vanity sizing

24

Replies

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,673 Member
    For me, vanity sizing has backfired. I won't buy online because I have no idea what the sizing will be like. I hate shopping and if I actually need something like a new pair of pants, it takes time to find something that fits because I have to try on multiple pairs, so rather than deal with the time and the hassle, I simply don't buy new clothes.

    I am an old style size 10. I think I'm current size 4, but don't know for sure because the store I last went shopping in didn't carry many 4s, mostly the smallest was a size 6. That shortened the shopping trip, but left me feeling frustrated at the lack of choice. If you go by S, M, L, I am okay, because I am a medium and have been all my life. Sometimes it's a little loose, sometimes a bit tight, but it almost always fits. But some things don't come in S M L.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    ...I won't buy online because I have no idea what the sizing will be like...

    This. It's like rolling the dice. No online clothes shopping for me.
  • jrochest
    jrochest Posts: 119 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    jrochest wrote: »
    Yep, the States is the worst for vanity sizing, which has been going on for ages but really did get worse in the 90s. UK/Australian sizing is what USA and Canadian sizing used to be 20 years ago; 10 years ago a UK 14 was a US 12 and now a UK 14 is supposedly a US 10.

    When I was in high school in the 70s and 80s I was 5' 5" and 115 pounds and a perfect size 10 :). The smallest size you could buy was a 6, and it was almost impossible to find them in department stores.

    Wow now in the us 115 at 5’5 is usually a 00/0

    Yep. In 1980? Size 10.
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    I went shopping at h&m and depending on the style of the shorts I would be different sizes.
    My go to store is tjmaxx due to the different brands I can try on a range of sizes and brands and find something that fits well.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
    Old Navy run very large. I can't shop there. Everything is ill fitting.

    I have a pair of designer jeans now in size 27 waist. I have a 28 inch waist and they are on the looser side.
  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    jrochest wrote: »
    Yep, the States is the worst for vanity sizing, which has been going on for ages but really did get worse in the 90s. UK/Australian sizing is what USA and Canadian sizing used to be 20 years ago; 10 years ago a UK 14 was a US 12 and now a UK 14 is supposedly a US 10.

    When I was in high school in the 70s and 80s I was 5' 5" and 115 pounds and a perfect size 10 :). The smallest size you could buy was a 6, and it was almost impossible to find them in department stores.

    Wow now in the us 115 at 5’5 is usually a 00/0

    She also said the smallest you could buy was a 6....so it's all relative. A person who is 5'5" and weigh 115 pounds is thin. They were even thin back in the 70's..lol

  • Kst76
    Kst76 Posts: 935 Member
    I used to say I was a size 10 even when I weighed 185 pounds at 5'5".
    And no *kitten* I was a size 10....everything has stretch in it. I could gain another 20 pounds and be a size 10 still. In reality. Remove the stretch and I was more like a size 12 or 14.

    Who are we kidding here...lol ourselves obviously.
    I have lost 32 pounds and I went to a thrift store looking for some high end jeans, brands such as - 7 for all mankind, Hudson, Banana Republic. They are super cute. They retail $100 and up brand new. This thrift store sells them for 10-30 dollars and they are in great shape.
    I looked for a size 29/8 knowing they would likely fit due to the 1% stretch they adding in the material. Well, they came on and fitted like a glove. I didn't even have to force them over my hips this time and holding my stomach in to button them. I had to do a double check on the size. So that was a nice surprise.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    It's stupid and annoying because you can't buy anything without trying it first.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    I've always been roughly around the same size/weight, within a pretty narrow range, and in high school in the 1990s I was an 8 and am now a 4. But if I shop at Target or Old Navy, it's even smaller. My wedding dress was the only couture thing I ever owned, and it was a 12!!! So who knows. I think it's more of an indication of progress if something that you owned which used to be too tight is now too loose than if the new dress you just bought is a smaller size than usual.
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
    It's so annoying!! I can wear a 2 with room to spare, at Old Navy. I know I'm thin, but I'm not that thin! And it doesn't make me feel any better about myself. I know what they are doing haha! I have pants in sizes 2, 4 and 6. They all fit. I take the average as my starting point at most stores, so I usually start with a 4. But I won't shop online because who knows what size it really is?! I tried on 2 pairs of pants at the Gap, both size 2. One fit, one was way too tight. I give up!
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I was at Kohl's this weekend and tried on a 10, which has been pretty snug since being a lazy tracker the last few weeks. It was too big and I needed an 8! I definitely know I am not a "real" 8.
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
    fitoverfortymom wrote: »
    I was at Kohl's this weekend and tried on a 10, which has been pretty snug since being a lazy tracker the last few weeks. It was too big and I needed an 8! I definitely know I am not a "real" 8.

    Kohls is the worst!! I tried on a few dresses in a small and they were hanging off of me. Come on!! I am definitely not small enough to be sized out of the store. I'm 5'7" 140lbs. Right in the middle of a healthy BMI. So frustrating.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    ...I won't buy online because I have no idea what the sizing will be like...

    This. It's like rolling the dice. No online clothes shopping for me.

    get a measuring tape.

    i have no problem buying online. i know my measurements and go by that, not by size
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    edited April 2018
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    ...I won't buy online because I have no idea what the sizing will be like...

    This. It's like rolling the dice. No online clothes shopping for me.

    get a measuring tape.

    i have no problem buying online. i know my measurements and go by that, not by size

    Same.

  • allisonlane161
    allisonlane161 Posts: 269 Member
    edited April 2018
    I had bought a vintage NY fashion house silk dress ten years ago. I never fit in that dress. I just tried it on a few weekends ago and I now fit in it. My regular clothes are three sizes smaller than this dress. I remember what I was in high school (I'm 56 now) and I was in a larger size in high school and weighed 23 pounds less. But like you say, go by how you feel...at least my age you do.
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 701 Member
    mbaker566 wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    ...I won't buy online because I have no idea what the sizing will be like...

    This. It's like rolling the dice. No online clothes shopping for me.

    get a measuring tape.

    i have no problem buying online. i know my measurements and go by that, not by size

    ^I've actually had more luck online shopping using my measurements than shopping at a store in person.

Categories