Women's Clothing Sizes

veganbettie
veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
okay, whats the deal with women's clothing sizes? Does it take less weight to lose when you get in the smaller sizes to drop a size?

about a year ago I was still fitting in a juniors size 13, then i went to an 11, and then it took FOREVER and 25 pounds to get into a size 9....

Then the last 5 or 10 pounds or so I started fitting better in women's sizes and went into an 8, lost 5 more pounds and the 8s are practically falling off, but i refuse to believe i could be a size 6...

freaking sizes and clothes are confusing.
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Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I had to lose 50 lbs before I could go down a size and even then it is only in certain clothing types - ie I have 1 really stretch pair of jeans that I can wear in a smaller size. That's it.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Woman's clothing sizes are arbitrary. I wear from a 4-11 in jeans.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    I had to lose 40lbs to drop the first pants size. I've lost 65lbs all up and have to get new jeans again already (I just got a smaller size 2.5 weeks ago. It is weird isn't it.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    The smaller sizes are closer together than larger ones. I can drop a size now just losing five or ten pounds. When I was in larger sizes, it took 20 or 30 pounds or even more to fit into a lower size.
  • ninasteele
    ninasteele Posts: 5 Member
    I hate women's clothing size...i wish we could just go by waist inches. Things would be so much easier and consistent.
  • kickassbarbie
    kickassbarbie Posts: 286 Member
    Yup the smaller sizes require less lbs dropped.

    Last two years I've been ping ponging between a 6 and an 8 on the same dam 8lbs. I want waist sizes too! Doesn't help some shop vanity size more than others either!
  • msty112
    msty112 Posts: 199 Member
    ninasteele wrote: »
    I hate women's clothing size...i wish we could just go by waist inches. Things would be so much easier and consistent.

    Yes! Men's clothing sizes makes so much more sense
  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
    I'm all for waist/inseam sizing for women!!!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    They vary by brand. Vanity sizing has gone rampant. And yes, there's less difference between the smaller sizes than there is between the larger sizes.

    Just buy whatever fits and don't worry too much about what it says on the label.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    Weird sizing happens (but not nearly as often) in menswear too.

    I find that I'm in everything from a 6-12 right now. I'm crazy excited about the single digit sizes but it messes with my head because I don't see a size 6 in the mirror and I know inflation is so rampant that it depresses rather than boosts my ego.
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    ninasteele wrote: »
    I hate women's clothing size...i wish we could just go by waist inches. Things would be so much easier and consistent.

    GAP does that.
    I ordered 28in jeans. (size 6 - a pair of size 6 from Gap from like 2.5years ago, just got too tight and I'm donating them (didn't care for them anyway).
    The 28s I just ordered at too big.

    it's still vanity sizing...
    and I've heard it's hitting men's pants as well.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    I find that I'm in everything from a 6-12 right now. I'm crazy excited about the single digit sizes but it messes with my head because I don't see a size 6 in the mirror and I know inflation is so rampant that it depresses rather than boosts my ego.

    I felt that way when I just bought a dress in a size 4. It fit perfectly, and yet, seven months ago I was wearing a size 14 and I don't actually feel all that different. I also know that it's not *really* a size 4... I mean, it is, but it's an extremely vanity-sized size 4. Feels a bit silly, truth be told.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    Weird sizing happens (but not nearly as often) in menswear too.

    I find that I'm in everything from a 6-12 right now. I'm crazy excited about the single digit sizes but it messes with my head because I don't see a size 6 in the mirror and I know inflation is so rampant that it depresses rather than boosts my ego.

    I'm in 6-12 right now too. It makes me laugh because I was a 4-6 in high school, when I was 30+ pounds lighter than I am now. And no, the difference is not muscle weight (though I'd love it if it were.)
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
    randomtai wrote: »
    Woman's clothing sizes are arbitrary. I wear from a 4-11 in jeans.

    That is a CRAZY range! My goodness.

    I just go somewhere like Ross and get the cheapest jeans possible, i've never really been in a range like that. I've pretty much always been an 11 in juniors and a 12 in womens...

    Curse you vanity sizing!!!!!
  • Lukyanenko
    Lukyanenko Posts: 65 Member
    I got two pair of pants a little while ago from H&M. Tried one on, then thought because the cut was so similar, it was basically the same pants in a different colour, that I didn't need to try on the second pair. Big mistake, because the second one was too small, couldn't even come close to zipping it up.
  • agreenid
    agreenid Posts: 218 Member
    Or when you try on two or three different pairs of pants in the same size and they all fit differently? Yeah. Lame-sauce.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Are you talking about juniors sizes or women's clothing sizes?

