'Vanity Sizing' ; help or hindrance??

bridgew24
bridgew24 Posts: 143 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am about a 8-10 in Aus sizing (so 2-4 American) and I am too small for many stores. No joke. I brought a skirt marked an Aus 6 and was super excited, then only to find by it's conversion that was an American 2 so really an 8 here!
It is ridiculous that someone of my 'normal' size has to by XXS-S clothing. I have to get XXS at my favourite store, that is the smallest they stock. -_- At the other end of the spectrum, I have a rather tight dress marked a 12 (6 American)!

I know a lot of larger women feel they struggle to find clothing, but the majority of it is made for slightly overweight women as that is now the 'normal'. Does vanity sizing act as encouragement??
Or does it just delude people into thinking they've lost weight?
Opinions and experiences?

Replies

  • frommetobetterme
    frommetobetterme Posts: 124 Member
    On the social commentary side, I think it's played a role in thinking that 'normal' is actually being bigger than we should be. For example people say... Marilyn Monroe was a size 12...so you should feel good being a size 12 as that means you can be sexy like her,etc. but size 12 from then is smaller than today's size 12... hence helping with the delusion.

    Personally, I just find it irritating. I generally wear a size 16-18 for bottoms and L-XL for tops (I'm in Canada, so I figure it's similar to the US sizing). I went bathing suit shopping earlier this year and although my top was a 16 from one store (I have to shop for shirts at plus size stores as I'm top heavy), the bottoms I found at a bathing suit only store were a size 8, which is sooo off from what size pants I wear.

    Also, I have a bunch of older clothes I'm wearing now as I'm loosing weight. However, when I go shopping for new clothes, I never know what size to take just because sizing is so different in every store!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I am currently in a plus size 16-18 range and wear a 1X shirt. In some stores, it is endlessly frustrating because they will have XL stuff that fits me and XXL that is too small and 1X that is way too big. In the same store!!!

    Overall...I think vanity sizing is horrible. I would rather go back to wearing a size 22 if that's what it took for them to make ALL SIZES at every store the exact same. I'll wear what fits and flatters. I've never been one to buy something because of the size.

    I don't want a 12 that is really an 18. I am fine wearing an 18.
  • CantStopWontStop92
    CantStopWontStop92 Posts: 165 Member
    Annoying more than anything. OP, I have the same issue actually. Because vanity sizing lends itself toward making what would otherwise be slightly bigger the normal standard, I struggle finding clothes small enough. And I hate going to 00 sizes, I feel like a mouse :grumble:
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
    I'd say it's a hindrance. With vanity sizing, many stores and brands have different labels for what is essentially the same size. So even though I know what I need and what size I wear, I still have to try everything on because a 10 at one store is a 14 at another store and an 8 at a third store. Grrr.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    It wouldn't bother me if clothing manufacturers would just set a standard and stick to it. They know we like to be smaller sizes so they play on that for all they're worth. Meaning they screw themselves out of online purchases because I for one have to try everything but shoes on before I buy it.
  • Jewlz280
    Jewlz280 Posts: 547 Member
    Honestly, I think it's a hindrance. I'd rather just have a decent standard and go from there. Not even for just myself, but because I do have thinner friends who say it's a pain when they go shopping because it's just weird buying something that is a 00 when they feel they are more of a 4. That leads me to think that maybe, just maybe, if we went back to sizing by inches a lot of this crap would go away. People trying to reach 00 status or whatever are trying to get there by unhealthy means. Maybe if there WERE no labels like 00 and only 2 and up, we would enforce the idea that it's not about being so thin you basically don't exist. Because honestly, lying to us about where we are doesn't get me to shop somewhere. I worry more about fit than I do about size. I have a number in mind, but I realize it's just a guide and not an end all be all. And the funny thing is, if sizes were more standardized, I'd probably shop MORE! Right now, I'm a 12/14 and even if I went up to say a 16 or 18, I'd rather do that and just KNOW and be able to shop having a better idea of what I was getting would seriously help!

