Vanity sizing

kerriknox
kerriknox Posts: 276 Member
edited September 28 in Motivation and Support
Did anyone watch the Dr Oz show about Vanity Sizing? I was shocked! A size 12 is from 33 - 38 inch waist. Not only that but back in Marilyn Monroe's time a size 12 was a 28 inch waist!

I can't believe how much it has changed.

Replies

  • katt742
    katt742 Posts: 196 Member
    Really?? I wish i would have seen that....
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
    I'm a size 10 according to standard American size charts and even that isn't accurate.
    I only wear a size 6-8 the sizes just get bigger and bigger.
  • cem2168
    cem2168 Posts: 205 Member
    yes! i watched it and was horrified... talk about a confidence killer
  • daisymaegreen
    daisymaegreen Posts: 50 Member
    Did anyone watch the Dr Oz show about Vanity Sizing? I was shocked! A size 12 is from 33 - 38 inch waist. Not only that but back in Marilyn Monroe's time a size 12 was a 28 inch waist!

    I can't believe how much it has changed.

    i always wondered. when ever they pull out that remark about Marilyn Monroe being a size 12, well you know just by looking at her pics that she was definitely NOT a current size 12. she'd be like our current size 8, maybe
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    It's stupid over here in the UK. I am still 20lbs heavier than I was when I got married 12 years ago, as a size 10 (US 6).

    12 years later and 20lbs heavier, I am now having to try on a UK 8, 10s fall off me. It's crazy. By my measurements, I should be 10/12.
  • Shutterpillar
    Shutterpillar Posts: 208
    i try to keep in mind that its just a number. High or low, it doesnt matter as long as I am feeling good about myself.
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
    Did anyone watch the Dr Oz show about Vanity Sizing? I was shocked! A size 12 is from 33 - 38 inch waist. Not only that but back in Marilyn Monroe's time a size 12 was a 28 inch waist!

    I can't believe how much it has changed.

    People are also taller now a days, so they have to take that into consideration & modify the sizing because taller generally=larger.
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
    I wish I had seen it too! It is crazy how much the sizes have changed. That is one of those perfect examples that everybody uses- Marilyn Monroe and that she was a size 12 (or 14, I think I've heard before). It is used a lot by people to justify their weight/size... but they don't realize that the sizes are so different! A 10 inch waist difference? Wow!
  • FabOma08
    FabOma08 Posts: 500
    Just me, but I'm gonna feel grateful! I've got a chance to be a size 12. In Marilyn's time...no way! And of course since there really is no "set measurement" for size who can say...I have 4 different sizes in my closet that all fit about the same!

    ** last year I had a 38 inch waist and I assure you I never found a size 12 anything that fit!! I was an average 16.
  • TXHunny84
    TXHunny84 Posts: 503 Member
    Yes!! Same with Lucielle Ball (I Love Lucy show). She was like a size 10-12 and I saw costumes of hers she wore for the show and they're SMALL!! She's like todays size 4/6.....
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
    i try to keep in mind that its just a number. High or low, it doesnt matter as long as I am feeling good about myself.

    And that is all that matters. Very well put.
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
    I found it online if anyone is interested in watching; here is part 1:

    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/whats-your-real-clothing-size-pt-1
  • FabOma08
    FabOma08 Posts: 500
    Yes!! Same with Lucielle Ball (I Love Lucy show). She was like a size 10-12 and I saw costumes of hers she wore for the show and they're SMALL!! She's like todays size 4/6.....

    I've seen that written in places but never anyplace official. I'm not sure I'm quite believing it since she had a 22 1/2 inch waist! I know sizes were different but c'mon!!!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I've already seen this in action.... around 10-12 years ago, I bought a pair of jeans that were a size 4. They were loose in the waist at that time and I slowly filled them in over the next few years. I gave them away last year when I was cleaning out a box of clothes that were too small because I couldn't come anywhere near to pulling them on. However, I then went out and bought another pair of jeans that were a "size 4" and fit perfectly!! It's pretty darn ridiculous, if you ask me. If I'm really a size 10, then I'm a size 10. Don't try to make me feel good about myself by trying to kid me into thinking that at 10-15 pounds heavier that I'm still a size 4. The people I wonder about are the true size 1s and 2s. How do they find clothes that fit???
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    http://www.rodcollins.com/wordpress/what-dress-size-or-waist-size-am-i-really

