Vanity Sizing Redux

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
I know we've discussed this quite a bit, but I just had to tell you I pulled out an old pair of J Crew pants this morning (the weather here has been unusually cold & all my winter clothes are packed up in the attic).

The pants are maybe 10 years old & they're a size 6, they're just slightly loose around the waist (much looser in the butt area, but that's not unusual for me).

If I buy pants at J Crew today I need a size zero. It is so ridiculous how sizing has changed in less than a decade! Do people really fall for this kind of marketing ploy?
 
I like all the infomericals that say "Since doing blah blah blah program I am down to a size 4!" No one is above a size 6 in those stupid things. I'm tall and thin and can't fit into anything below a size 8 (unless it's "vanity" sized) so I guess the pressure is on to be waiflike, even if means b.s.ing on clothing size.
 
I was feeling pretty good about getting down to a size 4 in some jeans, the tried on some older size 8's that fit about the same!

Though I must say, I'm very happy that when I went back to my hometown for my stepmother's wedding, I could fit in a dress she made for me for my senior class dance in 1975(I had wanted to try on some old pants, to see if they'd fit, but they were long gone to the Appalacians!).
 
And once again, there I was feeling okay about being a 4 or a 6, when it turns out I'm really apparently a 10 or a 12. Yay me.
 
>And once again, there I was feeling okay about being a 4 or a
>6, when it turns out I'm really apparently a 10 or a 12. Yay
>me.
>

Which goes to show, numbers don't matter.

FYI: The dress which fit me then and now was from a size 12 pattern, so I'm 'really' a size 12!

We should just go to sizing based on measurements, like with men's clothing. That way, we'd at least know that something is going to fit. I've noticed a wide range of differences in clothes labeled the same size. In fact, those size 4 jeans I could get into also come in another color/fabric, and the 4's in those were too tight!
 
Oh, yes, it's ridiculous. I still can't fit into a size 6 Valerie Stevens skirt from 10 years ago, but I can fit into a size 2 now.

If I were to ever get down to my pre-pregnancy weight the smallest clothes at the Gap won't fit. (But, I won't, so I don't worry.)

Although, I've heard they make 00 now.
 
I don't have any *really* old clothes to compare to (I wish I did!) but I had some size 9's that I used to wear with in the last couple of years and even though I have had to buy a new wardrobe (some 2's and 4's), the 9's don't seem NEARLY as big on me as they should be for having dropped several sizes! Obviously the sizing has changed!!!

I do not consider myself overweight in the least as I sit here today. I am in the best shape of my life but even so, if it were a few years ago I am sure I would probably still be around a size 6, not a size 2 or 4!
 
Wormwood! LOL! I'm 5'3". I wear a size 0-2 which I believe would be a 6-8 10 years ago.

Shelley, there you go again......I think you must have funhouse mirrors at home.........I have met you in person & your self image should be sky high, you look fabulous!
 
>I've heard they make 00 now.

If this size inflation (deflation?) keeps up, they're either going to have to start using more zeros (size 000, size 0000) or go to negatives (size -2, size -4)!

And about self image: two different people wearing the same size can look very different, so clothing sizes don't tell the whole story. When I used to wear a size 10 (today's size 6?), lots of folks didn't think I was 'that big,' and several asked me if I wore a size 5 (today's size 2?).

One thing I have trouble with on sizes is that most sizing charts assume that most women are pear-shaped, and have bigger hips than bust. If you look at most size charts, the hip measurement is 2" more than the bust measurement. I always have to get a size medium or 10 in tops (wide shoulders also add to that) and usually a size 6 or small in bottoms. So I'm screwed when the top and pants come together.
 
"Do people really fall for this kind of marketing ploy?"

I do. :p Sort of. While I'm smart enough to realize it's a marketing tool, emotionally I fall for it to some extent.

I am actually sitting here in my office wearing a size ZERO pants. (It's insane. Is there a smaller size than zero? I doubt it. Yet, at least half the women in Manhattan are thinner than me, so what the heck size are they wearing????? :eek:) The saleslady brought them out saying they were drastically reduced, and all she had were a size zero, and I should try them on. I told her no way was I trying on a zero, as it would be a waste of time. She flattered me and said I looked like a perfect size 0, the only one who could fit into these pants which had been reduced several times. So I tried them, and when they fit, of course I bought them. :p

ETA: I can tell you unequivocally that I have a belly that jiggles like a bowl full of jelly when I mandeline a carrot, but who cares? I have pants that are a size zero. :p :+
 
MAYBE, the sizes from 10 years ago were screwed up and "The Man" was trying to make us feel fat by needing a size 6 when we were really a size 0!!!!:p
 
Ditto here! I still do have a couple & wear them in a pinch, but I always have to take out my navel ring, otherwise it'll get sore & irritated.

Plus I'm large-waisted--or no-waisted?--so the low rise fit SO much better. With the high rise I have to go one size up & have the butt taken in.
 
This gives people a false sense of security, especially the heavy people, thinking they are a smaller size. I too normal sizing wear a 6, in gap, etc I wear a 2 or a 4. It really drives me nuts

Karen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top