Fashion model size

Sherri

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 10:37 am

Tzippora wrote:

Vanity sizing has become the norm (I'm looking at you, Ann Taylor Loft) so people who are narrower than I am literally can't find clothing.

Aw, and here I was feeling pretty good about my Ann Taylor Loft sweater, which is noticeably a different size than the rest of my clothes...

Nuts

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 10:39 am

Tzippora wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

fmt4 wrote:

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

louche wrote:

[Funny you should say that. In the US, punkt farkehrt: size labels have shrunk. When I was a teen, there was no such thing as a size 0 or even 2. 4 was the smallest and even that was very rare; most lines started at 6. Now since the human body has not shrunk appreciably in the past half-century, and, if anything, they're growing them bigger now thanks to better nutrition and less overcrowding...the answer is that they;'ve changed their sizing system to make people feel better about themselves.

Sizes 0-2 doesn't make much sense. How can someone be a "size 0"? Even if someone is as thin as a bamboo stick, they should still be more than "0". "0" is not a number, "0" is air and no one is entirely air.

Well then what would you suggest should be the size under 2?

There should be no number under 2, just like there was no number under two for the hundred-odd years before some designer invented it.

If size 2 is too big for very small women, all number should be bumped down one, so that 2 is smaller than it was, so is 4, 6, etc. But of course if clothing companies did that, women would get all annoyed that they're suddenly one size bigger, and then they'd have unhappy customers.

That's just if they want the sizing system to make some sort of sense. I don't actually care if they want to call sizes "0" or "00," but if they do it's based on some marketing guy's idea of what people will buy and not in some math-based system.

We're already running into that problem, where smaller women are getting bumped out of the size ranges. I'm about 5' tall and 115 - I don't look frail or underdeveloped at all due to some serious hips - and I'm wearing a 0 now in some brands. Vanity sizing has become the norm (I'm looking at you, Ann Taylor Loft) so people who are narrower than I am literally can't find clothing.

I have a friend who is about 5"6 and very thin and narrow - there's nothing out there that she can wear aside from designer clothing, which is cut to fit models, or Asian brands. As a size 0 or 00 gets larger, women who would have once worn a 2 now can't wear anything.

They could always do alterations or shop in the preteen department. I think this is still better than being overweight. LOL

Isramom8

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 11:18 am

How about calling amaller sizes Half, Quarter, Eighth and Sixteenth? Or alternatively, .5, .25, .10 and .05? Those don't match as far as math - I'm suggesting two different labeling systems.

If we have 2XL, 3XL and 4XL, then why can't we have fractions?

Tzippora

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 1:35 pm

Nuts wrote:

They could always do alterations or shop in the preteen department. I think this is still better than being overweight. LOL

That's what they do - it's just difficult to find, let's say, an interview suit in the pre-teen department.

Oh and Sherri - My apologies for bursting the bubble. Other common culprits are Gap/Old Navy/Banana, Tahari, Jones New York and Express.

I needed to know all this for my weight-loss endeavours, since I thought I was suddenly losing my mind (or that my metabolism had gotten very weird very quickly). Now I know that I'm probably a true size 4 but I'll wear a 0-2 in many brands. But Banana Republic's shirts no longer fit me at all (in an XS Petite) and I'm a 0 in some cuts at Express. And I'm not that small!

Nuts

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 2:10 pm

I find Tahari runs smaller than other brands.

brklin

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 2:17 pm

Nuts wrote:

Tzippora wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

fmt4 wrote:

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

louche wrote:

Well then what would you suggest should be the size under 2?

They could always do alterations or shop in the preteen department. I think this is still better than being overweight. LOL

so thats exactly what I do since I cant find anything that fits. but sometimes the preteen department doesnt always have dressy clothes.. so I have a big issue when I go shopping. and you cant always alter sweaters or atleast im not going to do that. its very very hard to go shopping when ur so small Sad

Cookies n Cream

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 2:19 pm

Now H & M makes me sad.
Their size 12 is really a size 6.

Tzippora

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 2:20 pm

Nuts wrote:

I find Tahari runs smaller than other brands.

The reason I mention it is because their dresses have moved about a size in the past year very suddenly. I.e. I went from a size 4P to a size 2P without losing weight. They're still objectively normal, particularly in their suit sizes.

chmom

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 8:31 pm

fmt4 wrote:

Nuts wrote:

So a size 6 these days is not considered slender?

Size six is. Eight also, depending on body type. I know some thin eights and some overweight eights. Anything over that would not necessarily be considered overweight, but would probably not be considered slender.

I think we have to stop looking at the absolute size and try to see it in proportion to height. I'm 5ft 11 and I wear a size 10 to 12 and I still think I'm pretty slim...

PinkFridge

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 8:52 pm

chmom wrote:

fmt4 wrote:

Nuts wrote:

So a size 6 these days is not considered slender?

I think we have to stop looking at the absolute size and try to see it in proportion to height. I'm 5ft 11 and I wear a size 10 to 12 and I still think I'm pretty slim...

That sounds perfect to me.

gold21

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 9:11 pm

zipporah, so shop in the juniors section! im not super-skinny, I am slim with a narrow build, and I know a number of women who are much thinner than me (im 5"2 and 110 lbs), and if I shop in the juniors sometimes, im sure the super-skinny women that I know must shop in the juniors section all the time!

Nuts

Sun, Apr 25 2010, 9:27 pm

I guess being too skinny also has its cons.

Ruchel

Mon, Apr 26 2010, 9:47 am

Cookies n Cream wrote:

Now H & M makes me sad.
Their size 12 is really a size 6.

It seems to me that for a shop for young people, H&M has pretty decent sizing... be it here or when I was in America 5 years ago...

Besiyata Dishmaya

Mon, Apr 26 2010, 7:25 pm

fmt4 wrote:

Besiyata Dishmaya wrote:

louche wrote:

Well then what would you suggest should be the size under 2?

And if someone is even thinner than "0" would she be a size -2 or -4? Rolling Eyes

It's time the sizing business goes back to normal sizes. In Israel the sizes are between 30 and 60 for adults.

What about shoes? Do they come in a "0" or "2" too for adults?