Have you tried GLP1 medications and found it didn't work for you? We'd like to hear about your experiences, what you tried, why it didn't work and how you're doing now. Click here to tell us your story

Is American clothes getting bigger?

annie_858
annie_858 Posts: 80 Member
in Success Stories
Sizes do not seem the same. I don't mean at a particular size or brand, I mean in general. What do you think?
«1

Replies

  • Annamarie3404
    Annamarie3404 Posts: 319 Member
    American clothes run larger. For instance, an extra large in Italy would equate to a small in the US. I know this from personal experience.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    I think it's due to vanity sizing. To make a person who wears a size 6 feel better they label it as a size 4, making your proper size 6 seem too big if that makes sense. And given that size varies between brands and even different styles of the same brand it's just an unreliable measurement. A size 6 in one brand can be fit the same waist circumference as an 8 in the other brand and a 4 in yet another. frustrating for clothing shoppers for sure.
  • Colt1835
    Colt1835 Posts: 447 Member
    brb_2013 wrote: »
    I think it's due to vanity sizing. To make a person who wears a size 6 feel better they label it as a size 4, making your proper size 6 seem too big if that makes sense. And given that size varies between brands and even different styles of the same brand it's just an unreliable measurement. A size 6 in one brand can be fit the same waist circumference as an 8 in the other brand and a 4 in yet another. frustrating for clothing shoppers for sure.

    That's why I try to buy the same brand goal shirt every time I get a new one. Have to buy the same cut too cause that can make a huge difference.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I see that all the time on here and it may be true, but I have new jeans that are size 8 and jeans that are about 20 years old that are size 8 and they both fit comfortably. But maybe the vanity sizing started > 20 years ago.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited July 2016
    Women's clothing? Yes...vanity sizing...I have learned here on MFP that this is very important to women.
  • Savyna
    Savyna Posts: 789 Member
    edited July 2016
    I think it would be good if sizes just ran like how men shop for pants (by waist and leg inseam).
    ETA: but yes it does seem like sizes are a bit bigger in the US, like brb said, vanity sizing.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,145 Member
    It's called vanity sizing. Today I'm 138# and wear a size 12. 30 years ago, I was 138 and wore a ladies 34 (I think that's today's size 16).
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
    I dunno. Vanity sizing yes.
    Savyna wrote: »
    I think it would be good if sizes just ran like how men shop for pants (by waist and leg inseam).
    ETA: but yes it does seem like sizes are a bit bigger in the US, like brb said, vanity sizing.

    Rule of thumb is add 20 to the women's sizing. Woman's Size 12 (+20) would be a men's 32. A Woman's Size 8 (+20) would be men's 28. And my wife would agree with you. She's of shorter stature and would love it if she could buy pants off the rack with her inseam length in mind. That's the only reason I know about the +20 rule. She can buy a 32/xx and it should fit her.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    I shop at LOFT for jeans every Black Friday because the sale is great. How this has gone:
    2012: 121 lbs, 25" waist, snug size 4
    2013: 124 lbs, 25.5" waist, loose size 4
    2014: 125 lbs, 25.5" waist, comfortable size 2
    2015: 128 lbs, 26" waist, eff it, the size 2s are falling off of me and nothing looks right anymore

    FFS. I've gained weight and an inch on my waist, and my jean size is getting SMALLER?

    This isn't universal; if I shop at boutiques that have US clothing with universal tags, I often have to go up to a 6 or S instead of 4/XS. But big chain American clothing brands are definitely centering around a larger "average" and cutting out customers on the small end.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,733 Member
    Yes, clothing sizes have changed, IMO. I have old size 3 Levi's jeans that fit just right. I have new size 3 Levi's jeans that are baggy. And for jeans it's due to the material changing, also. It's much stretchier now which I dislike. I want actual denim! Not spandex. End rant.
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.
  • Ben_there_done_that
    Ben_there_done_that Posts: 732 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Awww, that's terrible. :wink:
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,733 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Yep, and things that ARE small enough are generally not age-appropriate. I don't know how old you are and you look young, so maybe that doesn't apply to you but I've encountered this problem.
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    captbklee wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Awww, that's terrible. :wink:

    Hush! It is! :-)
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    edited July 2016
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Yep, and things that ARE small enough are generally not age-appropriate. I don't know how old you are and you look young, so maybe that doesn't apply to you but I've encountered this problem.

