Vanity Sizing?

littleali
littleali Posts: 179 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Irritates me. I am currently in the region of 34-26-36 and a UK 10 and the amount of people I've had from the US say that I'm a US 10 or 12 is ridiculous! According to my measurements, I would be a standardized US 6 (34.5-26.5-37.5) So why do people INSIST on saying a UK size 10 IS DEFINITELY WITH NO MARGIN FOR ERROR a US size 8 (whose measurements are 35.5-27.5-28...)? Vanity Sizing and the reverse - making women feel the need to diet by making the label on the clothes a size smaller. Is it as frustrating for you guys, as it is for me, to walk into one shop and feel like you've lost weight to find that you are apparently two sizes bigger than you thought? I have found I can fit into a UK 6 - US 2 in one shop and a UK 16 in another! It is so demoralising and driving me crazy! I guess this is just a rant, but have you guys ever been a bit depressed by the dress size you apparently wear? And people telling you, you are definitely a size that you aren't (with stupid size conversions because of lack of standardization).

Replies

  • FatGirlSlim89
    FatGirlSlim89 Posts: 53
    I agree that vanity sizing in the UK is out of hand. I'm currently wearing 'size 8' trousers, when I'm 5'4 and 142lbs. I was wearing them when i was 3lbs heavier too, and they WERE LOOSE! I think they should completly scrap the sizing system and go by waist measurement and leg length, that way there is no room for wild fluctuations!
  • emmaNEEDSskinny
    emmaNEEDSskinny Posts: 317
    clothes sizes are really really annoying! apparently i should be a size 2 in the US which is a size 6 in the UK and i am so not which is frustrating :( i fit into my size 2 american jeaans which my mom brought me from new york but not a UK size 6 and thats my goal!

    size are silly! stick to your own country :)
  • SarahLovesCheesecake
    SarahLovesCheesecake Posts: 520
    Remember that cheaper shops like Matalan seem to use less material so you need a bigger size, than the better brand...
  • Victorian131
    Victorian131 Posts: 130
    Yes! I get this all the time, I think its awful that if you want to buy designer clothes or anything from a highstreet you instantly go up two sizes if not more! Also, I'm very much an apple shape and think that its unfair that what standardisation there is only caters for women who's waists are many many inches smaller than their hips...at one point, technically my hips were a size 10 (uk) but my waist was a 14 (uk). Having lost a stone I've averaged out somewhere between a 10 and a 12 but that can go up to a size 14/16 in places like Karen Milen or Armani. I also have really big claves from playing ice hockey all my life so that rules skinny jeans out for me, even if I can fit into a ten, I can't get skinny jeans past my calves.
    I realise I'm this size because I've made bad choices etc but I also know even when I get to my goal BMI and weight, I'm never going to be able to fit into an 8 or a 6 but I think there is so much pressure to be into the single figures that I'm going to just keep going until I'm physically as small as I can be because of the stigma of being double figures in clothing sizes.
    I don't know if thats how anyone else feels but the lack of standardisation is partially to blame for the pressure to be as small as possible in my opinion.
  • Becca308
    Becca308 Posts: 43 Member
    I live in Canada, and fluctuate between size 2 and size 6 there. When in England, I'm no smaller than a size 10 and am normally a size 12. It doesn't correlate, but it no longer bothers me. I KNOW I've lost weight and toned up, and if the label in the clothing truly upsets me, I cut it out. Can't see it, don't know what size it is, just know it fits and I like it. :-)
  • Mairgheal
    Mairgheal Posts: 385 Member
    It is so demoralising and driving me crazy! I guess this is just a rant, but have you guys ever been a bit depressed by the dress size you apparently wear?

    I know it's only a rant, but it's a little OTT I think. Who cares what size you wear? I honestly couldn't care less. What counts to me are the inches (and weight) lost and the fact that I now fit in smaller clothes, whatever the label says on the inside of the garments, doesn't bother me in the slightest.
    I could imagine it's hard when you'd do all your clothes shopping online, but I seldom do that.
  • FatNurseSlim
    FatNurseSlim Posts: 64
    I'm from the UK and i totally agree the sizes changee depending on the shop you are in - and it does nock your confidence when you think you're a UK12 and find you need a UK 16 in a shop !!! i just let it go over my head now though and focus on does it fit right and look good rather than what the label size is ! xxxx
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I have a couple of pairs of jeans that are a uk size 8... and i can juuust about get in them now. and yes, i love that i can say i can get in size 8 jeans, but then i have some work trousers that are a size 12 and fit me fine too!

