We''re all being fooled about our growing size

[jaysonsmom]

I just read on another forum that I frequent that clothing manufactures all adjusted their sizes a few years ago...and only the bridal industry stayed put with their sizes, that's why most people wear bridal attire in a much larger size. I realized this to be true myself, but I guess what I read confirmed it.

I've been around the same height/weight/shape since 10 years ago. Back then I wore a 8/10 size.....today I wear a 4/6. "I" haven't changed, the sizes have changed to make women feel better about themselves! It's kinda sad...

This being said, when I got married 4.5 years ago, I was already buying 4/6 in regular clothes, and much to my dismay, I had to get a size 10 wedding gown. I guess the only truthful industry is the bridal industry!

So, if clothing manufactures keep doing this, we have no way of knowing if we're growing as a population or not....just think, most publications said that Marilyn Monroe was a curvaseous size 14, by today's standards, she's nowhere near that, she'd be a size 6 today I think.

I think women's clothes should be measured in inches if you ask me.

 

[Bikergirl]

So what if you''re a size zero? If all the other sizes are "shifting" what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

 

[IrishEyes]

Ugh. Don''t tell me that! I worked hard to get down to my current size of 4. So am I really an 8/10? Whatever. I guess it''s how you feel about yourself that matters. I feel fantastic, I am quite pleased with my body, so if that means I''m a 4, 8, 10 or even 20, that''s what it means!!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:48:40 PM
Author: Bikergirl
So what if you''re a size zero? If all the other sizes are ''shifting'' what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

There never used to be a size 0! Or a size 2. Tiny people were size 3 and size 5 when I was growing up! Size 8 was pretty darned small, too!

Deb

 

[ForteKitty]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:48:40 PM
Author: Bikergirl
So what if you''re a size zero? If all the other sizes are ''shifting'' what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

They have 0, 00, 000 for teens, and those are TINY. I normally wear a 0P for Banana Republic, but I''d wear a 3-5 in those brands. Imagine how small a 000 is!

 

[jaysonsmom]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:48:40 PM
Author: Bikergirl
So what if you''re a size zero? If all the other sizes are ''shifting'' what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

I guess if they keep shifting down, people like Nicole Richie will become a negative size

 

[IrishEyes]

Deb, you are right, I remember there being 3 and 5''s for smaller people back in the day. Growing up I used to shop at a store called 5,7,9. It carried 3,5,7,9 and maybe a few others. When I think of size 0, I think of 14 year old girls!! Well, one thing is for sure, we are all different, thank God for that!!!

 

[AGBF]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:52:29 PM
Author: ForteKitty

Date: 7/12/2005 5:48:40 PM

Author: Bikergirl

So what if you're a size zero? If all the other sizes are 'shifting' what happens to really tiny people? Just wondering.....

They have 0, 00, 000 for teens, and those are TINY. I normally wear a 0P for Banana Republic, but I'd wear a 3-5 in those brands. Imagine how small a 000 is!

This is all madness, of course. No one wants to be "fat', so for the sake of vanity as people grew, sizes changed to help massage people's vanity. In seventh grade I was around 5'2" and weighed 99 lbs. I believe the pattern for the skirt I had to make in home economics was a size 12. I remember my waist being 27" and my thinking that that was huge for a waist. I mean, didn't Scarlett O'Hara have something tinier? Weren't the measurements of all models, movie stars, and Miss Americas 36-22-34, etcetera?

I had to live with being a size 12 at 99 lbs!!!

Deb

 

[Mara]

Also I've noticed the more expensive the clothes, the smaller the size you wear. aka $50 skirt I'd wear a size 8-10. but a $250 skirt I'd wear a size 4-6! It's like the more you spend the more they want you to feel good?

Re: shifting sizes....the average plate size at a restaurant in 1980 was 8". Now it's 12" and they fill every inch of that 12" with food so that American's feel like they are 'getting their money's worth'.

In contrast, at French restaurants people complain that they don't get enough food for what they pay. In reality what they serve you is ONE serving size instead of FIVE!

One serving size of fish or meat is something like the size of your PALM. How small is that?

