Clothing sizing running larger and larger

Don't complain to us, contact the company.

Americans are getting more and more overweight. The companies don't want to lose money so they are catering to these groups of people but offering 'vanity sizes" (Like when I bought a size 12 shirt at Ashley Stewart and it was really like a 16-18.)

I've definitely noticed that clothing sizes seem really absurd. I often find myself wondering how really thin people, especially adults (sizes for teen clothes seem to be smaller as a whole) find clothes that fit properly.

Never mind that clothing sizes across the board don't match. I have four pairs of jeans from different manufacturers. One is a 2 and fits fine. One is a 6 and fits fine. One is a 4 and falling off without a belt. One is a 4 and fits reasonably well. How long does it take a bird, flying at 30 mph, to catch up with a train departing at 6:30AM from Wichita that plans to reach Houston by 8:30AM?

Madness.

Yes, it is frustrating when the xs is too big and I can't shop there (Old Navy for example). I try to keep track of which stores run small and listen when people complain that stores run small (no I'm not going to boycott a store that sells my size). I love my 00 jeans from Banana Republic. I hope they don't make them any bigger. It does vary from store to store. I wear the smallest size at the store and for some stores that's 00 and some stores such as H&M it's a 2 (but still they are usually a slightly looser fit than I want). I have gone into stores and had them tell me that even their 00 was going to be too big for me and that nothing in the store was going to fit me right (that was at J.Crew). When I see that a store has xxs, I think they must cater to small sizes, but when the xxs fits me, I realize it's probably just vanity sizing being the reason they even need to sell an xxs. I usually need to have the waist tailored to be smaller in shirts and pants. In shirts the shoulders, waist, back can all be big on me.

it;s not really vanity sizing. it's because people are getting larger and women;s sizes are supposed to be based on averages. so size 8 is supposed to be the size of the "average" american woman, and the other sizes above or below are determined by the difference in inches.

even for men's sizes it;s a bit wonky.

my european coworkers complain about this all the time because they can't shop many places. what they end up doing is either waiting until they go home to shop or shop at european and asian stores like h&m, zara, and uniqlo

Agreed: vanity sizing is ridiculous. I am 5'9", 140 lbs and wear a 2 in some brands (and have some 0s from BR)...but then in others I'm a 7. It's irritating and confusing.
We live in Europe right now and those sizes are also strange, but seem to be smaller in general for comparable sizes than in the States. But then people are also not as overweight in general as they are in the US.

Yes, it is frustrating when the xs is too big and I can't shop there (Old Navy for example). I try to keep track of which stores run small and listen when people complain that stores run small (no I'm not going to boycott a store that sells my size). I love my 00 jeans from Banana Republic. I hope they don't make them any bigger. It does vary from store to store. I wear the smallest size at the store and for some stores that's 00 and some stores such as H&M it's a 2 (but still they are usually a slightly looser fit than I want). I have gone into stores and had them tell me that even their 00 was going to be too big for me and that nothing in the store was going to fit me right (that was at J.Crew). When I see that a store has xxs, I think they must cater to small sizes, but when the xxs fits me, I realize it's probably just vanity sizing being the reason they even need to sell an xxs. I usually need to have the waist tailored to be smaller in shirts and pants. In shirts the shoulders, waist, back can all be big on me.

Can you give me a short list of stores that ran small besides H&M. Thank you!

Hmm, I don't shop that much, so I don't know a lot.

I tend to buy t-shirts and shirts at bluenotes because the shirts there can fit me in an xs, and sometimes even a small. I've gotten exercise and yoga clothes from Roots (this may be a Canadian store). I know people don't like lululemon, but the sweatshirts fit me there. I gravitate towards stores that cater to the Asian community here in Vancouver. At this point I usually just go to Banana Republic to find pants (because they have 00petite), and sometimes get the waist tailored. And H&M and Bluenotes for shirts and dresses. I'll let you know if I think of more.

So I'm noticing that manufacturers are making bigger and bigger clothes and labeling them the same size. This has been my experience for all the places I shop. I typically shop at express, banana republic, nordstroms, and white house black market. There are some items that I bought 1-2 years ago that is exactly the same style (some styles are staples and manufacturer's keep for a long time) and I will buy the same size and the new item will come significantly bigger at least an inch larger in all places even if its the same size. So now I'm stuck buying buying the smallest size that each of these manufacturer's have to offer and if I keep losing weight, I'm thinking I won't be able to buy in these places anymore unless I buy online and get 00 or have it tailored. Mind you I'm not scary skinny. I'm 5'4'' and 114 lbs. I'm at healthy weight so this is really frustrating. Has anyone noticed this besides me?

I know about vanity sizing but usually the comparison is from like 60's and 70's to sizing now but I'm talking about a much much shorter time frame

It's annoying. I'm a size 4 and an S (on top) at Old Navy. No effing way am I that size. So it annoys me because where the heck am I going to shop when I go down from the size 6 that I really am and get smaller than an S on top?