    i generally just accept that sizes vary loads... and enjoy the few size 8 wins along the way!!
  • yaddayaddayadda
    yaddayaddayadda Posts: 430 Member
    I agree with all above! I live in the US. I have generally stayed the same weight (within 10 lbs) for 20 years. One would assume that my size number would be relatively consistent with my weight. Back in the day, my size number was 2 to 4 sizes larger than it is now. It all depends on the brand or store in which you shop. In high end stores, I fit in larger sizes. In cheaper stores, I fit in smaller sizes. I have noticed that as the obesity rates have increased, the vanity sizing has also increased -- my size number keeps getting smaller. I laugh that if this trend keeps up, I will soon be in negative sizes. As a math teacher, I tell my students that distance cant be measured in negative numbers, but soon I may have to change that! :laugh:

    It is frustrating to be unable to trust sizing. This is why I don't order clothes online unless it is a trusted brand or a repeat purchase. I don't care what number my size is. I just want them to be consistent with sizing!!! :mad: :grumble:
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
    Honestly, it's just as bad in the US. I am anywhere from a size 0-6 and am a whole different size on top. It makes me so mad how reliant on clothing size I am. Just yesterday one of my coworkers was telling me her niece was about my size and said "she's like a 6 or an 8" and I seriously got a little upset about it because I'm never an 8! UGH stupid clothing companies...making me crazy!
  • littleali
    littleali Posts: 179 Member
    It is so demoralising and driving me crazy! I guess this is just a rant, but have you guys ever been a bit depressed by the dress size you apparently wear?

    I know it's only a rant, but it's a little OTT I think. Who cares what size you wear? I honestly couldn't care less. What counts to me are the inches (and weight) lost and the fact that I now fit in smaller clothes, whatever the label says on the inside of the garments, doesn't bother me in the slightest.
    I could imagine it's hard when you'd do all your clothes shopping online, but I seldom do that.

    I don't think it's OTT at all. I no longer have a scale by which to weigh myself and my progress and so I generally trust my weightloss on measurements and clothing sizes. But when I go into a shop and I am apparently two sizes larger than I thought, it IS demoralising and a knock to my confidence. It may be irrational given I know that vanity sizing does happen, but it doesn't make me feel much better about myself.
  • LushLoni
    LushLoni Posts: 161 Member
    where the hell are you a size 16?

    H&M do my nut in on their clothes, I, normally a size 14 as standard, have had to go 2 sizes up to get my arms in a jacket before... and don't get me started on their bean shoot size trouserrs :-(

    Next is all over the place - I have worn a size 10 top and size 12 trousers before but couldn't fit into size 14 jeans.
  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
    This isn't a new thing, it's always been like that. Why trust everything to clothes sizes in a shop? You can go in one shop and try on several styles of jeans in that one shop and be several different sizes.That is the least reliable way of measuring progress there is. If you don't want to weigh and go by weight lost then go by actual measurements you've got using a tape measure.
  • LushLoni
    LushLoni Posts: 161 Member
    This isn't a new thing, it's always been like that. Why trust everything to clothes sizes in a shop? You can go in one shop and try on several styles of jeans in that one shop and be several different sizes.That is the least reliable way of measuring progress there is. If you don't want to weigh and go by weight lost then go by actual measurements you've got using a tape measure.

    I think the point the original poster is making is that it's frustrating that the sizing guide isn't a universal measurement - it'd be like someone who is 100lbs on MOST scales being told that they are 70lbs on one scale and 150 on another....
  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
    This isn't a new thing, it's always been like that. Why trust everything to clothes sizes in a shop? You can go in one shop and try on several styles of jeans in that one shop and be several different sizes.That is the least reliable way of measuring progress there is. If you don't want to weigh and go by weight lost then go by actual measurements you've got using a tape measure.

    I think the point the original poster is making is that it's frustrating that the sizing guide isn't a universal measurement - it'd be like someone who is 100lbs on MOST scales being told that they are 70lbs on one scale and 150 on another....

    It is annoying but it's always happened, you just have to go with it.
  • poseyj88
    poseyj88 Posts: 140 Member
    Vanity sizing is crazy. There really isn't a "standardized size ___" at all. I saw a chart once that showed the size 8 pant measurements from like 10 different stores and it was bizarre!

    I'm anywhere from a 4 to 8 in pants (US) and my tops are anything from an XS to Large (usually medium).

    It's crazy.
  • XxJessdNxX
    XxJessdNxX Posts: 11
    H&M do my nut in on their clothes, I, normally a size 14 as standard, have had to go 2 sizes up to get my arms in a jacket before... and don't get me started on their bean shoot size trouserrs :-(

    Don't forget that H&M convert the Euro sizes differently to every other shop, so I think a 42 is a H&M 16, but a 14 everywhere else. And their clothes are usually tiny even then. I have a suit from there with the trousers in a 14, the skirt and jacket in a 16 and the waistcoat in an 18 - how does that work!?