 

[ForteKitty]

Date: 7/12/2005 6:07:09 PM
Author: Mara

In contrast, at French restaurants people complain that they don''t get enough food for what they pay. In reality what they serve you is ONE serving size instead of FIVE!

One serving size of fish or meat is something like the size of your PALM. How small is that?

I''d starve if I were served a proper serving. That''s not enough meat!

 

[Mara]

Date: 7/12/2005 5:59:03 PM
Author: IrishEyes
Deb, you are right, I remember there being 3 and 5''s for smaller people back in the day. Growing up I used to shop at a store called 5,7,9. It carried 3,5,7,9 and maybe a few others. When I think of size 0, I think of 14 year old girls!! Well, one thing is for sure, we are all different, thank God for that!!!

HAHA, I never heard of that store before I saw MEAN GIRLS!!

When the popular girl was gaining weight because Lindsay Lohan was feeding her those protein fatty bars...and she goes into that store and tries on that dress that used to fit her...but doesn''t anymore and she said.....''do you have this dress in a larger size'' and the salesgal said ''We only carry 5/7/9, maybe you should shop at Plus Size women''...

 

[Mara]

Date: 7/12/2005 6:10:26 PM
Author: ForteKitty

Date: 7/12/2005 6:07:09 PM
Author: Mara

In contrast, at French restaurants people complain that they don't get enough food for what they pay. In reality what they serve you is ONE serving size instead of FIVE!

One serving size of fish or meat is something like the size of your PALM. How small is that?

I'd starve if I were served a proper serving. That's not enough meat!

But it IS actually. 6 oz of meat or fish is actually a decent amount. A balanced meal adds other things too aka salad or veggies or side dishes...not just a big hunk of meat. (I love meat!!) But people don't eat that way anymore and as you just displayed, the perception of something as small as your palm is very distasteful to many! It is perceived as not being 'enough' for your body.

Our bodies are actually made to exist in a FAMINE situation and hoard fat! This is from hundreds of thousands of years...our bodies have not yet evolved to exist in what is a FEAST situation, aka Americans have so much more than everywhere else. Scary thing is that maybe once they finally evolve to FEAST situation and shed fat faster and up the metabolism naturally....who knows what shape the world will be in...what if it's FAMINE again. Our bodies do not change as quickly as our situations do.

Don't worry I am not judging, I love a big ole steak just as much as the rest of us. But I find all these factoids interesting.

 

[ForteKitty]

All this talk about meat is making me hungry. I want a ribeye from Ruth''s Chris-- cooked with extra butter, crab stuffed mushrooms on the side, a creme brulee, and a glass of red wine.

 

[Sparkster]

Tell me about it! I stopped growing (both upwards and outwards) at the age of about 15. I''m 5.2 and 49kg. There''s an Australian label called Country Road and years ago, a size 8 (the smallest they made then). Nowadays, they make a size 4 which is the same as their old size 8. On the label, it says "Australian 4, USA 0" Their size 4 is too big for me when I buy their suits, I have to have them taken in. So, if a USA size 0 is too big for me, then does that make me a 00.

The expensive boutiques however seem to have kept the same sizes throughout the years.

 

[jaysonsmom]

You know what''s sad is that I''m all american when it comes to portion size. If I go somewhere to eat, I want to stuff myself, and still come home with leftovers. That is probably why I HATE going to my sister-in-law''s house for dinner, her husband (french-Swiss) is the chef, and always cooks so little that I come home starving.

As for steakhouses...some people choose their cut based on the flavor, and texture. I choose the cut based on the size. If I''m going to pay $30+ for a steak, it''d better not be a tiny 6 oz. filet mignon.

That''s probably why I''m not one of those size 0 Asians

 

[Mara]

I''m definitely not American when it comes to portion sizes....I find that the more food they serve you, the more mediocre it is.

I prefer a more expensive, smaller portioned meal that is better flavored every time. I love rich flavors, aka something like truffle oil. I love scallops and get them all the time, even though I know you only get like 5 scallops for a $19 meal or something...but they are usually awesome to the taste and leave me much more satisfied due to the ''sharp'' flavors than eating a big ole plate of pasta.

When I get steaks, I only get filet or the more expensive cuts of meat, and I almost always do it because they ARE smaller. I can''t eat THAT much steak and leftovers in our house just get thrown away.