OTOH, Target doesn't do that but I don't like the clothes there.

Clothes size is pretty much like weight right now for me. Good to take into account, but in the end it doesn't matter as long as I look great.

Right now I can go to different stores, try on different items and fit in clothes raging from S to XL. It's the cut, the brand, whatever, it doesn't matter.
This week I tried in some local store a XL dress that looked great on me (the cut was very flattering on the tummy, which is my biggest issue).
Three weeks ago I tried an M sized skirt in H&M and it was quite loose. I was actually ashamed that I had to go to an S size as I think that store employees would be judgemental if they saw me try/buy an S size item. :laugh: But WTF, if I got into an S skirt, a skinny girl couldn't even wear the XS???

I don't know about larger sizes but I think the clothes industry has a HUGE issue with lack of standardization.
Clothes sizes should be standard, should correspond to standard specific measurements. Named it large or small it doesn't matter in the end.
In my region, Eastern Europe, it's like every store has different sizing.

Yes, it is frustrating when the xs is too big and I can't shop there (Old Navy for example). I try to keep track of which stores run small and listen when people complain that stores run small (no I'm not going to boycott a store that sells my size). I love my 00 jeans from Banana Republic. I hope they don't make them any bigger. It does vary from store to store. I wear the smallest size at the store and for some stores that's 00 and some stores such as H&M it's a 2 (but still they are usually a slightly looser fit than I want). I have gone into stores and had them tell me that even their 00 was going to be too big for me and that nothing in the store was going to fit me right (that was at J.Crew). When I see that a store has xxs, I think they must cater to small sizes, but when the xxs fits me, I realize it's probably just vanity sizing being the reason they even need to sell an xxs. I usually need to have the waist tailored to be smaller in shirts and pants. In shirts the shoulders, waist, back can all be big on me.

Can you give me a short list of stores that ran small besides H&M. Thank you!

Hmm, I don't shop that much, so I don't know a lot.

I tend to buy t-shirts and shirts at bluenotes because the shirts there can fit me in an xs, and sometimes even a small. I've gotten exercise and yoga clothes from Roots (this may be a Canadian store). I know people don't like lululemon, but the sweatshirts fit me there. I gravitate towards stores that cater to the Asian community here in Vancouver. At this point I usually just go to Banana Republic to find pants (because they have 00petite), and sometimes get the waist tailored. And H&M and Bluenotes for shirts and dresses. I'll let you know if I think of more.

Thanks for your help. Unfortunately, I am in school in the midwest US (I came from California) and the store variety here is really really limited...sigh. Is it ok if I ask how tall you are and your weight. I would probably need to buy clothes online and just want to compare what I needed to get since I don't trust size charts. They are in my experience, inaccurate.

I'm 5'2" and around 100 or 102 pounds.

If I order online I call and tell them my measurements and ask them how the clothing runs. Usually the person on the phone knows if they run small or big.

I also find it annoying how variable sizes are. I'm anything from a size 10 to a size 16 depending on the brand, though mostly 10's and 12's fit. It's very frustrating. I didn't have this issue with so much variability when I was plus sized.

Regardless of what women say about how annoying vanity sizing is, the truth of the matter is designers, manufacturers and retail shops see without doubt women are more likely to buy a smaller sized item than a larger sized item, even if the larger item looks slightly better. It's called vanity sizing for a reason and it works.

Okay, I'm new here and I was getting really crazy about how small people on here generally seemed to be. Vanity sizing doesn't seem to be THAT extreme in Europe (where I live).
When I saw a lot of thin, but not skinny skinny people posting in the forums that they wore a size 0 or 2, I was amazed because the (supposed) equivalent of a size 0 doesn't even exist in Europe. The smallest you can buy here is a size 32, which should theoretically equal a US size 2. And trust me, a EU size 32 is extremely small, high-fashion-modelesque and only achievable by persons with a very small frame.

Why would US companies do this? I guess it's way too obvious to serve as a marketing strategy and I think it annoys many customers, no?

Okay, I'm new here and I was getting really crazy about how small people on here generally seemed to be. Vanity sizing doesn't seem to be THAT extreme in Europe (where I live).
When I saw a lot of thin, but not skinny skinny people posting in the forums that they wore a size 0 or 2, I was amazed because the (supposed) equivalent of a size 0 doesn't even exist in Europe. The smallest you can buy here is a size 32, which should theoretically equal a US size 2. And trust me, a EU size 32 is extremely small, high-fashion-modelesque and only achievable by persons with a very small frame.

Why would US companies do this? I guess it's way too obvious to serve as a marketing strategy and I think it annoys many customers, no?

Yeah, I don't know the exact amount it varies, and maybe someone already said this. But, I think North American sizes are at least 2 sizes smaller than European. So, a 00 here is a 2 there.