    Another thing that hasn't helped with sizing, though, to be fair is the styles. Women didn't use to wear their clothing quite so tight and fitted. So, part of the reason the industry has changed is because they've had to. Women who should be wearing say an L in clothing instead go much smaller to get that tight fit. So if you are smaller and want that same fit, you had to go smaller, too. So, overall the cuts were made smaller and smaller Same with jeans. Jeans are so much tighter and cut so differently. Which in many ways is good because we all have different body shapes. In the end, I don't know if 'vanity sizing' is so true anymore as much as trying to fit everyone. I know they have gone up some, but is it a matter of JUST to fool the consumer or was it to also include more consumers? I just don't know that there is one answer or even one fix. But it would be nice if there was at least a bit of a standardization to make it simpler! I know some places are trying, but until they all get on board, we just have to keep going and trying on 4 pairs of the same jeans in different sizes at 18 stores. UGH.
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
    I don't think it has anything to do with vanity sizing.

    Since the first day I ever shopped sizes have been different by style and store. And that was like 20 years ago.
  • grdaze
    grdaze Posts: 195 Member
    I'd say it's a hindrance. With vanity sizing, many stores and brands have different labels for what is essentially the same size. So even though I know what I need and what size I wear, I still have to try everything on because a 10 at one store is a 14 at another store and an 8 at a third store. Grrr.

    This is true for me, as well. I'm an 8 in R&R jeans, a 9 in Target jeans, and a 10 in Old Navy jeans. WTF?

    Although, I must admit I got a thrill to fit into an 8. Inside, I KNOW I am not an 8, but the thrill was there, nonetheless. Good work, fashion industry.
  • aNewYear123
    aNewYear123 Posts: 279 Member
    Vanity sizing is annoying when you think about it objectively, but it is a good marketing ploy. If you have been gaining weight and you were a 12 but your usual brand is now a bit too tight do you go up a size or change brands and stay at the same size so that you don't feel bigger? If you try on two skirts and you like them both and they both look equally good but one is a 10 (or even an 8) and one is a 12 - which are you likely to get?

    So I understand the marketing perspective, but it would make shopping easier if a size 12 was a size 12 for all brands. The cut and style will still make a difference to how it fits, but it won't be as drastic.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
    It's a major way of retail pandering to US, the consumer.

    We literally 'buy' into it - who doesn't want to be several sizes smaller than what they thought they were...............?!

    It's complete BS - and annoying.

    My husband can walk into a store and buy pants - never try them on - and KNOW that they will fit.

    There's no way I (or most women I know) can do this.

    I need to take pants in about 3 or 4 sizes into the dressing room - and see what works.

    I'm currently 5'2", and weigh 131 - yet I fit into sizes ranging from 6 up to 12..........
  • confused_truffle
    confused_truffle Posts: 38 Member
    That leads me to think that maybe, just maybe, if we went back to sizing by inches a lot of this crap would go away. People trying to reach 00 status or whatever are trying to get there by unhealthy means. Maybe if there WERE no labels like 00 and only 2 and up, we would enforce the idea that it's not about being so thin you basically don't exist. Because honestly, lying to us about where we are doesn't get me to shop somewhere.

    I agree with this and with the thread. When I was smaller, 5'7" and 120 lbs, I had to get the smallest pant size ever and my thighs were 21" around.. hardly 00 status.

    It's also hard to think that pants I wore in high school, 7's, don't fit me now but 7's I buy in 2013 do. Even in the last 7 years vanity sizing has changed drastically. Using inches works a whole heck of a lot better, and people who prefer different styles (curvy, skinny, straight, ect.) can still have their style but with a solid waist and length measurement.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I need to take pants in about 3 or 4 sizes into the dressing room - and see what works.

    I'm currently 5'2", and weigh 131 - yet I fit into sizes ranging from 6 up to 12..........


    Yep. For years at 5'8" and hovering around 270-ish lb I had clothing in my closet from XXL to 4X, and pant sizes from 16-24! All fit.

