwise, you are setting yourself up for a major disappointment!! Wait .....what??? Nevermind.......
    1340568723896.gif
  • obeseandsassy
    obeseandsassy Posts: 118
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    i don't know, i take more issue with stores like old navy, who sell plus size clothes but ONLY online. love the message of 'sure we'll take your money but we don't want to see you in our stores, fatty.'

    It's not about calling you a "fatty". It's business. They only have so much space in the stores to dedicate to stock, so they have to stock what is most in demand. I have shopped at ON with a friend when she was around 250. They had plenty of items that did fit her, so I think they're doing a good job of giving the vast majority what they want.

    If you don't like it, there are plenty of dedicated plus size stores out there you can give your money to.

    can't go a day without hearing about the so-called 'obesity epidemic' or how everyone's fat on the news. so i'm really not buying the 'not in demand' argument for not selling plus size clothes in store.
  • SugarBaby71
    SugarBaby71 Posts: 3,630 Member
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    I shop at Lululemon a lot. I like the clothes. The sizing is generous and even at my biggest I could wear their 12. I have shopped in 3 different retail locations including the outlet store and never have I seen that bigger sizes would be 'dumped toward the back'. The clothing is always organized and folded and stacked by size, biggest on the bottom to smallest on the top of the pile.

    When we're bigger it's just a fact that we can't simply walk into a store and grab any old thing. It sucks and it hurts. But its the way life is.
  • saxmaniac
    saxmaniac Posts: 1,133 Member
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    can't go a day without hearing about the so-called 'obesity epidemic' or how everyone's fat on the news. so i'm really not buying the 'not in demand' argument for not selling plus size clothes in store.

    It's basic math and statistics. While *more* people are overweight/obese than used to be in previous years, still, most people are still not obese. An epidemic can only affect a small amount of the population.

    So, if you want to have the broadest market appeal to the most people, as opposed to niche appeal, you are still going to target the middle clothing sizes. There are less people at the edges, small and large.

    And, to be honest, when I was medically-obese by bodyfat % (not morbidly obese), I still fit in clothes sold in regular stores (38"/40"), because I gain pretty evenly all over. At 5'10" 215 you'd never think of me "obese" with clothes on, but, my BF% was way up there.
  • needtoloseafewpounds
    needtoloseafewpounds Posts: 161 Member
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    To be absolutely honest, I consider a size 12 XL too. I'd definately want to stay in the medium-large area at least if I wanted to be a healthier size.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    i don't know, i take more issue with stores like old navy, who sell plus size clothes but ONLY online. love the message of 'sure we'll take your money but we don't want to see you in our stores, fatty.'

    It's not about calling you a "fatty". It's business. They only have so much space in the stores to dedicate to stock, so they have to stock what is most in demand. I have shopped at ON with a friend when she was around 250. They had plenty of items that did fit her, so I think they're doing a good job of giving the vast majority what they want.

    If you don't like it, there are plenty of dedicated plus size stores out there you can give your money to.

    can't go a day without hearing about the so-called 'obesity epidemic' or how everyone's fat on the news. so i'm really not buying the 'not in demand' argument for not selling plus size clothes in store.
    About 70% of adult Americans are overweight (including obese), but only about 36% are obese. Among youth (defined by the CDC as under 20 years old) only about 17% are obese.
    http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db82.pdf

    Manufacturers by nature want to accommodate as many customers as possible within its target market. Since Old Navy (based on its ads) is clearly looking for younger customers and kids, the fact that they don't have too many plus sizes means there aren't that many plus sized kids and young people.
  • savithny
    savithny Posts: 1,200 Member
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    And I'm an Old Lady who has been buying my own clothes for 25 years now, I can say that the stores I've shopped from tended to define "XL" as a 14-16. Which makes sense even in the systems you're describing, becuase if "plus size" starts at 14, then a 12 is still only a "L." And this has been consistent in the catalog stores I shop for a very long time. Some of them now are defining it up to 16-18, but 16 has pretty much always been "XL" with only one X.

    What I've found, over the years, is that not everything about sizes has changed. It really feels like the *shape* of sizes has changed in the plus end - the waist measurements *have* gotten bigger while the hip/thigh ones haven't. It may reflect more people being more and more apple shaped?
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Society is really screwing up how women and girls see themselves. Lululemon is a clothing company that targets active women, but only up to a size 12 (and even then they don't offer much or encourage those at that size to shop there). A woman can be active and a size 12 or larger. I'd boycott Lululemon on principle, but I can't afford their clothes anyway :p

    Yeah, I never heard of this company, and I will never be a size 12. It doesn't bother me though. I wear an XL at the stores I go to. In most cases, it's a size 18/20 for an XL at the stores I shop.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I thought it always had been. The clothing is a standard Misses' sizing.

    0-2 = XXS
    2-4 = XS
    4-6 = S
    6-8 = M
    8-10 = M/L
    10-12 = L
    12-14 = XL

    Above 12-14, the sizes change to a Women's sizing.

    Some stores have adjusted so that 4-6 becomes XS, but it is a vanity adjustment. They also have adjusted Misses' clothing to go up to sizes 16-18 so that they can market to more people.

    If you're upset by this, imagine Japan. a size 6 petite is XL or XXL in many stores.



    Aha!!! Misses sizing is *not* women's. I stick with women's clothes since the misses stuff would look silly on a middle-aged lady. :laugh:

    I guess if I was this size as a teen, I would be an XXXXX(or so)L. :tongue: :laugh: :laugh:
  • hOw2lozeAgiN10dAze
    hOw2lozeAgiN10dAze Posts: 1,841 Member
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    The other day when I wore underwear, I happened to look at the tag, they said XL/8 (Hanes). :grumble:
  • VeganLexi
    VeganLexi Posts: 960 Member
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    What is a 12 in UK sizes?
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    Lululemon and Abercrombie and Fitch not catering to people over a certain size is old news. One of the reasons they do so well is because just being able to FIT into their clothes is, in a way, a sign of status. Realistically speaking there's nothing that makes them better than brands that cost half as much.
  • Mama_Jag
    Mama_Jag Posts: 474 Member
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    I didn't read all the replies, but I am more bothered by Athleta's sizing. I love their clothes, but when I went in I was told to order a size down. I tried on medium tops that were generous. I am a 5'10" female with broad shoulders, I really don't wear mediums right now. Why size it down, so I will "feel" better? Lame.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
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    if anyone has bothered to try on lululemons stuff you will see that the sizes are not accurate. I can wear a size 10 and a size 12 in their yoga pants. I am no where near a size 10-12 I am a 16 at best. Try on the clothes.
  • cmacphee3
    cmacphee3 Posts: 278 Member
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    I would call a size 12 a L, as someone who spent a great deal of time at that size before and wore M-L shirts and L pants. That being said, even if it should be an XL going by the chart someone else posted, I wouldn't see a size 12 woman and consider her to be an Extra Large woman.. I'd see "slightly bigger than normal" Actually I have a coworker who is a size 12, but tall (5'9") and I never think of her as anything other than a medium size.

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