Buy whatever size...

Of clothes that gives the best fit. A friend told me that long ago- and it makes more and more sense every time I shop.

We often talk about clothes, vanity sizing, goal size etc. Friday I tried on a suit I bought at a thrift store a while back- the jacket fit fine-- the skirt must have been cut for a toddler. That led me on a quest to get some new work clothes. I got 3 suits today. They were separates that I pieced together. I came home with sizes M, L, 12 & 16. At first I nearly had a nervous breakdown in the store because I kept trying things on going down and up in size. But when I focused on how I felt/looked in them- I had a better experience. I finally said screw the tags. No one but me knows what they say anyway-- others will only see how I look in them.

Mission accomplished- I'll be looking jazzy for work come next week :-)

Agreed! I find women's sizing ridiculous. I literally have clothes in sizes 8-14 that all fit well! Buy clothes that look good and fit well, never mind the number on the tag.

Great advice :D A year or so ago I went to a race expo and left with 4 shirts. The smallest was a small, the largest was a large, and they ALL FIT. WTF, sizing, WTF.

Pre-weight loss, I avoided trying clothes on at all cost since it was hard work and I hated it. Now I have to try on EVERYTHING. And, for the first time in my life, I have my measurements memorized, because I look at size charts all the time when shopping online. (I wish stores IRL had size charts, because that would make things easier for me.)

I cut the size tags off of the big ones and leave the tags in the small sizes. My own vanity sizing game. When I was 16 years old, I was 120 pounds and wore Junior 11. Ten years later, I dieted to 120 pounds and wore size 5. At 128 size 4 is sometimes too big. It is all a game and I just laugh.

How I wish the women's clothing industry would go to the sizing convention used by men's. Use measurements - A shirt that is a 32 fits a 32" bust. Pants that are a 35 fit a 35" waist. Sweet Lord, that would be so much easier. At this point, I have everything from a size 6 to a size 12 in my closet. (I have a vintage pair of size 12 Calvin Klein jeans - my first pair of designer jeans all denim no stretch purchased in 1980 when I was in college). I have size 10 Lily Pulitzer dresses and skirts. I have small and medium tops. I have large and size 12 tops. Pants are all over the place. As much as I hate trying things on, I have become that woman - I hold the clothes up to me in the store and go - yeah - that might fit - and then head to the dressing room. Buy what fits and feels comfortable. There's no point in having a pair of size 4 pants if you can't sit down!

The challenge for women's clothing to mimic men's clothing sizes is that men, on average, are straighter than women. Women's pants would need to have hip size and waist size and length, instead of just waist and length like men. And shirts could need bust and chest.

But, even then, men's sizing has had a lot of vanity size creep over the years and some brands are way far off what the number claims to be. So I think you can't win regardless.

I find that it's best to figure out a brand/model that works with your body, since every company tends to fit a different shape of person.. and then stick with them :)

As someone with a 27" inseam and a significant waist to hip difference, I have learned to alter almost everything I buy. I know there are issues, but the industry doesn't even try. One of my goals for this year is to take an online class to tailor a pair of pants for myself that fits and then make half a dozen.

Sounds like a great goal!

My Mom always altered her pants, but she is a seamstress. For women that have hips and a smaller waist they always come up too high in the front and gap in the back. It is a trick to find jeans that fit correctly, I finally found a brand that fit and then it was purchased by another company and it no longer fits me. And I refuse to spend a fortune on jeans. When I reach goal I'll have to start looking around again and see if I can find something that fits and is reasonable. I don't have my Mom's tailoring skills. But if you can find a pattern that fits, copy it onto another medium I use like stiffening material it holds up better and keep using it and make a ton of them.

Try explaining women's sizes to men and they get this glazed over look...

I was thinking the measurement thing for women would be equally hard to get consistency in-- I just couldn't put it into words.

I do tend to look for certain brands or stores whose clothes consistently fit me well. I love Macy's for that very reason. I wish I could get into Ann Taylor but I think I'm just to curvy for thier clothes.