    Even now at 218 lb I am barely in a 16...those 16's that fit me at 270+ were definitely NOT a 16! hehe
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I think that stores should offer more sizes, both smaller and larger. I'm 5'6" and 119, pretty thin but there are people a lot smaller than I am and I wear a 0 and xs. I wonder where the really tiny people have to go to get clothes that fit right.
  • bridgew24
    bridgew24 Posts: 143 Member
    This is why we take 5 X longer than men to try on clothes. ;)
    But YES to the difficult ordering online! It is the biggest hassle, and then you have to factor in height etc also.. Most clothes are made for girls of about 5'4". :\
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    It is honestly one of the worst possible things that the fashion industry ever invented. At my smallest I was 130 lbs in a size 6 (about 15 years ago) I am currently 30 lbs heavier and in a size 8...what a load of ****e. Honestly I just wish that they would go back to inches at least that isn't likely to change and you can have some idea of what size you 'really' are. This pandering does nothing to help the obesity epidemic.. Why lose weight if you still fit into the same size clothes?
  • snejkaxo
    snejkaxo Posts: 91 Member
    I don't understand how it is an advantage to not having standardized sizes for women clothing. My husband can pick any online store, type 31/33 and boom, pants will arrive at our doorstep fitting him perfectly. I don't know what size I am. I went to Marshalls the other day, and I tried sizes between XXS and 3, and I honestly cannot say that one fit me perfectly over the other. Some XXS were too large and some 3s felt snug. I also find it difficult finding clothes that fits me to begin with. Regular department stores do not carry small enough sizes, and junior stores have styles that are not particularly appropriate for my age.
  • lucystacy71
    lucystacy71 Posts: 290 Member
    It is annoying. I usually will try one size only to find that I need to go up or down. I wish I could just go in to the store, find one size that I know will fit and not have all the hassle. I'm going to do a little shopping today because I need smaller clothes now, but there is still some trepidation because finding clothes that fit isn't easy. I have the added difficulty of having a long waist and short legs for my height. You know all the pants that say 'fit below natural waist'? Those don't even cover my rear.

    I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but I've found that this is also true in shoes. When I was 13, I wore size 6 in women's - but sixes are too big for me most of the time now. I do better with 3-4 in girls.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Vanity sizing isn't some vast conspiracy where they "lower" a size every year. Sizing is different on average than it was 50 years ago, yes... but you're giving many of these companies too much credit.

    Your Gap jeans are a 10 and your Old Navy jeans are a 8 and your Target jeans are a 6 not because of "vanity sizing," but because you're buying clothing that's being made on a "rough" standard. You can find an Old Navy size 8 that fits differently than another Old Navy size 8.

    This is not vanity sizing. This is just subpar workmanship. Is the 8 still bigger than an 8 fifty years ago? Yes. Is an 8 a similar size to one ten years ago? Yes... you might have to look around, though, because of how varied clothing manufacturing is for the vast majority of companies.

