Question:
What is up with the clothing sizes??

I'm always jealous of others who are the same height and weight as I am who can wear 6's and 8's when I am wearing 10's and a couple of 12's. Yesterday I was trying on some shorts and ended up buying a SIX in Bill Blass. There is NO WAY these are really a 6 when I walked in there in a size 10 shorts that fit perfectly. This makes it really confusing when determining what size to try on if the clothes manufacturers clothing sized differ so much! Anyone else have this experience? What size do I REALLY wear?? I guess this goes to show that the number *really doesn't matter*!! My mom asked if I bought them. Well, OF COURSE:~) — Cheri M. (posted on May 13, 2003)

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May 13, 2003
I am SO with you on this one girlfriend! I have clothes right now that fit and are size 8 to size 14. I don't understand it either. My mother used to always say that high end clothing (designer and brand names) had a tendency to be cut more generously than cheaper brands. I've found this to be true MOST of the time but not always. I can wear a size 10 Tommy Hillfiger, a size 10 American Eagle and a size 14 Ralph Lauren in jeans. EXCUSE ME??? I try really hard not to dwell on the size label but if someone asks, I breeze by with a "Oh, I just bought the cutest pair of Size 8 shorts the other day." I'm not lying.......:)
— Pam S.

May 13, 2003
There ya go ... they know we'll buy them if the number on the label is smaller. ;~) Works on me sometimes, too (grrrrr!). At 5'7 1/2", and 140 pounds, I mostly wear size 6's now if I buy them from the store today. But I have an extensive collection of sizes from my many yo-yo phases over a lifetime. My closet is a virtual Smithsonian Museum of Women's Clothing Sizes Over The Ages. I've noticed that the size 12's I bought 20-plus years ago fit me perfectly now, when my height/weight was the same as it is now. Yet, size 12s I bought ten-plus years ago or so, when I weighed 20 pounds more than I do now, hang too loosely on me now. Something changed somewhere in there (and it wasn't just me). I am not a petite person. I am waiting to see "negative" sizes start appearing on the shelves for the truly petite folk, as I see a *lot* of real estate between my size 6 jeans and their size 0's. It really messes with your head, doesn't it?
— Suzy C.

May 13, 2003
Cheri, I have the same problems, go figure, with Jordache, they run really small, I wear a size 17, but in Express jeans, and also in Tommy Hilfiger jeans I wear a size 13, man talk about depressing while going out and buying clothing....... I'll stick with Express and Tommy......... Hey food for thought..... Seven for all man kind jeans, I would be a size 34 (oh) ...... they run even smaller... Buy what's comfortable and wear it till it falls off your hips.... Smile ! Post op 12 almost 12 months down 130 pounds
— tannedtigress

May 13, 2003
I went to a second-hand store this weekend and bought 3 pairs of chinos, all a size 22. (I'm only 3 months post)It was like a "Three Bears" story-- one pair was too big, one pair was too small and one was just right. Figures that the Ralph Lauren pair is the one that's too small.
— lizinPA

May 13, 2003
You are SO RIGHT! It's odd, isn't it? I have also found that if I measure myself according to the size charts in catalogs, I fall into a larger size catagory than I ever buy nowadays. But, I think also, some of this is affected by the lovely hanging and loose skin! I may "measure" larger but that doesn't take into account that hanging skin can be smooshed - haha - and it fits into clothing a bit differently than skin that is filled with fat. Does that make sense? It's more ply-able, I guess I should say. The other day my mom bought me a blazer, size 10 and I couldn't breathe it was so tight. Yet, in more expensive clothing, I am wearing 4's and 6's. I wish it was across the board, but it's not! I guess when it comes down to it, the number doesn't matter - there are so many variables.
— Mary W.

May 13, 2003
Cheri, I know what you mean. I wish there was something to mandate that every store and designer makes the same sizes everywhere! What bugs me the most is that OLD NAVY, THE GAP and BANANA REPUBLIC, all of which are the same company, but are different in quality, have different sizes. For instance, I am generally a 4 in Old Navy, a 6 in Gap and a 6/8 in Banana. How can they do this! And I just bought a size 6 pants in one department store, and in the same exact store in another rack, I bought a size 3, what is that!? When someone asks now, I usually just say a 5, b/c I can do lower and higher, so I pick the middle. I just don't care as much now as I did pre-op. These are all little sizes comparitively, when before it was the difference of 20's and 22's and 24's! Goodluck to you :-)
— Lezlie Y.

May 13, 2003
I'll join the bandwagon here...I, too, have a closet that varies from a low of size 6 (tops of course) to a high of size 14 (fitted blazer). I definitely have to try out Tommy Hilfilger, though, from the sounds of it!! It is the manufacturers, adjusting sizes downward. As we all know, if we can "fit" into a lower size, we're gonna buy it. Designers and manufacturers figured that one out years ago.
— Cindy R.

May 13, 2003
Yup. Bill Blass definitely run large (LOVE him ;) Also Calvin Klein. I can squeeze into a size 6 Bill Blass, size 8 Calvin Klein, Levi's are a bit smaller, but still an 8, but Gap or Ralph Lauren I take a 10. All over the board.
— mom2jtx3

May 13, 2003
I am still pre-op but I know what you are talking about. I think it was the first poster who said that more expensive clothing is cut more generously. My problem is just the oppisite. For my 24th birthday a family member took me Nordstroms to go on a mini shopping spree. I have never shopped in an expensive department store before. I was used to shopping at Target, Wal-Mart, and JC Penny's. At all of these stores I was in a size 20-22. These were not tight on me. In fact they were getting a little loose. When my cousin took me to Nordstroms, it was horrible!!!!! The biggest size they had was a 3X or 26W. None of the 26's fit me. I was lucky to finally find 2 dresses that fit me. It was one of the worst shopping experiences I have ever had! Since then I have gained about 100 lbs. and I have refused to shop anywhere but a plus size clothing store here in San Antonio. It is so much easier for me to go into a plus size store, head right for the size 28's or 30's, and know they are going to fit. I am sure that once I am post-op I will feel different. But right now, I stay away from Old Navy, The Gap, Nordstroms, or any other department stores.
— Maria S

May 13, 2003
Here's an opinion with a twist -- maybe the more expensive stores, instead of cutting their clothes bigger, just put a smaller size on the tag as a way to "cater to their customers" by making them feel smaller by being able to buy a piece of clothing with a size on the label that is 3 sizes smaller than what they normally wear. What better way to sell clothes than to make a woman feel thinner in them???
— beeda

May 13, 2003
Yay Bill Blass!!! Generally the better the clothing the more generous the sizing is. Before I had kids I was a size 8 or 10 and even a 12 some places. At Anne Taylor however I was always a 6 or an 8. My slim girlfriends are always yelling at me to not worry about the size because they have a range of sizes in their closets and they go by how they look and feel not by some silly tag. I suppose I will catch on eventually! Good Luck!
— Carol S.

May 13, 2003
I've noticed this sizing issue starts early- I have to shop at the large women's chains, but my son's clothes range between a boy's size12-14 and/or men's size small to medium! Size be damned!!! Wear what you like :o)
— Mea A.

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