THIS is why we have whacked body images

Makes sense BUT...

It could be argued that  the "average woman" may not shop in high end stores. If the goal was to promote realistic images to the average woman, one might use clothing sizes with which she could identify. Just sayin.

Vanity sizing is out of control. I'd rather go into a store and know what size i
wear than have to try on 4 different sizes. Sizes have changed markedly over
the years. 25-30 years ago I wore a size 8, which equates to a size tiny now. I had
a 24 inch waist, 33 inch hips...size 8. I tried on Designer slacks
recently and had my normal size 12 fall to the ground. I left in disgust. I did not
have the time or energy to play the trying on 4 sizes game and it has the opposite
effect on me....then I would feel like something's wrong with me because I got
into one size ridiculously small, so I'd feel pressure to wear that size in
everything. I don't want size to rule me, and my budget doesn't have designer
clothes room in it anyway, so I refuse to play. It's bad enough from regular store
to store- 2 sizes from brand to brand to store to store, but that I can deal with.
Size 12 to size 4 or 6......gimme a break!  But that's just me....

 I guess I'm sort of mixed.  Is it great that most clothing stores are doing vanity sizing or that sizes are going up so that we 'technically' feel better about ourselves..Oh I'm in size ?  and 10 years later i'm still in a size ?  but doesn't that lead to some sort of disillision that we are actually becoming larger (not necessarily unhealthier, but definitely increasing our mass) but still pretending we are not?

I dunno if I would have been 25 and not been able to find any clothing to fit me at my new weight of 240, perhaps I would have done something about it then?  I don't know because I can't read the past, but I know for like 15 years my weight gradually went up but my size stayed relatively the same.  For a person that refused to have a scale  it you know gave me a skewed idea of what my actual body weight was, even though I had clothing that no longer fit me, it was no longer in style anyways right?

This is maybe off on a tangent, but in some ways sizing is a reflection of our society in general, instead of perhaps having to work for certain things, we will change the opinion on what is good or bad.  Years ago a person tried very hard to pay for everything on cash, but now we are much more credit orientated..and society has said 'that's ok, you don't need the cash, you can pay later!"  this of course is also related now to size..oh you are weighing more, that's ok we'll just adjust the sizes...

I'm rambling now and my thoughts are not coming out exactly as I want them to LOL 

Gypsy

Oh I get where you are going. Like when I was in high school the passing grade for my school district was lowered from a 70 to a 65 because so many students were failing. I felt the same way about that. Is it serving anyone to lower the grade, or do you raise the bar for what schools should do for their students. Do you put a band-aid on the cut or address the reason WHY you got cut?

 

I notice many stores have taken to alternative sizing systems. To that end, last night I spent 25 minutes in Target staring at the jeans section trying to figure out what size I am. I finally found it, and when I did I actually kinda dug the system as it plays more into women’s body shapes. BUT it was hella frustrating at the same time. I know before I shrunk out of their clothes, Lane Bryant was doing the same thing with their jeans.

I don’t know if there is a way to make a “non-judgmental" clothing size. Anywhere where there’s room for comparison, there will be negative and positive values based on comparison.

 

I personally don’t give a rat’s ass at the end of the day if I am a 12 or a 14. I care that I can find clothes that fit me and flatter me. And for me this is especially frustrating because, size notwithstanding, my size and my weight do not match. I know women who weigh 40-50 lbs. less than me and wear the same size clothing I do (at similar height). So I had to dissociate myself from the number and just go for fit. Because it was driving me bonkers.

Like button, please!  I totally agree!

Nik..you and I had that very converation online last week about the scale and body not matching. Mine doesn't either. It's totally weird.

But what's weirder...I'm going to have to buy underwear in a regular store and I have no idea what size I wear!

I just want to know how to be an "average 16" and get the girls to look that good

My 18yo daughter is 5'11" and a size 10.  She thinks she looks like the "size 16" in this picture.  She really looks more like the "size 12,"  with slightly different proportions. Our own images of ourselves are whacked.