Of course I am not tiny either so I must indulge in mediocre large plates at times. But in preference, I would always take a better flavored smaller meal!

 

[codex57]

They should make women''s clothing sizes in inches, just like men''s pants. Make it less confusing for us.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Date: 7/12/2005 7:01:59 PM
Author: codex57
They should make women''s clothing sizes in inches, just like men''s pants. Make it less confusing for us.

That''s what I said too. HOWEVER, even that doesn''t work! Must be something wrong with consistancy in measuring tapes because my husband can wear sizes 29-32" waist depending on the brand!

 

[Blue824]

Yep, totally true. I commented on that in a different thread actually.

Last year when I was having alterations done my tailor told me the same thing with couture sizes staying the same (like what bridal goes by) while other sizes have shifted drastically.

Typcially I find my sizes are more consistant and true in higher end brands where as the moderately priced stuff (like banana, jcrew, department store stuff) I am so much smaller. I laughed so hard the first time I bought a size 4.

I find buying pants to be *the* most stressful thing in the world. It is madness! I''ve gotten over the numbers though, I just buy whatever fits my body instead of getting caught up with a size.

 

[Mara]

I HATE Banana pants with a passion. I love their cutie styles, but they NEVER fit me right no matter what I try on. And the sizing! I am something like a size 12 in Banana pants, but go figure, my 36C chest is a Medium or even sometimes a SMALL in Banana sweaters and stuff. Could you be any more inconsistent? My top is much bigger than my bottom!

 

[hoorray]

Date: 7/12/2005 6:58:50 PM
Author: Mara
I'm definitely not American when it comes to portion sizes....I find that the more food they serve you, the more mediocre it is.

I prefer a more expensive, smaller portioned meal that is better flavored every time. I love rich flavors, aka something like truffle oil. I love scallops and get them all the time, even though I know you only get like 5 scallops for a $19 meal or something...but they are usually awesome to the taste and leave me much more satisfied due to the 'sharp' flavors than eating a big ole plate of pasta.

When I get steaks, I only get filet or the more expensive cuts of meat, and I almost always do it because they ARE smaller. I can't eat THAT much steak and leftovers in our house just get thrown away.

Of course I am not tiny either so I must indulge in mediocre large plates at times. But in preference, I would always take a better flavored smaller meal!

I'm with you on this whole portion thing. I don't want a whole lot of average to bad food. I want a smaller amount of GREAT food.

That said... along this whole line, I heard on the news the other day that the average female weight in 1965 was 145 pounds. (I think they were talking grown women). Now, it is 165 pounds.

I know there are a lot of very small women out there, but America is definitely getting fat!

(I'm not trying to get flamed or make anyone feel bad -- it's a real health issue for our country...)

 

[jaysonsmom]

Mara, I have the opposite problem with VS! I think of myself as a pretty proportionate woman, so I order a swimsuit from Victoria''s Secret. Size 34C on top, and a medium bottom The medium bottoms were HUGE, I should have read their sizing chart because according to VS, a medium is 40" in the hip. I''m only 36 so I should have ordered an XS! Since when is an average hip size like 36" an XS?

 

[Blue824]

Date: 7/12/2005 7:17:21 PM
Author: Mara
I HATE Banana pants with a passion. I love their cutie styles, but they NEVER fit me right no matter what I try on. And the sizing! I am something like a size 12 in Banana pants, but go figure, my 36C chest is a Medium or even sometimes a SMALL in Banana sweaters and stuff. Could you be any more inconsistent? My top is much bigger than my bottom!

Hehe, we must have the exact opposite shopping experiences...Banana is one of the stores where I am a consistant size 4. My work pants, like tahari, lepore, bcbg, etc which all cost at least double what my banana pants cost, are all size 8. Their 8''s match up consistantly with old 8''s from a couple years ago (before I apparently lost like 40 pounds and became a size 4?! I''ve actually gained weight and gotten smaller in sizes...go figure). Banana shirts I can''t get a handle on they''re always weird, I have everything from an extra small to a large, and sometimes two shirts of the same style in two different sizes.

