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    Women's sizes and weight

    Posts: 1,375 Member
    edited March 3 in Health and Weight Loss
    Does anyone have an idea how a woman's weight relates to dress size?

    I'm 202 lbs today and wear a 16. I know when I'm 180 lbs I wear a 14. But how do the other sizes run?

    Obviously this won't be exact--sometimes you need to size up or down because your own personal bust or hips don't match a particular designer's dimensions for a particular size. But in general, what has been your experience?

    A group just formed today saying "I'll be size 8 by Christmas, you can count on me". I know by extrapolating my weight loss rate and then adding back a fudge-factor for screw-ups, that I should be in the vicinity of 170 by Christmas, but how that translates to size? Harder to predict. 14, like at 180? or 12? And where does the weight for "10" begin?

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    • Posts: 665 Member
      Due to height & body build variations I don't think you can say a size 10 would equal X amount of lbs.

      I have labels reading from size 8 - 18 in my wardrobe. Shoes go from size 8 - 11. Throw in bras and it can be anything from 14-34. There are also the manufacturer variations to consider - some designers run a little small, others are more generous.

      Weight wise for me, there has only ever really been at most a 22lb (10kg) difference.

      I wonder if size 8 by Christmas is a US size 8, UK size 8 or NZ size 8.

      So I don't think that you can translate weight into size.
    • Posts: 17,562 Member
      It all varies. Height and type of body also play factors in sizing. I'm at 207 and I just got into a size 18.
    • Posts: 1,959 Member
      i'm 5'5, 140, us size 6 jeans/ s t-shirt
    • Posts: 320 Member
      I'm 5'5" and 180. My size 12s are big on me now. So I think I'm a size 10.
    • Posts: 77 Member
      I'm 5'10", and I weigh around 216. I'm a size 16/18 on bottom, and a L or XL on top. 30 lbs ago I was an 18 on bottom and an XL on top. Not much difference at all....in another 30 lbs I expect to maybe be all the way out of 18, but who the heck knows. It depends on the brand, cut, style, etc.

      I will probably NEVER be a size 8. I think the smallest size I remember in high school was a 10, and I was a super active athlete.
    • Posts: 1,375 Member
      It all varies. Height and type of body also play factors in sizing. I'm at 207 and I just got into a size 18.

      I'm fairly tubular, not a lot of contour. I imagine if my fat was less evenly distributed I might need a larger size to accomodate bigger tatas or wider hips.

      i'm 5'8".
    • Posts: 1
      I have lost 40 lbs since April. And was wearing a 16-18 at 220 pounds (5'3" height). At 180 I can still wear some of my 16 jeans, although it looks like I might have pooped my pants (LOL). I can wear a 14 and some 12s. It all depends on the make of the clothing. Large Shirts. I would be happy to get into a 12!
    • Posts: 31 Member
      5'2, 121 pounds, size 2 jeans!
    • Posts: 32
      If only vanity sizing wasn't so rampant, maybe the size would mean something... I wear between a 0-8 in pants at 5'5 and 130lbs. Generally 4 is a safe bet though.
    • Posts: 746 Member
      Dress size seems like an impractical goal just because it varies so widely by maker. Even items by the same maker vary! And now they have "vanity" sizes that make it even less standardized. Because of illness, I do a lot of clothe shopping online and it's a craps-shoot every time.
    • Posts: 549 Member
      5'2.5" 167 size 10 jeans most of the time, sometimes 12's still.
      at 162 I'm a solid 10.
      177 I was a solid 12 sometimes 14..
    • Posts: 1,625 Member
      5',7.5" / 171lbs I'm currently a UK 14 top size 16 (ish) bottoms.

      Impossible to predict based on variations.
    • Posts: 17,562 Member
      show previous quotes

      I'm fairly tubular, not a lot of contour. I imagine if my fat was less evenly distributed I might need a larger size to accomodate bigger tatas or wider hips.

      i'm 5'8".

      Yep, I'm 5'6" and pear shaped with everything in my chest and hips
    • Posts: 644 Member
      Go to mybodygallery .com. It has a database of pictures from other women at different heights and weights and you just input yours and you can see how different body composition is for everyone.

      So basically, there is no way to answer your question as truly everyone is different but this site is still neat to look at none the less.
    • Posts: 169
      at 180 i wear a size 14 too but smaller than that i don't know yet.
    • Posts: 1,275 Member
      5'10", 232. I wear size 16w, in NYDJ. I was a size 12 last year at 190.

      It is not just weight, last year I was toned from yoga, and looked tight.
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    • Posts: 9,603 Member
      Does anyone have an idea how a woman's weight relates to dress size?

      I'm 202 lbs today and wear a 16. I know when I'm 180 lbs I wear a 14. But how do the other sizes run?

      Obviously this won't be exact--sometimes you need to size up or down because your own personal bust or hips don't match a particular designer's dimensions for a particular size. But in general, what has been your experience?

