Clothing Sizes

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msbanana
msbanana Posts: 793 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Here's the deal. I've been short on work appropriate clothing in a big way for about a month now. I was out at my mom's yesterday and made some remark about it. She told me she had a bunch of stuff that didn't fit or that she didn't like for one reason or another and that I was welcome to go through it and take want I wanted. I was excited but pretty sure I wasn't going to find anything. I'm 8 inches taller, significantly bustier and have always been let's call it bulkier than she is. She's always been a sm/med and I've always been a lg/xl and for a while xxl/3xl it's just how it is.

So I'm going through the pile and I run across a couple shirts in Large and snag those hoping I can squeeze the girls in and find a couple mediums that were super cute so I tried one on... it fit. I tried another, it fit. I was excited to find shirts BUT I don't get it. Yes, I've lost weight, about this I am pleased, however 8 years ago when I was thin (easily 50 pounds lighter than I am now with much smaller measurements) I was still a large. Yes, clothing styles have changed but really? I look back at pictures from that time and I didn't wear my clothing abnormally baggy I'm at a loss.

Have US clothing sizes changed THAT much since I started shopping in plus size stores? I haven't ventured into the world of "normal" clothing stores (to be frank I was scared nothing would fit) since I shrank out of the smallest size my favorite store carried. Can anyone help me out here?

Am I delusional about my size? Am I smaller than I think and feel? Are clothing designers increasing the size of clothing to compensate for the ever growing rate of obesity in the US? :huh: I'm kinda freaking out.

Replies

  • digitalyssa
    digitalyssa Posts: 112 Member
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    I find that GAP is the worst. I bought size 30 skinny jeans last year and they are REALLY tight on me still. Last week I bought another size 30 skinny jean from GAP in a different wash (thinking I can shrink into them, haha) and they are noticeably baggier like one size bigger. I think retailers are trying to make bigger people feel better so that they are more likely to buy. It's not helping us is it?
  • atlraine
    atlraine Posts: 172 Member
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    I think the clothing industry is making changes in its clothing sizes. I can wear anything from a size 12/med to a 16/Lg-XL. It all depends on the manufacturer and the clothing line. Be happy you can wear a medium :smile: , but be leary that all mediums are not the same. Banana Republic and the GAP are owned by the same company. Macy's sells clothes that are more true to size. Kohl's & JcPenny's carries many different brand names and sizes are very different.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    I have 3 pairs of the exact same jeans from Old Navy. Same style, same cut, different colors. Two are 8s, one is a 6. Go figure the 6 fits the best. There's no way they're really 6s.

    Also, Abercrombie, when I wore an 11/12 I fit in their 8s. They run sizes #d smaller I swear on purpose.
  • clioandboy
    clioandboy Posts: 963 Member
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    I am wearing what are uk size 10 equivalents, 20 years ago they would have been 12's maybe even 14's I am convinced of it- not complaining tho :D
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    It's called "vanity sizing" in the industry. Who wouldn't shop where they're a size four instead of a ten?

    That's not an exaggeration, btw, I have everything from a four to a twelve in my closet, and they all fit the same, they're just from different stores. I just buy what fits, and cut the tags out when I get home.:laugh:

    It's even happening with men's sizes that are alledgedly sized in inches...a "34" waist will be a different measurement at different stores.

    Lame, and confusing.
  • trinityj1
    trinityj1 Posts: 97 Member
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    In my experience, US sizes are huge. I always forget that ordering size medium from a US company will equal a large or EXTRA large in Canadian sizes. I've ended up with many shapeless sacks this way, lol.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    In my experience, US sizes are huge. I always forget that ordering size medium from a US company will equal a large or EXTRA large in Canadian sizes. I've ended up with many shapeless sacks this way, lol.

    This is definitely true. My self-esteem took a serious ding when I moved from the states to Canada. :wink:
  • JLeeAlton
    JLeeAlton Posts: 311
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    I have pants that range from 6 to 10.. depending on style brand etc I can fit in all those sizes.. 6 8 10... as for shirts, same thing.. I have some tanks that are XS.. yes XS and I can wear them.. and I can go all the way up to a L.. that is why you should always always try on clothes before you buy. However once you know what size you can wear in different stores then trying on won't be that often.
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
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    I find that GAP is the worst. I bought size 30 skinny jeans last year and they are REALLY tight on me still. Last week I bought another size 30 skinny jean from GAP in a different wash (thinking I can shrink into them, haha) and they are noticeably baggier like one size bigger. I think retailers are trying to make bigger people feel better so that they are more likely to buy. It's not helping us is it?

    I work at the Gap. Let me fill you in on a secret about our jeans. I have 4 different cuts of our denim and some of them run big, some run small and some do run more true to size. It has to do with the cut of the style, the fabrication, and the wash. This is the same at pretty much any store.

