What nobody tells you about losing weight

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Replies

  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
    That your clothes will get longer when you lose weight. I tried on a dress this morning that was a little loose, but wearable, but the length had changed and I just hated how it fell on me.

    I find jeans shopping hard, I've shrunk out of 4s and a lot stores only go to 4. I found some 2s at Goodwill that I like. I have actually found dresses in the Junior's section that fit me fairly well, as I'm also petite. I bought an XS dress at Target I have been so unhappy with because it's just big everywhere. Not like I can buy any smaller in women's clothes.

    It is a bit of a pain, but do you have a friendly local seamstress or tailor?

    There is only so much they can do, but it's always worth asking if it's a favourite that would otherwise have to go.

    It's not that nice of a dress, it's too big in the body of the dress too but I could make that work. Just a casual knit dress.

    I'm my own local seamstress, I have two pair of jeans I'm working on the hem of today. Actually it's the same jeans I already referenced, I haven't got around to hemming them. The 2's. I also bought a pair of size 25 jeans on consignment this week and they need to be hemmed.

    I tried on 3 dresses that were all too big above the waist. I think I need petite clothes or juniors clothes. My waist-to-neck measure is short.
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    edited September 2019
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    A few stores I went to lately don’t even carry my size in pants. The smallest they sell is size 4, which are more like an 8 with vanity sizing. 😩 I got a few gift cards for my birthday to Christopher and banks but their clothes are too big. It’s kind of sad that stores don’t even carry below size 4 anymore because of how overweight the population is.

    I'm starting to run into that, which is ridiculous because I'm not even that small. I like Worthington pants from JCPenney for work, but the smallest size they carry (in my local store at least) is 4 and those are getting baggy on me. Plus I need petite, which are even more limited. I can order them, but I hate not being able to try on pants first because 9 times out of 10 they don't fit right in one way or another.

    (I know, what a problem to have. But it really is annoying :grumble: )

    Count me among those who are flummoxed by this as well. At 5'3" and 135 pounds I'm wearing a size 4–6 or a small, and actually in yoga pants an XS (I'm an apple so my legs are on the smaller side, proportionately). For one thing, I happen to recall that in the 90s, when I was in college I was wearing a medium at Urban Outfitters (just for reference) at 125 pounds. And on top of that, what are the ACTUAL extra small people wearing? One of my best friends is 5'1" and 95 pounds (yet still with curves because life is not fair). If I'm 40 pounds heavier than her and in some of the smallest available sizes, it must be incredibly frustrating for her!

    I am starting to run into this in some stores. I’m long legged, narrow hipped, and short-waisted. I discovered that petite tops work for me but I need longer pants. My legs are holding onto the last of my weight but already I’m starting to find issues finding my size in some stores. Especially my favorite one!

    I used to have trouble finding things my size when I was 100lbs heavier. Now I’m still having this problem, and it’s not something I thought would happen. I’m not sure what I will do when I hit my final goal (which is smack in the middle of my BMI range).

    It’s a weird problem to have and I sometimes feel awkward when it happens because of the nature of the problem. c.c

    Sidebar: Did anybody else here read the Sweet Valley High novels in the 80s and remember that the Wakefield twins were described as being a perfect size 6? Hello vanity sizing: if their size 6 were my current size 6—wherein I can still pinch not just an inch but full handfuls from my torso—I'm not sure they'd have been considered quite the specimens of physical perfection they were being represented as being.

    Sidebar 2: I was just (re)watching a Season 1 episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show (so circa 1970) on YouTube. In the ep Mary was supposed to be the maid of honour at a friend's wedding and at the last minute was replaced by another woman, who also co-opted her bridesmaid dress. Rhoda quipped that it must be a prerequisite that all this woman's friends had to be a size 8. So in 1970-71 Mary Tyler Moore, famous for spunk and for being a stick figure, was a size 8.

    Out of curiosity, does anybody here know for sure if there was a time when US and UK sizes were not 2 sizes off from each other? I wonder if at one point they were the same and the UK just started vanity sizing later in the game ...
  • bobsburgersfan
    bobsburgersfan Posts: 6,273 Member
    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    Congrats on learning to sew on a button! A few key sewing skills can save a lot of money!

