Is American clothes getting bigger?

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  • mallomary
    mallomary Posts: 11 Member
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    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.

  • Booksandoceans
    Booksandoceans Posts: 38 Member
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    I'm 5'8" and around 140 to 142 pounds depending on the day and in some clothes I am a size 2 and others a size 6. Total vanity sizing!
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    Yet another reason that I am so glad that I am male. At least when I buy some damned 34 inch waist pants, they're going to be close enough so as not to matter.
  • happydance1978
    happydance1978 Posts: 1,489 Member
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    Yep...I am Canadian an had to buy my BraS in Texas online. My best in could only buy her gitchies and tshirt from the States.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    It's a thing for women's clothing.

    Men's clothing tends to be measured in actual inches, so aren't likely to be vanity sized, although some brands just don't fit the same as others even if they are nominally the same size.
  • ItsyBitsy246
    ItsyBitsy246 Posts: 307 Member
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    It may be vanity sizing. Or it may be because there is really no codified size standard. It's up to the individual designer to decide what's a size 2 or 8 or whatever, and the cut of the item makes a big difference too. Drives me nuts, so I hate to shop!!!! I bought 2 pairs of jeans- same brand, same "model" number, same size, same fabric composition. One was made in Morocco, the other Mexico I think. One fit, one was too tight. Drives me mad.
  • ItsyBitsy246
    ItsyBitsy246 Posts: 307 Member
    edited July 2016
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    BZAH10 wrote: »
    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.

    I'm with you on this! I can't stand stretch in jeans. Not everyone wants every curve and crevice highlighted. And the material is so thin these days... I look at jeans that have been in the closet for a gazillion years and they are so much thicker. Can't wait to drop another 20 lbs and get into them! :) (Edit- crevice spelling, though crevasse might apply too. ;))
  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
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    15 years ago, I was 160lbs, and a junior's size 11. Now the same weight, I'm a misses size 8, juniors size 7 between 150-155lbs.

    I found a pair of super skinny jeans i wore three times that are 14ish years old, juniors size 9. They were tighter than my current 7's.
  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
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    15 years ago, in high school, I wore a size 8 jeans. Now I'm 30 pounds heavier (and it's NOT muscle), and I wear a size 6.

    But at the same time, in one brand of t-shirts I wear a large, and in another I wear an extra small. :confused:
  • JaneSnowe
    JaneSnowe Posts: 1,283 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Women's clothing? Yes...vanity sizing...I have learned here on MFP that this is very important to women.

    #notallwomen :D I think vanity sizing is ridiculous.
  • bex0r2016
    bex0r2016 Posts: 12 Member
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    JaneSnowe wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Women's clothing? Yes...vanity sizing...I have learned here on MFP that this is very important to women.

    #notallwomen :D I think vanity sizing is ridiculous.

    totally.. I'd rather just be able to pick up a piece of clothing and know if it's going to fit or not. I've gotten a lot better at eyeballing stuff and knowing if it will fit or not because labels cannot be trusted!
  • teetertatertango
    teetertatertango Posts: 229 Member
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    Men's clothing is not immune to this. Last pants I bought for my husband were 2 inches larger (measuring around the waistband) than the label stated.



  • annie_858
    annie_858 Posts: 80 Member
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    mskessler89 wrote: »
    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.

    Everything you just said is me to a T!

    It's frustrating because it seems as even the smallest size they make isn't really a small or xsmall. I think it's just the style now honestly.comfy and flowy, especially with shirts. Express is the only store I can buy from that fits like a charm every time. I like clothes that fit my body, but I guess it depends on the season.
  • griffinca2
    griffinca2 Posts: 672 Member
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    Agree with all the above!! I was out shopping back a year or so ago and tried on a size 1 and it literally fell off me (and I now wear a size 4). I have a size 8 from 20 years ago and it's close in size to a 4 now.
  • LauraCoth
    LauraCoth Posts: 303 Member
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    It makes no sense. When I was 20, my skinny friend and I proudly wore size 8. When I was 55, I was a size 4, and I weigh about 5 pounds more than I did way back then. Go figure.

    I was vastly amused at one store I used to shop in that had mirrors that made you look taller and thinner. I have to say I looked awesome, but then I was just plain old me when I got the clothes home.
  • sashayoung72
    sashayoung72 Posts: 441 Member
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    Gallowmere1984 wrote: »
    Yet another reason that I am so glad that I am male. At least when I buy some damned 34 inch waist pants, they're going to be close enough so as not to matter.

    So NOT true! I read about male vanity sizing, took my husbands jeans from old navy and measured the waist, a 36 was actually 41 inches!!!!! no wonder they were falling off!!
  • annie_858
    annie_858 Posts: 80 Member
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    LauraCoth wrote: »
    It makes no sense. When I was 20, my skinny friend and I proudly wore size 8. When I was 55, I was a size 4, and I weigh about 5 pounds more than I did way back then. Go figure.

    I was vastly amused at one store I used to shop in that had mirrors that made you look taller and thinner. I have to say I looked awesome, but then I was just plain old me when I got the clothes home.

    Lol skinny mirrors!
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    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.

    I'm having similar thoughts right now. I still have 30lbs to lose and I'm an 8/10 right now (with some size 6). Shirts are even worse (pear shape, yay!) I'm a small in some brands and I could even wear an extra small in one brand very comfortably! I'm scared that I'll drop the extra 30lbs and not have anything I can actually wear. Ugh.

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