Article by BR Tabatha
Have you ever refused to buy an item of clothing because 'your size' didn't fit you and you don't want to go up a size?
Well you're not alone - our obession with clothing sizes and fitting that certain number we're comfortable with, has led to a phenomenon called vanity sizing.
Vanity sizing is a product of the slightly uncomfortable fact that people are bigger than they were decades ago, and instead of drawing attention to this fact, our clothes have grown with us. A size 12 today is like to have a few extra inches on the bust, waist and hips, than a size 12 of yesteryear.
image: Cosmopolitan
Whether we like it or not many of us find our self worth in a number. Whether it's the number on the scales or on the label in our clothes. And we can't exactly change what a kilogram or a pound is right?
Clothing designers and brands know that the majority of women feel better wearing the size they deem as 'small' for themselves. So if you're a size 12, you're probably going to feel absolutely kick-bootie in a size 10. And no doubt you'll return to the store where you're a size 10 time and time again, as opposed to the shop where you love the clothes but have to size up to say a size 14.
Clothing sizing isn't really standardised anymore - in the old days of 'off the rack' buying there were standards and although these still exist, the majority of design houses and factories use their own measurements. Which explains why a size 12 in one shop is the same size as a size 14 in another.
Our body size increases, yet clothing sizes only secretly increase, ie, the number stays the same, so the smaller end of the spectrum had no where to go, but in to the controversial size 0. Which then of course led to 00 and even 000. And with designers being accused of propagrating unhealthy body images and eating disorders we have to face the uncomfortable truth that we, the consumer have a huge part to play in this. We don't want to size up, even if across the world the average size is rising. Our obsession with being the same size has led to a non-standardised sizing system that varies from store to store, from country to country.
It seems that we are so obsessed by numbers that we now have no sense of what size we really are - but maybe that's something we should embrace - Is it time we stop focusing on what number we are and wear the size that fits and makes us look great? Heck, chop out the label and you'll look and feel good!
What are your thoughts on vanity sizing? Are you all for it - does it make you feel better to fit a smaller clothing label? Or are you frustrated with the lack of consistency between brands and wish someone would call time of vanity sizing and standardise our measurements again?
Get chatting below!
Maybe it is time manufacturers did away with traditional sizing if it is not based on a standard anyway? Sometimes shape or style would be a better indication. If I stand up real straight and tall I am a strapping 5'2" so nothing ever fits properly. I just about swooned with joy when I discovered Jeanswest's Curve Embracer short length jeans - suddenly I could wear jeans and a t-shirt in public! Do you know, in other countries they have ranges of clothes proportioned for short people . . . sigh . . .