    Long and Lean runs a little big. Perfect boot and Curvy run pretty true to size. Always Skinny and Sexy Boot run about a size small. The Legging Jeans are going to be different depending on how snug you like your stretchy jeans to fit. Boyfriend runs up to 2 sizes big, again depending on how you like them to fit.

    You also have to take into account the fact that even within the same size, style, and wash, there will be variations in the way one pair of jeans fits from another in the same stack.

    If there's one thing that dressing women and men for the last 2 years has taught me its not to trip out over the sizes because they will rarely carry through to every style, cut, and store brand you try. I have jeans ranging from 8 to 12 in my closet from the same store. Find a pair that fits you and you feel good in and use the size as a general guideline.

    Same speech goes for Old Navy since The Gap owns them. Their jeans are pretty wonky anyway.. in my opinion they do much better with men's denim and bottoms than women's. But that's just me.

    Hope that helps!
  • mtwd65
    mtwd65 Posts: 51
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    It's called vanity sizing and has been going on for quite a while. Sizes in the US apparently go down to 0 now, sizes here haven't moved quite so much. People aren't shrinking, clothing is getting bigger so that the size you were in 10 years ago is the size you are in now if you have gained weight. I grabbed an old skirt from my wardrobe yesterday (bought in the '80s) it is my current size but won't go around me at all, it is 2 sizes smaller than the same size purchased recently from the same shop.

    Personally I think it is time to get new standard sizing that works for women. The sizes we have now are far from standard and most clothes have the width of the back the same as the front so that darts are not required and prices are therefore kept down. The problem is that women are not cardboard cutouts we are naturally curvy and the back often needs to be narrower than the front for a good fit (this is the same for all sizes of women).
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    It is probably you actually . . . I have not always been heavy and now that Im getting closer to my goal Im realizing that I am a different shape than I used to be when I was the same weight. Blame gravity, ha ha.

    I talked to a girl at work who has lost, and gained weight as well and she confirmed that she noticed the exact same thing with her body shape.

    A good excuse to go shopping for new clothes to celebrate how far you have come I say!!! Whoot whoot!!!!
  • rayneenie
    rayneenie Posts: 177 Member
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    For years my Grandma worked at a garment factory that supplied what at the time were very big name designer clothes. She has always told all of us kids that you always have to just try it on because sometimes they will just slap a tag in it. So your 6 could really be an 8 and have a tag for a 6 in it.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    It's called vanity sizing and has been going on for quite a while. Sizes in the US apparently go down to 0 now,

    They have a 00, which is even smaller! It's tiny though!
  • Sweet13_Princess
    Sweet13_Princess Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I always have to try everything on. It's ridiculous that I need an XL shirt just because the gals are big, yet I can fit in M pants. I have the worst time shopping, nothing ever seems to fit up top and it gaps. I can't even wear button downs, which is a bummer because I really like them. I'm just glad I'm not in the plus sizes anymore.... I was heading there a couple of months ago and it's part of what shocked me into action.

    If US sizes are huge compared to European sizes, then I'm glad I live here... or my self-esteem would really be hit hard!

    Shannon
  • allie7383
    allie7383 Posts: 865 Member
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    I agree as well, it all depends on the store. I worked at American Eagle for 2 years, and we used to go down to a 0, in store... I recently went back and now they stock 00's, which were previously only available online. With my current weight loss I was able to fit into a size 12 in one style, and a 10 in another, and actually I bought a size 8, which I have hanging in my closet as motivation lol. It's so crazy sometimes.
    I wore a sweater on Thanksgiving from NY&Co. which was a Small, but then the next day bought a size 12 (a small size 12 in my opinion) from Express.
  • lulabellewoowoo
    lulabellewoowoo Posts: 3,125 Member
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    Well, from my experience, I have a pair of jeans from 9 years ago when I weighed 130 at a size 6. I have saved them all these years as my "inspiration" pants. So almost 3 years ago, I started exercising, after having gained 15+ plus pounds with marriage, age,... and let's face it, stuffing my face. When I finally got down to about 138, I put those jeans on by accident and they fit. 8 lb heavier and they fit!?!?! What had I changed? My muscle tone. Now those jeans are in the pile of "not saving because I never want to wear again". So don't underestimate the amount of changes you are making to your body other than weight loss. Toning makes a HUGE difference. CONGRATS!
  • PussyKat
    PussyKat Posts: 69 Member
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    SIzes have definitely changed...I used to volunteer at a charity shop sorting through clothes, and always noticed that the older-looking clothes looked ridiculously small compared to what their modern counterparts would be. Like an old (UK) size 14 top would be more like a 10 today.
    So I'm well aware of vanity sizing and the like, and agree it probably isn't helpful to the obesity epidemic. But yesterday I went shopping and managed to squeeze into several size 8 items, and damn, did it feel good...:P

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