    Yes! Kid clothes are cheaper but they fit weird and no one wants to look like a kid when they're already the height of one.

    Also you can't really wear kid clothes to work and be taken seriously.
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,505 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Yep, and things that ARE small enough are generally not age-appropriate. I don't know how old you are and you look young, so maybe that doesn't apply to you but I've encountered this problem.

    Yes! Kid clothes are cheaper but they fit weird and no one wants to look like a kid when they're already the height of one.

    Also you can't really wear kid clothes to work and be taken seriously.

    One of the questions that has nagged at me since vanity sizing got so out of control was "so, what do the people who used to wear those sizes wear now?" I mean, I'm small, but I'm not tiny. I'm just under 5'4" and I wear a 2-4 depending on the manufacturer. I bought new jeans a couple of weeks ago and I had to get the smallest size they make in that brand, so... Yeah. And I'm still trying to drop about 5 more pounds.
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    Mouse_Potato wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Yep, and things that ARE small enough are generally not age-appropriate. I don't know how old you are and you look young, so maybe that doesn't apply to you but I've encountered this problem.

    Yes! Kid clothes are cheaper but they fit weird and no one wants to look like a kid when they're already the height of one.

    Also you can't really wear kid clothes to work and be taken seriously.

    One of the questions that has nagged at me since vanity sizing got so out of control was "so, what do the people who used to wear those sizes wear now?" I mean, I'm small, but I'm not tiny. I'm just under 5'4" and I wear a 2-4 depending on the manufacturer. I bought new jeans a couple of weeks ago and I had to get the smallest size they make in that brand, so... Yeah. And I'm still trying to drop about 5 more pounds.

    Exactly and I'm too cheap and lazy to have stuff altered.
  • AmyWebb2
    AmyWebb2 Posts: 69 Member
    I've noticed it on actual measurements, too...say, a "32" waist or a "36" waist. I can have two pairs of pants that are two different brands that say the same measurements, but one will fit better than the other. Bras, too! I'd love to have it be streamlined so they were the same. Also, I feel that I should not be a "large" when I'm 200 pounds--200 pounds is obese, and not just a little. No way that's just a large. Sizing has changed a lot since I was really small (about 12 years ago).
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    Vanity sizing for sure.
    I have lived for a very long time and have clothes to prove it.
    My wedding dress in 1975 was a size 12. I was 120#
    Now I am wearing a size 10 @ 130#.
    I told my sister I never wore a size 10 in my life. I skipped right by that size.
    Medium size shirts and was always a large back then.
  • mallomary
    mallomary Posts: 11 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yes they are! And I'm already crazy short (4'11") so even when I was chunky I was still small sizes. Now that I'm not chunky I can't find anything small enough for me. I hate it.

    Yep, and things that ARE small enough are generally not age-appropriate. I don't know how old you are and you look young, so maybe that doesn't apply to you but I've encountered this problem.

    Yes! Kid clothes are cheaper but they fit weird and no one wants to look like a kid when they're already the height of one.

    Also you can't really wear kid clothes to work and be taken seriously.

    I've heard Uniqlo is a good spot for tiny people. It's an Japanese retailer and my Asian friends (mostly Chinese women, not Chinese-American, and very petite) love it.

Categories

Do you Love MyFitnessPal? Have you crushed a goal or improved your life through better nutrition using MyFitnessPal?
Share your success and inspire others. Leave us a review on Apple Or Google Play stores!