    But...if you can find a seamstress/tailor it can be a big timesaver too. I'm good around a sewing machine but even I send items to a professional on occasion.
    I can hem things and do buttons, but knowing how to really tailor clothes is a skill I wish I had. Like, knowing how and where to alter things to make them hang correctly or more attractively. I read once about some actress who said she has all of her clothes altered, including t-shirts. If you knew the right ways to alter clothes, you could generally get whatever you liked and just make them look good on you!

    Since I'll probably never have that skill, though, I really should find a professional. :)
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    @HDBKLM, re sizing.

    I moved from the UK to Canada in 1974 and the sizing was different.
    In the UK I was a 10, in Canada I was a size 7 (same sizing as USA).

    My stats at the time were 5’ and somewhere between 7-7.5 st/98-105lbs. 32-26-34.

    I am the same stats now, but oddly enough an inch taller, and take a 6/8 in the UK, and anything between a 00/6 in Canada/USA.

    I frequently shop in all 3 countries.

    Cheers, h.

    @middlehaitch Good info, thanks.
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    edited September 2019
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    A few stores I went to lately don’t even carry my size in pants. The smallest they sell is size 4, which are more like an 8 with vanity sizing. 😩 I got a few gift cards for my birthday to Christopher and banks but their clothes are too big. It’s kind of sad that stores don’t even carry below size 4 anymore because of how overweight the population is.

    I'm starting to run into that, which is ridiculous because I'm not even that small. I like Worthington pants from JCPenney for work, but the smallest size they carry (in my local store at least) is 4 and those are getting baggy on me. Plus I need petite, which are even more limited. I can order them, but I hate not being able to try on pants first because 9 times out of 10 they don't fit right in one way or another.

    (I know, what a problem to have. But it really is annoying :grumble: )

    Count me among those who are flummoxed by this as well. At 5'3" and 135 pounds I'm wearing a size 4–6 or a small, and actually in yoga pants an XS (I'm an apple so my legs are on the smaller side, proportionately). For one thing, I happen to recall that in the 90s, when I was in college I was wearing a medium at Urban Outfitters (just for reference) at 125 pounds. And on top of that, what are the ACTUAL extra small people wearing? One of my best friends is 5'1" and 95 pounds (yet still with curves because life is not fair). If I'm 40 pounds heavier than her and in some of the smallest available sizes, it must be incredibly frustrating for her!

    I am starting to run into this in some stores. I’m long legged, narrow hipped, and short-waisted. I discovered that petite tops work for me but I need longer pants. My legs are holding onto the last of my weight but already I’m starting to find issues finding my size in some stores. Especially my favorite one!

    I used to have trouble finding things my size when I was 100lbs heavier. Now I’m still having this problem, and it’s not something I thought would happen. I’m not sure what I will do when I hit my final goal (which is smack in the middle of my BMI range).

    It’s a weird problem to have and I sometimes feel awkward when it happens because of the nature of the problem. c.c

    Sidebar: Did anybody else here read the Sweet Valley High novels in the 80s and remember that the Wakefield twins were described as being a perfect size 6? Hello vanity sizing: if their size 6 were my current size 6—wherein I can still pinch not just an inch but full handfuls from my torso—I'm not sure they'd have been considered quite the specimens of physical perfection they were being represented as being.

    Sidebar 2: I was just (re)watching a Season 1 episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show (so circa 1970) on YouTube. In the ep Mary was supposed to be the maid of honour at a friend's wedding and at the last minute was replaced by another woman, who also co-opted her bridesmaid dress. Rhoda quipped that it must be a prerequisite that all this woman's friends had to be a size 8. So in 1970-71 Mary Tyler Moore, famous for spunk and for being a stick figure, was a size 8.

    Out of curiosity, does anybody here know for sure if there was a time when US and UK sizes were not 2 sizes off from each other? I wonder if at one point they were the same and the UK just started vanity sizing later in the game ...

    Sizes were smaller then though. I wore one of my mom's dresses from the mid 60's and it was labeled size 12. I was a modern size 5 and I got it zipped but couldn't breathe. lol. So a 1970 size 8 might might have been a modern size 4.

    Edited cuz I can't spell.
  • gradchica27
    gradchica27 Posts: 777 Member
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    smantha32 wrote: »
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    A few stores I went to lately don’t even carry my size in pants. The smallest they sell is size 4, which are more like an 8 with vanity sizing. 😩 I got a few gift cards for my birthday to Christopher and banks but their clothes are too big. It’s kind of sad that stores don’t even carry below size 4 anymore because of how overweight the population is.