    I found this interesting, but what I always find rather irritating on listed clothing sizes is the discrepancy between hip and waist measurements for a size. I have a 29 inch waist, which in the UK should make me a 12, but 36 inch hips, which puts me at an 8-10. Surely no one actually has an 11 inch difference between their hip and waist measurement?
  • Micheller1210
    Micheller1210 Posts: 460 Member
    Yup that is true, when I was young I went into the military at age 17 I had a 28 inch waist and the the tags in my uniform were size R12, meaning Iwas a regular 12....not a small12 or a large 12.....I weighed about 115 lbs then.......then afew years later after my daughter I weighed 125 and was a size 7, then after my son was born I weighed 140 I was wearing a size 12 again.......and now I wear an 18 w I don't want to know what is was then....lol...now there are no set measuring standards. In the clothing business.
  • TiredOfThisShit
    TiredOfThisShit Posts: 13
    Did anyone watch the Dr Oz show about Vanity Sizing? I was shocked! A size 12 is from 33 - 38 inch waist. Not only that but back in Marilyn Monroe's time a size 12 was a 28 inch waist!

    I can't believe how much it has changed.

    i always wondered. when ever they pull out that remark about Marilyn Monroe being a size 12, well you know just by looking at her pics that she was definitely NOT a current size 12. she'd be like our current size 8, maybe

    Well I wear a 27 to a 28 American size, which is a size four to six. Marilyn probably only had a little extra meat on her bones. How big americans, along with the world, scares me. I read a study that said that 1 in 3 children are obese leaving PRIMARY SCHOOL. Parents are also mashing up fast food and feeding it to babies. What the eff??
  • 5mule
    5mule Posts: 32 Member
    It's the same for men's clothes. A size 36 inch waist falls off me, but my waist measures around 38 with a tape. I mean, how can a men's size 36 inch waist actually be 40 inches around? Silly. I always thought that I was in great shape because I still fit in size 36 jeans. NOT SO! Funny thing is, when I'm at my goal weight, I can wear size 32 waist (when my waist is actually 35 or 36 inches). The worst part is that I used to be able to buy clothes off the internet because I knew that if I ordered 36 inch waist, I got 36 inch pants. Not any more!
  • stephn1
    stephn1 Posts: 21 Member
    I saw the Dr Oz show too. When I was 19 I bought my wedding dress it was a size 12 I weighed around 120 lbs. I couldn't fit into that dress now at 156 without taking out the seams, but I bought a pair of jeans size 12 just last month. Crazy. My daughter who is only an inch shorter than me and weighs around 115 to 118 and wears between 5 and 7. They didn't even have those sizes as far as I remember in the 70's.
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    If a size 12 really has that large of a span, no wonder I'm 20 lbs lighter and I'm STILL in these damned Size 12 jeans.
  • FabOma08
    FabOma08 Posts: 500
    http://www.rodcollins.com/wordpress/what-dress-size-or-waist-size-am-i-really

    I found this interesting, but what I always find rather irritating on listed clothing sizes is the discrepancy between hip and waist measurements for a size. I have a 29 inch waist, which in the UK should make me a 12, but 36 inch hips, which puts me at an 8-10. Surely no one actually has an 11 inch difference between their hip and waist measurement?

    Actually I have a 12 1/2 inch difference in waist and hip! That's why I've always said I have an hour-glass figure; it's just 2 hours instead of 1!!! Remember, hour glass figure is 36-24-36 (traditionally)
  • TexasNurseMom78
    TexasNurseMom78 Posts: 897 Member
    This is totally true. And from store to store and different brands, they all are a totally different measurement. And stores like Lane Bryant have changed their sizing as well. No longer are the jeans a 20,22,24, etc. They now have a new sizing chart from a 1 to a 6. Really? I am fat and I know it. Dont try to tell me a wear a size "3" jean in your store!
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    I saw it. They really need to standardize it. When I graduated high school (30 years ago) my measurments were 36/26/38 (pear) and I never got below a size 16! Even today I have a 12 inch difference between waist and hip (only 5 between bust and waist though) and can wear size 18, but I am 80 pounds heavier! I have never been able to wear pants straight off the rack, I had to buy to fit my hips and take them in at the waist.
  • fridayjustleft04
    fridayjustleft04 Posts: 851 Member
    It's definitely frustrating. I've lost over 50 pounds and some of my size 24s still fit! Then I've got 20s and 22s that fit exactly the same, and some 20s that are too small, but 18s that fit well, and even a pair of 17s that are a bit big. They need to make some rules about sizes and stick to them. It'd save me hours of trying on every single pair of pants in the store.
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