    Juniors sizes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 are cut with wider waists and narrower hips. Women's sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 are cut with wider hips and narrower waists. I would wear a Juniors 13 but a women's 8 in most brands.
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
    Women's sizes vary because we like our clothing more tailored than men do. Our bodies also vary more than men do. If you are a small framed male you are probably small though the arms shoulders waste and chest. IF you are a small framed woman you may have a larger chest or a smaller chest and you may have a waste that is larger or smaller but still be a smaller frame. The same goes for the lower half of us. We are complicated and require different cuts of clothing for each body type as such our sizes vary. You might really be a small but a small in Juniors will fit differently than a small in Misses because a teenage girl does not have the same curves that a grown woman has.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    Funny! When I was in high school back in the 70's I used to buy men's jeans and cords because that was the only way to get them long enough. Women's pants didn't and still don't have an inseam option. It was either that or "The Tall Girl's Shop" (yes, that was a real store back then) and then everything was too long. I weighed 160 and wore a size 16. Today I weigh 225 and wear a size 18? I have a real hard time believing that I'm only one size up but 65 pounds heavier. I still say that somewhere through the years women's sizing changed. Vanity sizing probably.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    even when they go by 'waist size' it's not a guarantee the pants will fit. Depending on the style, color, etc, it varies. I take a 25 to a 26 in Miss Me or Silvers, which are a 0 or 1/2 in juniors in other brands. But it depends on the style. I have a pair of 25s that are way loose, and a pair that are skin tight. I have to try every pair of pants on to see what fits.
    But a gain or loss of 5 pounds means a change in size.
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
    itsfuntobenormal wrote: »
    Are you talking about juniors sizes or women's clothing sizes?

    Juniors sizes 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 are cut with wider waists and narrower hips. Women's sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 are cut with wider hips and narrower waists. I would wear a Juniors 13 but a women's 8 in most brands.

    I was talking about both. Heavier I was fitting in juniors better for some reason. Now that i've dropped weight womens' sizing fits me better. Which didn't make sense to me because i though women's would have more room for curves? But maybe it's the kind of jeans i'm buying.

    For the longest period of time i fit in size 11 or 13 juniors and then 12- 14 women's, but the women's were never flattering.
  • veganbettie
    veganbettie Posts: 701 Member
    it sort of makes me sad the sizes are so wacked. I wanted to be all happy once i reached a size 6 and now i can't be. B-astards.
  • andreamulhall
    andreamulhall Posts: 81 Member
    I've lost 19 pound and I still havnt lost a size
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    andreamulhall wrote: »
    I've lost 19 pound and I still havnt lost a size

    I think it took me 20 pounds to go down one size (16w/18 down to regular size 16.) In the last 10 pounds (158-148) I've gone from 12 to 6 (and fit all of those sizes depending on the piece of clothing.)
  • jessiruthica
    jessiruthica Posts: 412 Member
    Yep. At about 145 in high school I was wearing 14s. Today at 170 I can wear a 10, but only in one shop. In another shop I'm still in a 14. It makes no rational sense.
  • Carol_
    Carol_ Posts: 469 Member
    @MoiAussi93. So true! Many years ago, I sewed in a factory. I remember noticing the size charts. Also..some of the clothes got a size 12 label and some, maybe a 14, depending on the brand name...even if they were from the exact 'lot' of clothes.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    It took me about 25 pounds to go from a 22 to a 20. Now it's about every 10 pounds (lost 60 so far). I just started wearing 14s last month and am hovering between L and XL in tops.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
    segacs wrote: »
    They vary by brand. Vanity sizing has gone rampant. And yes, there's less difference between the smaller sizes than there is between the larger sizes.

    Just buy whatever fits and don't worry too much about what it says on the label.

    That.

    I was a XL shirt and 18 jean when I started. I'm down 45ish pounds and am in a M shirt and a 12 jean. I just bought a bunch of 12 stuff but lost a few pounds the last few weeks and they are already starting to feel baggy :( I mean :) but my wallet says :(

    Your build is going to effect things a lot. And brands can range like crazy. Don't pay attention to the tag #'s. But it CAN make shopping a pain in the rear.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Clothing manufacturers each have their own sizing specs...there is no standard sizing, except for shoes. And they've been making clothing bigger, but labeling it a smaller size, because women don't like to buy large sizes. Don't get hung up on a number!
  • holly55555
    holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
    Sizing depends on where you shop. For some reason, clothing sizes vary to an incredible level - it is awful!

    I'm 5'8, 129 lbs, and my smallest clothing item is an XXS. My largest is a sweater I got at a plus size store - 1XL. It's oversized and slouchy on me and I love that look.

    What does this mean? Don't pay attention to the number - pay attention to how it fits you. And when it doubt, always go bigger. If you're between sizes - let's say you need one size for your legs but the waist is too big, tailor it in for a perfect fit.
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