 

[jaysonsmom]

This was from last month''s Family Circle:

The Average American Woman is:
Height: 5''5"
Weight 174 pounds
Size: 14 (42% of us are size 16 and up)
Hair color: From a bottle. (The majority of women- 62% - dye their tresses, and as many go for the gold as for brunette, at 25% each.)
Beauty secret: Wear makeup! (A whopping 87% of us do.)

 

[IrishEyes]

Jaysonsmom, I am with you on VS!! I actually stopped shopping their catalog, I got so pissed. I am a size 4 at almost every place I go. Or, because I am a 36 C/D chest, a medium in tops at most stores. Well, sometimes I ordered mediums from VS. When the stuff came in the mail, it was HUGE on me!! So I would send it back and get the small. Still too big. HELLO!! I am NOT an extra small ANYWHERE!! I am a short, curvy, thin woman. NOT a little stick! So then, I started ordering extra smalls or smalls. Well, some stuff would come and it would be too small!! UGH! I don''t understand. Coupled with the fact that they send you a catalog EVERY DAMN DAY, I just boycotted them. Their stuff really isn''t all that great anyway....

 

[LadyluvsLuxury]

Interesting...although not surprising. We are a vainity driven society so it would not surprise me that this mass conspiracy is taking place behind close doors

. However, I think it is more dimensional than it seems on the surface. One of the most compelling arguments is that while it is true Americans are becoming more and more "overweight" (which is a relative term), is weight the only determining factor of health? Does being "overweight" really mean unhealthy, obese, disease prone etc. I will take myself for instance, 5''5 and I have always hovered around 150-155 which growing up I was always told I was "overweight" but healthy.... WHAT? seems like an oxy moron to me!

I always thought I was fat, even though I found it strange that I could fit into 7/8 pants and 5/6 tops. It wasn''t until I reached college and had my body fat taken that I found out my body fat was 18.5% which is considred ''low'' for a woman or ideal for athletes. Finally I understood that I wasn''t FAT like I always thought I was just more muscular than the average woman. So to put an interesting twist on the conversation does more weight neccessairily mean poorer health? And if that is the case and so many of us are medically considered overweight and therefore unhealthy, then why is our life expectancy increasing every year? And one of the highest in all the world? And wasn''t it true at one point in history that a "large" woman was considered attractive and desireable, and I mean like double-chin type large not just "I''m 5 pounds over weight so I''m obese", take a look at protraits of royalty back in the days, the women were always...thick

And when did that all turn around and we begin to value slenderness over curvaceousness anyway? So could it be that designers are just re-adjusting for the trend in society since size is relative anyway?

 

[IrishEyes]

I think our life expectancy increases every year simply because of advances in modern medicine. I think it has very little to do with weight and lifestyle. Sure, you can die if you drink alot, smoke, eat too much of the wrong things and never work out, but today''s scientists and doctors are making adjustments in medications and technology to handle these lifestyles.

In terms of being "overweight yet healthy" I do believe it is possible, although it does sound funny. Overweight is simply a government standard. They are the ones that issue the standards for what is considered thin vs. overweight, depending largely on your height, weight and age. What they fail to account for most of the time is your genetics, your muscle mass, your bone density and how active you are or not. These are all major factors in if we are overweight or not. I know many women who, according to government charts, are "overweight". But these same women are active, eat well, don''t drink or smoke, have healthy hearts and bones and have very high muscle mass. But they are being told constantly that they are "fat", which I think is a damn shame! It seems that to be considerend "healthy" or of normal weight in this country, you have to be thin naturally, or almost be a stick, with no curves and very little fat. This is not the average woman. And it does nothing but make us feel worse about ourselves and strive constantly for an impossible ideal.

I really hope that one or both things happen: 1. that women realize they are beautiful no matter what anyone tells us. I used to have massive problems with my body, and I am considered "thin" by the charts. But I constantly belittled every little bulge or imperfection. Then I went overseas and saw soldiers coming home with no arms or legs, with holes in their heads. And I realized that hey, my body is beautiful. So what if it''s not perfect, what is perfect anyway?? At least I have all my limbs. This body is beautiful because it encases ME, and I love myself. This body is beautiful because it works, it moves, it lives.