      A group just formed today saying "I'll be size 8 by Christmas, you can count on me". I know by extrapolating my weight loss rate and then adding back a fudge-factor for screw-ups, that I should be in the vicinity of 170 by Christmas, but how that translates to size? Harder to predict. 14, like at 180? or 12? And where does the weight for "10" begin?
      First, clothing manufacturers get bored and change the sizes of certain garments just for the hell of it. They giggle at how all those women will order shorts and get them and have them be a size too big or small. They have to amuse themselves somehow.

      I sell my clothes on eBay as I lose (because I go through them so fast!) and I'm always saying things like, "It's marked as an 18, but it's really more like a 20 than a 16." Sizes mean nothing!

      I think it differs from person to person. I'm about 183 and in a 14, some 16. In a month or two, I'll start adding 12s. I'm just now getting rid of my last 18.

      You go through sizes faster as you lose more. They add way more room between 2X and 3X than they do between 14 and 16.
    • Posts: 8 Member
      Does anyone have an idea how a woman's weight relates to dress size?

      I'm 202 lbs today and wear a 16. I know when I'm 180 lbs I wear a 14. But how do the other sizes run?

      Obviously this won't be exact--sometimes you need to size up or down because your own personal bust or hips don't match a particular designer's dimensions for a particular size. But in general, what has been your experience?

      A group just formed today saying "I'll be size 8 by Christmas, you can count on me". I know by extrapolating my weight loss rate and then adding back a fudge-factor for screw-ups, that I should be in the vicinity of 170 by Christmas, but how that translates to size? Harder to predict. 14, like at 180? or 12? And where does the weight for "10" begin?
      I have noticed that every 10 lbs that I lose I drop a full clothing size. Also consider what the other poster said " different cuts and manufacturing play a role in sizing" I'm 5ft 7in tall and weigh 145lbs, when I weighed 180 I was also a size 14 now I'm a 4-6 depending on the cut. I hope that helps ♥
    • Posts: 71 Member
      I wish I knew. I'm ~174 right now at 5'2.5 and I think I'd fit into a 16 now but I'm wearing a loose 18.
    • Posts: 30
      I wear like 4 or more different sizes now, I wish I knew what size I really was. Seriously. I have things ranging from 20-32 that all fit.. lol
    • Posts: 1,978 Member
      This is going to rely heavily on body composition.

      My bestie is 155 at 5'8" and wears a size 2/4. She also has 16% bodyfat.

      Where by comparison she used to wear a size 12 at 165 when her bodyfat percentage was much higher.


      I know her stats because we train/lift/measure/shop together =)
    • Posts: 22 Member
      If really just depends on your build. Currently I weigh anywhere between 195-203 (on any given day). Clothing size wise, I wear a 12 on bottom (Large) and about a size medium on top. My height is 5'7. So really it just depends. Even when i got down to 186, I was just starting to be comfortable in a size 10. Needless to say it's hard to generalize which weight will match which size.
    • Posts: 66 Member
      Does anyone have an idea how a woman's weight relates to dress size?

      I'm 202 lbs today and wear a 16. I know when I'm 180 lbs I wear a 14. But how do the other sizes run?

      When I was your size, I was your size.. Does that sound right? Ha ha.. But seriously, when I weighed in the lower 200's I wore a 16, 180's a 14, and 170's a 12. I'm 5'6". I have no clue if I'm big boned, medium boned, or what. but I do know that is what it was when I was down there. (looking forward to seeing it again someday)
    • Posts: 3,133 Member
      I have clothes that are older than I care to admit that are size 10 that I wore when I was between 145 and 155 pounds. I have size 14 stuff that is newer that I can wear at about 190 pounds with no problem. I have older jeans that are size 14 that I couldn't even get up past my thighs. There is no rhyme or reason to clothing size, and I suspect vanity sizing is to blame. And then I consider this... Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 back in her heyday... and I can assure you my measurements are not what hers were. :noway:
    • Posts: 274 Member
      Does anyone have an idea how a woman's weight relates to dress size?

      I'm 202 lbs today and wear a 16. I know when I'm 180 lbs I wear a 14. But how do the other sizes run?


      For me it is that - a different size every 20-25 either lost or gained seems to equal a size for me. I can lose 20 or so then hit a wall and shrink a size. Or opposite in life...gain 20+ and go up a size. So I'd be around an 18 when I hit 200. But maybe a 16 since I'm trying to tone and not just lose weight with calorie deficit.
    • Posts: 1,053 Member
      I'm a 16/18 at around 240.
    • Posts: 42 Member
      Go to mybodygallery .com. It has a database of pictures from other women at different heights and weights and you just input yours and you can see how different body composition is for everyone.

      So basically, there is no way to answer your question as truly everyone is different but this site is still neat to look at none the less.

      Seconded! This site is really nifty.
    • Posts: 23 Member
      When I was 208 I was wearing a size 22/24 now I am 185 and wearing a size 18 jeans but a 18/20 top I feel your pain
    • Posts: 4,590 Member
      I consider it unpredictable. I'm five three, 129 lbs, and wear a size 10 in most things and an 8 in some. I always seem to wear bigger sizes than other people at my weight, despite being only 26% body fat at this point. People tell me they're five three and 120 lbs and wear a size two? lol.... no clue. none at all.
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