    I'm starting to run into that, which is ridiculous because I'm not even that small. I like Worthington pants from JCPenney for work, but the smallest size they carry (in my local store at least) is 4 and those are getting baggy on me. Plus I need petite, which are even more limited. I can order them, but I hate not being able to try on pants first because 9 times out of 10 they don't fit right in one way or another.

    (I know, what a problem to have. But it really is annoying :grumble: )

    Count me among those who are flummoxed by this as well. At 5'3" and 135 pounds I'm wearing a size 4–6 or a small, and actually in yoga pants an XS (I'm an apple so my legs are on the smaller side, proportionately). For one thing, I happen to recall that in the 90s, when I was in college I was wearing a medium at Urban Outfitters (just for reference) at 125 pounds. And on top of that, what are the ACTUAL extra small people wearing? One of my best friends is 5'1" and 95 pounds (yet still with curves because life is not fair). If I'm 40 pounds heavier than her and in some of the smallest available sizes, it must be incredibly frustrating for her!

    I am starting to run into this in some stores. I’m long legged, narrow hipped, and short-waisted. I discovered that petite tops work for me but I need longer pants. My legs are holding onto the last of my weight but already I’m starting to find issues finding my size in some stores. Especially my favorite one!

    I used to have trouble finding things my size when I was 100lbs heavier. Now I’m still having this problem, and it’s not something I thought would happen. I’m not sure what I will do when I hit my final goal (which is smack in the middle of my BMI range).

    It’s a weird problem to have and I sometimes feel awkward when it happens because of the nature of the problem. c.c

    Sidebar: Did anybody else here read the Sweet Valley High novels in the 80s and remember that the Wakefield twins were described as being a perfect size 6? Hello vanity sizing: if their size 6 were my current size 6—wherein I can still pinch not just an inch but full handfuls from my torso—I'm not sure they'd have been considered quite the specimens of physical perfection they were being represented as being.

    Sidebar 2: I was just (re)watching a Season 1 episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show (so circa 1970) on YouTube. In the ep Mary was supposed to be the maid of honour at a friend's wedding and at the last minute was replaced by another woman, who also co-opted her bridesmaid dress. Rhoda quipped that it must be a prerequisite that all this woman's friends had to be a size 8. So in 1970-71 Mary Tyler Moore, famous for spunk and for being a stick figure, was a size 8.

    Out of curiosity, does anybody here know for sure if there was a time when US and UK sizes were not 2 sizes off from each other? I wonder if at one point they were the same and the UK just started vanity sizing later in the game ...

    Sizes were smaller then though. I wore one of my mom's dresses from the mid 60's and it was labeled size 12. I was a modern size 5 and I got it zipped but couldn't breathe. lol. So a 1970 size 8 might might have been a modern size 4.

    Edited cuz I can't spell.

    Actually I did know that about sizes once being smaller. What was in the back of my mind while I was writing the two sidebars is how sometimes I see on the boards people who seem to be denying vanity sizing (and other shifts or de-standardisations in sizing) over the decades. The extreme example of such denial would be Roseanne Barr's assertion that she was sexy because she wore a similar dress size to Marilyn Monroe—not that Roseanne Barr cannot be described as sexy, but the numerical evidence alone was not a sufficient basis for such a comparison. Poor science on her part, let's say.

    Things like the Sweet Valley High and Mary Tyler Moore examples felt like 'archaeological' evidence of these shifts that I guess I felt like collecting.

    ETA: Clarification that I obviously did not see the Roseanne example on the MFP boards, but what I do see is comparable-if-less-extreme denial of the existence of vanity sizing or its distorting effect on the way we view shifts in body shapes and sizes as well.

    And even those of us who know about vanity sizing can still be caught off guard a bit. I mean, I know vintage clothing is sized (and shaped) very differently (I wore my grandma’s wedding dress for her 50th anniversary party, when I was in 8th grade. Man that was TINY !).

    But I guess I didn’t think there was as big a shift from when I was in HS (late 90s) to now. Even though I was just commenting on how annoyed I was that LOFT seemed to have resized everything from last fall to this summer (my size 2 jeans are now a 0). So if that happened in a year, I should not be surprised that my HS 4s are likely the same size as my 2s or 0s now. Yet I still am. Maybe that has more to do with my mental compression of time 🙄
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