    Although not being able to get a pair of size 16 H&M shorts anywhere near my fat backside that made me realise I wanted to get serious about losing weight many years ago, so I guess sometimes it's a good thing :-/
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
    In part I agree with the OP. It would be very nice to -know- your size and be fairly confident you'd be able to fit, regardless of the shop/designer.

    But on the other hand... I bought a pair of size 8 pants last weekend and last night I actually fit into a size 6. I haven't been a 6 since I was 6. I know it's not truly my size-I'm likely still a 9/10 in most places, but just the fact that I could do it, even if only for that one brand, was very uplifting. It makes me more determined that I -will- get there.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    They are just numbers on tags.
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    The change in sizing has to do with how patterns are cut from the fabric. For every large, you need to cut a small with it to use the fabric efficiently. For every extra large, there is an extra small. Mediums balance each other. Manufacturers want size 10 to be the midpoint size. As people have gotten bigger, the sizes have gotten bigger to keep 10 at the midpoint. People who purchase designer clothes tend to not be as large as those of us who buy mass market goods, and so designer sizes haven't grown as much.

    http://www.vanitysizing.com/archive/interview-why-have-retailers-changed-clothing-sizes/
  • SeaChele77
    SeaChele77 Posts: 1,103 Member
    I wish one day I can walk into a shop and just buy a good pair of jeans and just be happy with a perfect fit vs the perfect number. I'm obsessed with the number!! It is very irratating that the numbers fluctuate so much. It aggravates me more that its not such the case with men. My husband can walk into any store pick up a pair of 36x34's and walk out knowing they will fit. I can not walk into any store and pick up a size 6 and "know" they will fit. I live in an area with very limited shopping, so I have to do much of my shopping online. It is very difficult to buy jeans online!!
  • Angela_MA
    Angela_MA Posts: 260
    Here is a question to all you living in the UK. Do they make smaller sizes then that as described and if so are there people that buy them? I would assume that those people who can fit into a UK 0, 2, 4...etc (however it goes, sorry) would be extremely skinny. From the pictures I have seen you all seem to be healthy and fit; plus small.
    I am a US 10 right now so I guess I would be in a VERY large size in the UK. While living in Japan I found that I was a plus size and could rarely find clothing to fit me. I had to order clothing online to get clothes that fit. I think, for me personally, it would bother me. But that could be because I am used to the US sizing.
  • LisaStanley500
    LisaStanley500 Posts: 65 Member
    But even if you sew, you will notice patterns vary greatly in sizes just as ready made clothes. Different patterns go by different sizing scales. Just like clothes, it seems the more expensive it is the smaller number you get. Know your measurements!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm not exactly sure who has said that, but if those are your measurements you would not wear a US size 10 or 12. Not unless you just wanted to wear very baggy clothes for some reason. A size 6 sounds about right. My measurements are 36-31-39 and I wear a US size 8.
  • TrinaXL
    TrinaXL Posts: 39 Member
    I usually shop at thrift stores, but I find sizing varies by brand. sometimes it is a little bit irritating that I fit a size12-18 but I try on EVERYTHING that I think might fit and just buy what looks and feels good :)
  • mycatas
    mycatas Posts: 20
    It's definited challenging to find the right when you don't have time to go into stores to shop or you need specialty sizes. I buy almost all my clothes online because I'm 5'10" and most stores don't stock much for talls. There are online a few retailers that I know my size consistently on their websites. Sometimes I have to resort to buying two of something I want and returning the item that doesn't fit. Even brands that I have relied on for a long time like Gap have inflated sizes drastically.
  • naku
    naku Posts: 109 Member
    Here is a question to all you living in the UK. Do they make smaller sizes then that as described and if so are there people that buy them? I would assume that those people who can fit into a UK 0, 2, 4...etc (however it goes, sorry) would be extremely skinny. From the pictures I have seen you all seem to be healthy and fit; plus small.
    I am a US 10 right now so I guess I would be in a VERY large size in the UK. While living in Japan I found that I was a plus size and could rarely find clothing to fit me. I had to order clothing online to get clothes that fit. I think, for me personally, it would bother me. But that could be because I am used to the US sizing.

    We don't actually have sizes 2 or 0 here (at least I've never seen them). Our sizes end to size 4 which is the same as US 0. I understand you also have size 00 nowdays which would be UK2 but like said, I've never seen such...

    You'd be a size UK14. One size smaller than the average UK woman :)


    And just to add to the topic... I currently have clothes from UK12 to UK6 in my closet and all of them fit fine.... go figure!
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