2. That the government and society can get a handle on what is REALLY healthy. That they can be fair and start making charts that take the things I mentioned above into account. Every year we seem to make advances, so maybe it''s not that far off......

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/12/2005 8:07:33 PM
Author: IrishEyes
Jaysonsmom, I am with you on VS!!

. Coupled with the fact that they send you a catalog EVERY DAMN DAY, I just boycotted them. Their stuff really isn't all that great anyway....

I've had problems w/VS too and even called them & told them to stop sending me three catalogues a week because every time one came, I'd end up ordering an outfit that didn't fit. Two days ago they sent me a coupon for a free pair of PINK collection undies (no purchase necessary), so I did run to the store to pick up a pair. . .

As far as I've found, NONE of any designers clothes fit consistantly. I'm a size 2 and when I tried on a fitted shirt in Nordstrom Savvy department, one shirt in size M made me look icky because it was SO tight and I asked the sales girl if a L was available and she said I should take a M, so I said it made me look unsightly and lumpy and commented maybe it's just me, rather than the shirt and the b*tch replied it's just you! I couldn't believe it. Obviously, ALL brands fit differently and it's ludicrious that a person has to try on S, M and L to figure out what fits, but to tell a customer they're fat because of this is downright ruthless! GRRRR! (and I would complain, but this girl is all of about 25 and has terrible fashion sense. She's ALWAYS working and never looks happy, so I guess she gets what she deserves

. I won't shop there again, though as I've decided that Savvy's clothes are ugly.) Actually, I think I will complain. I remember the woman's name so I'll send a note to Nordstrom.

 

[IrishEyes]

Michelle, GRRRRR......

. I hate salespeople like that! I could start a whole thread on salespeople and their dumba** comments and mannerisms!!

 

[Mara]

Being too overweight CAN be unhealthy because of things like stress on your joints like your knees which are your weakest joint in the body to begin with....also many times it can lead to high cholesterol stress to the heart working overtime or other things due to types of food you are eating. Some people are just naturally larger, but others are that way due to eating habits or no exercise or lifestyle and it seems like that is where it could cross over into being unhealthy for the long-term. Who knows, there are so many stats on what is good and bad...I can't keep up.

However, if your doctor says you are a bit overweight but generally healthy, then good for you! But not everyone is like that! Even skinny people get high cholesterol or can have serious health problems...maybe not related to weight.

In the past and even now in some countries, very overweight people are deemed desirable due to them being able to AFFORD to eat...I know in some very poor areas of the world the very large women are considered beautiful and desirable because they have money and everyone else is stick thin and can't afford to eat anything. Big difference from here in America where we have everything but don't want to eat it because we'll be deemed fat etc. I LOVE food but many times I know what it does to me so I don't eat it. I try to strike a healthy balance betwen good and bad items.

Bottom line, thin or fat, do whatever is best for you and makes YOU happiest. I personally feel unhappy with myself when I overeat or stop exercising and gain weight. I hate when my clothes are tight...there's no reason for them to be like that. If I could fit into them before, I should be able to now...I'm an adult and not growing anymore naturally! So I tend to try to use my clothes and how they fit as a gauge rather than scales. I do also use the tape measure at times to keep myself 'in line' with where I feel is good for my body.

I am not skinny and I'm not fat. I'm somewhere in between...I'm tall and medium boned so I will never be Nicole Richie thin but I can feel good about myself and what I wear etc. Sure sometimes I wish my hips were like 3" smaller but why wish for what you CANT HAVE??!

Just because clothes would be that much more fun to wear is not an excuse to get hip removal surgery.

Anyhow, I also wanted to say that doesn't it suck that no matter how good you feel about yourself, so many times when you go to the store to try on new things, 99% of them look like crap on you? Even when I have been thinner in the past, aka when I was younger and not quite so curvy, I'd still be like...that looks like CRAP, look how it bunches here, or this is not made for my body etc. Wouldn't it be great if everyone could wear what they wanted and look fabulous in it!!!??!

Oh and Michelle it probably WAS you that was making the shirt look unflattering and no I don't mean you are fat. But just that the shirt was not made for YOUR body style, just like my comment above....I hate that! If you like something, it should just fit. What is so hard about that?! Unfair!