What size do u consider to be skinny?

S

sunsdaughter

Cathlete
A friend and I have been in a heated debate. She says that a size 2/4 is "really skinny", no matter what, but I think a 2/4 could be a "healthy small", depending on your body type and height. What do u all think? I mean, if I had to guess, cathe is prob a size 0/2 and I don't consider her to be "really skinny". She's strong and I would love to have her definition (and abs!!!!).
I know that there is no good reason to fixate on size alone (health and well being are so multifactorial....) but im still convinced that I'm right. :)
Thoughts?
 
I guess for me the difference is "emaciated skinny" Madonna, some supermodels, that spice girls chick married to David Beckham, and "fit skinny" or "muscular skinny" where Cathe would fall. If you've got skin hanging off your bones - ew!!!! If it's muscle I'm seeing - it's good.

Nan
 
I think it really expends on the person. I would quite literally have to shave off parts of my bones let alone have any significant muscle to be a 2/4, so for me it would be very scary skinny. For some it looks super healthy, for others, well, they look malnourished. Just depends on each individual and their physical make up.
 
It completely depends on your bone structure, your body type, your frame size, your height.... so many things.

I don't think you can decide that skinny is a certain size.

I am a size 0. I am slender, but I am far from scary skinny. Many people would be scary skinny at my size, but I have a very small bone structure and slender hips, etc. There are just so many factors to take into consideration other than the size someone wears.
 
It absolutely depends on your bone structure, etc. Not everyone's shoulders are the same width, or their hips, etc. My little sister and I are both size zeros. We're naturally, genetically small boned. We eat. We workout. Both of us have muscle definition; she especially has very toned arms. A zero can be perfectly healthy. On others it might not be, but on my sister and I, a six would not be healthy. We would be overweight at that size.
 
It does depend on the bone structure as mentioned by a previous poster. I have extremely big bones. Even emaciated I wouldn't wear a 2. It has to do with how much meat you have on your bones.
 
Depends on your height too. Back about 10 years ago when I weighed 133 lbs (5'4"), I wore size 4. I was by no means skinny - quite muscular, but relatively short and small-boned.

Right now I am closer to 160 lbs ... sigh ... and wear a 10/12. For me that is quite overweight. I have taller friends who are slim and fit, and wear a 10/12.

Stebby
 
When I was. 103 I was a 2 or 3 most time 3 was to big. A lot of people said I was to skimny but that was mostly people who was chunky. So I'm not sure I know now days I am getting to where 103 just isn't something I can mantain. But I think I was thin but I had slender muscles if that makes since I am 5 1 and a half. Lol. I have gained a lot latley so id like to be 115 but I probly wont reach that so for now I'm trying for 125. I tjink any smaller amd it may b to skinny for me. So it depends on there muscle mass and a lot of things I thinl.
 
It totally depends upon height to weight ratio, etc.

I am 5' 8" and usually around 123-126 pounds. If I drop below this, I start getting too skinny. I usually wear a size 6 or 4, depending upon manufacturer's/brand sizing and whether the garment is for the upper or lower body. If I ever went down to a size 2, I know I would be in real trouble health wise.

You know when you have hit too skinny: your face just looks thin, haggard, you start to lose that nice muscle cap on the shoulder and the hip bones protrude a little more. At least, that's how I know!

Clare
 
U ladies are great! Sounds like we are all I'm the same page. :) I've got the ammo of consensus on my side now. ;-)
I totally agree, a number alone (ie size) can't be used to solely determine whether or not someone is skinny. I've recently lost a good deal of weight and am now in a size 2/4. My friend (again, whom I haven't seen in a while...we had been having this conversation over the phone) thinks that's just "really skinny", no matter what. I'm 5'3" and my weight stays between 128-132. I have a very muscular frame, so I feel that I'm ok. (in fact, if I lost 5 more lbs, I still think I would be ok...)
Have an awesome Tuesday everyone!
 
Women need to stop thinking in terms of skinny and focus on health and strength.
I must admit, I was so conditioned to focus on size and scale weight, that I did some pretty awful things to my body to reach those goals. :(

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I'm going to regurgitate what everyone else posted and say it all depends on factors such as height, body type, muscle, ect.

