Vanity sizing now exists even in size charts!

TitaniaEcks
TitaniaEcks Posts: 351 Member
edited February 3 in Chit-Chat
Ugh, I am so frustrated with labels that lie! I just came from the American Eagle jeans size chart, and the chart is flat-out lying. Now it's not even about size inflation (today's size 6 used to be the 90s' size 10, we all know that)... But now the size charts are even giving you the wrong measurements for their current sizes! American Eagle claims a 27.5-inch waist/37-inch hips are a size 6 in their brand, but I am telling you that's total hogwash. Those are my exact measurements, and their size 6 jeans are so baggy on me that they fall right off. I wear a size 2 in AE jeans. They fit perfectly flush to my body with no sagging but absolutely no muffin top or pulling either. And it's not like the jeans are *supposed* to fit baggy... I buy them to fit exactly like they appear on the model modeling the jeans.

If I were to go by their size chart and buy jeans from them online, what I would receive in the mail would be jeans two sizes too big. What purpose can it serve to dupe people like that?

... On a related note, my male friend asked me the other day why he still wore 34-waist pants like he did in high school, even though he was clearly fatter now. I informed him that vanity sizing even exists in men's clothing, and men's waist sizes don't actually reflect their waist measurement anymore. Shocked, he gave me a pair of pants which fit him perfectly and asked me to measure the waistband. The pants were labelled size 34. The waistband was actually 38 inches in circumference.

He was horrified and immediately went on a diet. LOL

Replies

  • tnpxx
    tnpxx Posts: 335 Member
    Not sure what you're getting at with this post. I've worn AE jeans for years and have never had a problem with their size charts being wrong.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Vanity sizing in men's pants drives me bonkers. The number simply doesn't represent inches. They're "size 30" pants, not "pants with a 30" waist." My actual waist is about 31.25 inches, and "size 30" pants are too big. What the hell.
  • TitaniaEcks
    TitaniaEcks Posts: 351 Member
    Vanity sizing in men's pants drives me bonkers. The number simply doesn't represent inches. They're "size 30" pants, not "pants with a 30" waist." My actual waist is about 31.25 inches, and "size 30" pants are too big. What the hell.
    Why they would feel the need to further flatter men with a 31-inch waist is beyond me. And since I've never seen a pair of men's pants in a size smaller than 28, what happens to men with actual 28-inch waists when they go shopping and all the 28s are actually 30 inches? Must boost belt sales...
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    This is very true! I have a brand of pants I wear regularly, and I have been wearing a size 4 in them. When my size 4's started getting baggy, i went online to look at the sizing chart. Online it specifically states that they are made to fit a size 27 waist, yet I have a 27-28 inch waist and they are falling off of me. It is ridiculous, I measured around and they are actually 30 inches in the waist!!! FOR A SIZE 4!!! It is such BS, I really dont care about size anymore but this made me furious, and I refuse to buy anything online anymore, unless its a brand that I already know what size I wear, because even the sizing charts are BS these days...
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    That is no good if they are printing the size charts wrong.

    But, also just to be clear. I have a 23 inch waist, and that matters a lot with dresses, shirts, blazers, and clothing that comes in at the waist. But with jeans and pants, they rarely go all the way up to my belly button (that's where my waist is, just above my belly button), and usually they go to just above my hips, which is still going to be quite a bit smaller than my hips, but not as small as where my belly button is. Usually, I will need to get the waist taken in. So, even though I wear the 24 jeans (that's the smallest size), I don't expect them to have a 24 inch waist.

    Vanity sizing is difficult because now they make xs and xxs, and 00, and in some stores those will even be too big for me at this point (but certainly not always and that's good). And I know I'm small, but I also know there are people that are as small and smaller than me. I don't like to shop.
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    Also, I agree with BinaryPulsar, sometimes they are "lowrise" pants.. But I dont wear lowrise, ever, all of my pants are "mom pants" (cause I have a mom tummy LOL) and I expect them to actually fit around my waist (I am mostly referring to work pants)
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Yeah, for my professional pants I need to get them taken in at the waist.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Op, I like that BMI calculator on your page. I am petite and small framed, so it works for me. According to that calculator I have never been underweight at the weights that are most natural for me and look the best. I know it won't work for everyone, though, because people have more variation (there are inherent flaws in the BMI model in most cases). They can have different frame sizes at different heights (usually rib cage measurement can be a good indicator of that for fit people), as well as many other factors. But, anyway, thanks for sharing it. I may find it helpful to share with others at times. It's also just a good reminder that I am not underweight, just like I know, my husband knows, my doctors know, the people that see me in real life know.
  • TigerBite
    TigerBite Posts: 611 Member
    As a very petite girl (5'2 .. 105lbs ... 32-23-32), I tend to shop in the junior's department ... The women's department is just too frustrating ... Even with VS, I usually just get bras from the PINK line, as a 32C (hooked on the tightest clasp), I find the "grown-up" section stuff just doesn't fit right ... but their underwear run weird, I wear a medium (but then again, I don't like my undies to cut into me ...) ...

    I now wear a small in the workout leggings I get from Model's (Morell bran), I used to be a medium (a few years ago) ... I measured them against each other and they are the same size, just labeled differently ...
  • cherio256
    cherio256 Posts: 219
    Thanks for crushing me! I was so excited about being able to fit in 8s and 9s lol. Jk
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    I'm a 25.5" waist and a 36" hip, but I'm a size 4 in AE jeans. I can barely squeeze into their size 2 jeans, and I look like an overstuffed sausage in them. Your experience baffles me a little...

    ETA: I'm two inches shorter than you. That might play into how the pant fits and where the jeans button in relation to your waist? I don't think the charts are inaccurate, I think they're designed for average height. You're a bit on the tall side... lucky =)
  • TitaniaEcks
    TitaniaEcks Posts: 351 Member
    I'm a 25.5" waist and a 36" hip, but I'm a size 4 in AE jeans. I can barely squeeze into their size 2 jeans, and I look like an overstuffed sausage in them. Your experience baffles me a little...

    ETA: I'm two inches shorter than you. That might play into how the pant fits and where the jeans button in relation to your waist? I don't think the charts are inaccurate, I think they're designed for average height. You're a bit on the tall side... lucky =)
    That would work in reverse... Since I'm taller, my pelvis/torso is longer, which means pants of the same rise would fit me lower - closer to the hip area - and on you they would fit closer to waist level, which is narrower. Which means, if anything, I should be having to size *up* in comparison to you.

    I don't get it. Who knows.
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