Science behind weight and clothing sizes

I'm 5'7.5" and a size 10/8. I can't get below a size 6 because I have wide hips. I have other friends who are the same exact height and can easily fit a size 4 when at a healthy weight.

Bone structure (how wide set your shoulders and hips are) will have some play, for sure.

That being said, I'm dead certain that people on that site lie on the regular.

There is no science or standard to clothing sizes. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out.
1. Even in the same brand an item labeled one size can fit very differently than an item labeled another size.

2. A person's body shape might determine that a bigger or smaller size fits them better than someone the same height and weight. I carry a lot of my fat in my belly and have thin legs and hips. Someone else my height and weight may have bigger hips and thighs or carry their weight more evenly dispersed. I wear a bigger size pants than many women my weight because of my waist. Get rid of the pesky waist measurement and I go down 6 pants sizes. So if I wear stretchy waist pants that fit my hips- which I do- then I would report a smaller pants size than a person who doesn't do that perhaps. Would a photo show this? Not sure.

3. People might lie about their clothing size due to vanity. They might also be wearing clothes that are pretty tight where a different person wears them looser and both be convinced/deluded that it is a proper fit.

When you shop for clothes take your measurements and check size charts, look at reviews for the clothing item to see what people think of the fit or try the item on in the store in a few sizes. Do not get attached to the size number. You aren't ever a size 20. Sometimes a size 20 fits you best.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10458787/womens-clothing-size-tool-multiple-stores-us-uk

I bought two size 14 dresses today that fit well to slightly loose. I am 5'10" and 284 pounds. I am clearly NOT a size 14. I wear a size 18 pants in most brands.

I'm as small as a 00 some places and as big as a 2 others so I think brand based vanity sizing plays a role here.

I don't know if this applies, but here goes. 20 years ago I lost 95 pounds. When I started, I weighed 250 pounds and wore a size 24. Those 92 pounds came back and brought friends, and so I'm working on losing again. This time I started at 313 pounds. When I had lost 63 pounds and was 250 pounds, I was wearing size 20s (and a few 18s). The difference for me has been weight training. I have much more muscle this time around, which takes up less space for the same amount of weight.

Out of curiosity I had to check out the site. In my height/weight I saw only 3 women out of 12 pages that were built similar to myself. Of those 3 two of them were 5lb heavier and wore one size larger and the other was the same weight and size. I'm probably going to obsess now for a few days exploring the site lol

I find that ALOT of people on those sites lie. Especially when it comes to shape most put down "Hourglass" because society has taught them it's what people desire which is total BS, but yeah, you also can't guess body shape based on a mirror but most people try to, you really need to take measurements. So many straight, apples and pears on those sites are ALWAYS in the hourglass section it drives me bonkers. The other thing is that a lot of those photos are taken when they're going out and they might have not even known their weight and some of them are wearing types of clothing where you honestly couldn't tell much. I also doubt they measure themselves in every pic right before and then looked up their actual clothing size too =/.

If I go to another store or wear a different brand I can actually wear size 22, 20s,18s and 16sUK. So people might be basing it on what their clothing tag says rather than measurements.

There are even pics where they're posing in a way which is to make them look nicer, I.E Leaning over to make the chest larger or taking the pic on an angle to look thinner. I think a lot of those people don't really understand the main purpose of posting to those sites, so they really are unreliable.

When you lose weight you won't look a planned out way. I was a pear shape when I was younger but i was only 13, as I got older and gained weight and muscle, I became an hourglass from about age 16-19 and then I gained a good 80lbs yet remained hourglass. I lost some of that weight age 22-23 and was a little top heavy and considered a triangle shape... then I gained it all back again plus more and now I'm an hourglass again, despite being obese o.o

I'm a size 22UK (shirt) in most stores and maybe a size 22 in pants but most people would think I was only a 16UK as my waist is a lot smaller. It's just how my body holds the fat and muscle atm and it always changes. I also do a lot of lifting, have no idea if that's why.

But yeah, those sites are never honest or accurate.

It is a combination of things.

Different people are built differently.

Different brands and styles of clothing fit very differently.

Different people wear their clothes differently.

People lie.

jemhh wrote: »

In addition to the above, many people get bigger but don't buy bigger clothes. Many fabrics stretch, over time and with wear. When you're in sizes that already allow 20-25 lbs between sizes (common in plus sized clothes) stretching can easily extend that to 30-35 lbs.

Yeah, this is what I found. And at the high end (my highest was around 16-18), it really depends on the item. For most of the time I was fat going outside the regular section was inconceivable to me, I just couldn't imagine ever doing it, so I bought clothes that were the easiest to fit/most giving at the top of the regular section instead of facing the fact that I might be better off and have more options in another section. Stores/brands are going to vary too.

I'm always puzzled at the questions about sizing, since there's so much variation. (And even now I'm a smaller size on the bottom--hips are pretty narrow--than on the top.)

For me, skinny jeans sizes are not to be trusted --in order to be tight they have spandex in the material to make them hug your butt all day! They will expand or contract several inches to accommodate and work great for water retention and when you are actively losing weight you can usually wear them even after you have gone down a size.

Work/Career pants are usually higher quality and vanity sized --in my experience the more expensive the designer the smaller the size such as Ann Taylor.

I can wear a 4 in American Eagle skinnies, a 4 in career pants, but if someone asks me my size I always go with the tried and true standard denim, mid-rise (no spandex) size 6. If I were ordering online from a label I had never tried on I would go with that size. I'm 5'4" 134lbs.