Take me for example. I'm 5'1 and range in size from a 2-6, depending on if I buy dresses, skirts, pants, and of course which manufacturer uses vanity sizing the most :D ;). There would be no way in hell I would be classified as overly skinny, or even skinny for that matter. I have curves and muscle and I'm pear shape. I could go down to a size 0 or lose 10lbs, and still have curves and "junk-in-the-truck" ;). BUT I've made peace with my body-type and I appreciate what I've been given :D. I also try to focus more on my health, strength, cardio endurance, muscle tone, and inner happiness. At the end of the day, no number is going to dictate who I am as a human being.

Natasha
 
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Very interesting thread!! I'm 5'8" at and I go from 140-145 depending on mood/diet/exercise. I wear about a size 9 in the juniors department and a size 6 in misses(I have thighs and a small hump for a booty :)). I'm pretty sure that there is no day, in the past or in the furture, that I would/will ever be able to step even a toe into a size 2 of any type. I'm not sure if I'm 'skinny' or not, but I think most people would consider me thin.

Just as a side rant, I've given up on trying to figure out what size I wear. I doesn't seem to matter what size I say I wear. I still have to try all the clothes on in a specific brand to find the number that fits. I find this completely irritating :mad: At this point, I'm totally over what size I wear. Whatever number that's on the tag that fits is the one I buy.
 
Another variable is "WHEN" you were trying on the clothes. Clothing nowadays is sized smaller than in the late 1980s. A size 6 back then would probably be a 2 now.
I have a pair of Levi jeans from 1989 that astound my co-workers. I can't fit into them to save my life now, but I saved them because they were such high quality denim and the style was so indicative of the times. When I wore them (at 28 years old!) I was 103 pounds at 5'5" tall. I had a 24 inch waist, 34 inch hips, 20 inch thighs with a 34" length. They were skin tight and rode just below my belly button. The label says "Size 6".
Fast forward to 2012: I'm 130 pounds with a 27 inch waist, 37 inch hips and 23 inch thighs. The tag on the Lees jeans I'm currently wearing says "Size 6". Go figure!:rolleyes:
 
I'm 5'7 and have a large muscled frame {built like a linebacker}. Although, I do need to lose some weight {endomorph} at 230lbs most people assume I weigh 180. There is no way I would ever fit into anything below a 12 unless I got scary skinny and lost the muscle tone I'm working so hard to keep..

Now my mother is 5'6, has a slender frame with med muscle, she is about 130 {last I heard} and wears a 4/6. I feel she is too thin but I would never dare tell her I thought that, and when she comments that she wishes she were a smaller size I cringe.

I agree that skinny isn't a size.
 
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Nanbo hit the nail on the head. Sizes from the 80s and now are totally different. Sizes also vary from one manufacturer to another. For that matter, in mass produced clothes, the same exact size can differ on the rack based on where that specific piece of cloth was in the pile when it was cut (the middle pieces are most true to size).

Seriously, who gives a crap what the number on a tag is? You're too skinny when everyone starts asking you if you're feeling okay.
 
It has always amazed me how different the human body is from person to person and how genetics play such a big role in that. My sister and I come from the same gene pool, yet she is 5'3" 110 and a size 2 and I am 5'4" 145 and a size 6 (sometimes 4). She has a very small frame. I think I can get my hand all the way around her upper arm. I have a very large muscular frame, which I have worked hard at and am very proud of. If I every weighed 110, I would look ridiculous. She can eat whatever she wants and not gain a lb. I look at a piece of cake and I'm up 5lbs. Not fair, but what's a girl to do. I find it a bit disconcerting that when I tell people how much I weigh, they always say I would have never guessed you weighed that much. What? You mean you think 145 lbs is a lot? I think it's healthy! I've got curves and muscles and 'junk in my trunk' and it makes me feel sexy. And I know others agree ;). So who cares what society classifies a skinny or overweight. That is not a representation of everyone out there. As long as you feel strong and sexy, others will see you as such.
 
As far as clothes sizes go back in the 80's, people wore their pants at their rib cage. Now they're made to wear on a women's hips. I do think the sizes have changed, but so have the styles, which I would assume makes sizing different.

And when trying on pants/jeans, etc., I always take in a few pair of the same size because each pair fits differently.
 
NY25 said:
Seriously, who gives a crap what the number on a tag is? You're too skinny when everyone starts asking you if you're feeling okay.
Click to expand...

:D LOL Too funny!

J Crew is the worst for vanity sizing! I have to size down one or two sizes in everything. I love the clothing, but the vanity sizing is ridiculous!
 
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