    Unfortunately, if things don't fit well, or sizing is just too "big" at certain stores... you'll either have to try on EVERY pant in that size, because you could definitely find one that was sewn closer to your measurements... or get a tailor.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Vanity sizing is a problem for people at the small end of the spectrum. I think I should be a size 2, or maybe a 0 (and I am in stores that do not vanity size or that "run small", but usually I end up as a 00petite (the petite sizes are made smaller than the regular sizes, or they are supposed to be), if they have petite and that's rare. I think I should be able to wear a small (and I can in stores that "run small"). But, it's gotten to the point where I see that a store has an xxs, I get excited that the store sells small sizes, try it on and realize it's loose on my waist and it's there because of vanity sizing not because the store sells small sizes. I never know now if a store will sell clothing in my size. I don't like to shop anyway. But, I try to stick with stores that I know I can find clothing that fits such as H&M and bluenotes as a few examples. At Old Navy, the xs is too big on me. a lot of stores do not sell 00, so when they vanity size then I can no longer shop there, and some stores such as J.Crew vanity size to the point that the 00 is actually too big for me. I walked into the store and they told me their 00 was going to be too big on me.
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    I hate it. It's not like it changes your appearance any. If you are a 16 without the vanity sizing and a 10 with it, people aren't going to look at you and think you are a size 10. You still look the same in the mirror no matter what the tag says. I don't understand the reasoning behind it. It just makes clothes shopping harder.
  • ottilieziv
    ottilieziv Posts: 5 Member
    I've been almost the same size according to the tape measure (only varied by an inch, and that was just this year!) since I was about 14 (now 33), and it has been very weird watching my size *in the same shops* drop from a UK 12 to a 10 to an 8 to even the occasional 6. I have trousers I bought less than 10 years ago that are still a perfect fit, size 10, and now in that same shop I have to look for 6 - and there aren't very many! I think the huge variance in the use of the size numbers is still less irritating than the 'size guides' online that just plain lie though: according to Levi's website, which purports to convert your actual measurements to their sizing, I should be wearing a size 28 in their demi-curve jeans. I tried them on in the store and I was utterly lost in there! I could pull them on without unbuttoning the waistband: they were looser than my pajamas! I ended up with a 25 - and lo, most of their styles aren't available in that size with a long length leg. Dammit, I'm really not that skinny: I just want to buy clothes that fit...
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    In fairness I used to feel SO GUTTED to buy a size 'XL' on ASOS for a top which is a UK size 12 (US 8), because L is a 10(6) M is an 8(4) and S is a 6(2)
  • calliekitten9
    calliekitten9 Posts: 148 Member
    It's why I never discount looking at sizes smaller and larger at the thrift store. Each brand fits differently and since thrift stores are selling clothes that for the most part have been previously worn...you have to take into account shrinkage. So my range is size 4-size 12.
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    I consider vanity sizing a pain in the behind. Actually women's sizing in general is a pain in the behind. I would love for size to be across the board, every store, every line, period. (And here I'm going to say that I love HerRoom for the universal bra sizing they do and the tagging of most, if not all, bra lines with those universal sizes.)
  • emirror
    emirror Posts: 842 Member
    It's so annoying that I have mostly given up trying to shop in stores. I'll browse, but if I want to shop and enjoy myself, I use ebay. I measure myself, and measure something that fits nicely. Then, I look at the measurements of the clothes I am interested in. It is very, very rare for something to show up and not fit.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    It's why I never discount looking at sizes smaller and larger at the thrift store. Each brand fits differently and since thrift stores are selling clothes that for the most part have been previously worn...you have to take into account shrinkage. So my range is size 4-size 12.

    Also take into account that previously worn clothing may have been altered at a tailor. I'm sure the clothing I drop off at the thrift store perplexes people because I've had the clothing tailored to a smaller size, in the waist and occasionally the legs as well.
  • bowbeforethoraxis
    bowbeforethoraxis Posts: 138 Member
    I don't mind vanity sizing so much. I just go into shopping with the mindset that I will have to try everything on.

    One thing I know, clothes today are made differently than they were 50 (or however many) years ago. Most clothes are made in factories in third world countries where they layer 20 pieces of fabric together and a machine punches down to cut all the fabric at once. This often results in some warping and distortion in the lower layers of fabric, which is why two pairs of pants at the same store in the same style can fit completely differently.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    I don't understand how it is an advantage to not having standardized sizes for women clothing. My husband can pick any online store, type 31/33 and boom, pants will arrive at our doorstep fitting him perfectly. I don't know what size I am. I went to Marshalls the other day, and I tried sizes between XXS and 3, and I honestly cannot say that one fit me perfectly over the other. Some XXS were too large and some 3s felt snug. I also find it difficult finding clothes that fits me to begin with. Regular department stores do not carry small enough sizes, and junior stores have styles that are not particularly appropriate for my age.
    Vanity sizing has been hitting mens clothing as well, with 2-4 extra inches in the waist compared to the actual measurement on the label. I have two pants of the same size, and one fit fine, while the other didn't fit.

    http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-090710
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    When I fit perfectly into a size small from Gap this weekend, still 15 pounds away from my goal, I wondered about the skinny girls and how they would have as much trouble with sizing as I did when I was bigger. I don't think they would be able to find much at Goodwill because there are very few extra smalls there.

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