What's my real size? Make consistent sizing please

Went to the mall today. Needed to buy some items for a uniform.

I tried on several things but I had to take like 20 items into the fitting room at Forever21 because the sizes were ridiculously inconsistent. The sizes that ended up fitting were all over the map

Shirt = Size 6
Shorts = Size 10
Jacket = Size 8

Tried on a dress. Large was a little snug so asked if they made it in XL. They referred me to the plus size section.

So what size am I? It's hard enough to remember which size I need at each store. Now I have to try a range of 6 different sizes at ONE store to find the right one? That's the fitting room limit. What a waste of time.

Dear stores: Please sort it out.

Doesn't it just drive you crazy. Then they have the nerve to try and sell you a pj set in s/m or l. What??? In their sizing of coarse. Excuse me make, can you switch this pj top to a large, and the bottoms to a small!!!!!

what really gets me is if you want an extra large, all of a sudden you're plus size? Why can't us women just have size double 0 through to size 30 or 35. Why must we be defined as x-small to xxxl. What's up with that. Talk about giving us a complex.

Then if you. Get into the bridal wear, well the bride, all of a sudden if you take a size 10, your. Size 5 and for the bridesmaids, if your a size 6, well then your now a size 14???? I know it's all about the bride and making h feel good but really?

Hello.....we're women, just make all manifactures stick to the same sizing charts, PLEASE!

This is why I like shopping for Christmas gifts for men... once you know how a brand or store fits, it's possible to shop by size.

Men's and women's clothing should be sized in the same way... all about inches around the waist, length of legs/sleeves, etc. and not just be based on the whims of stores and designers to make you feel good or bad based on what the tag says. In my normal clothes, I have pants that fit nicely that are size 3, and other pants that fit just as nicely and are size 6. Really?!?!?!

I must say that I really hate clothes shopping and especially trying on clothes and I am so jealous of DH who sometimes complains about "trouble shopping" because he has to use a changeroom to check the size tag in the pants he is wearing so that he can buy the exact. same. thing. off the rack and have it fit every time!!! :rant:

It grinds my gears because it even extends to shoes!!! :mad: Really, I'm a men's size 9, but I take anywhere between a women's size 8.5 and 11.

Hollister is the same. I have size xs to size large. And don't get me started on pants!! You need to buy 2 sizes up from your normal size at (every other store) ...but even that does not always work!!

Why are bathing suit sizes different than clothing sizes? Years ago, they used to be the same. Now you can buy a size 6 in a bathing suit and a size 00 in pants. Sweaters you can still buy in XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, ........

And what is size 00? I'm waiting for them to go into negative numbers.... And don't get me started on petite sizes. They're only about an inch or so shorter than the regular sizing and why is it that they don't go on sale when the regular sizes do? When flare styles were in, they looked like bell bottoms after they were adjusted to my height.

hollyquaiscer, I'm glad you brought that up. I just about passed out when I tried to squeeze myself into my regular size at a bridesmaid dress fitting. I thought it was just me. The bride told me they obviously ran out of dress fabric when they got to the end of the bolt and we wouldn't be taking that one. :tongue:

I can see why they went to spandex on Star Trek. One size fits all in the future. :-)

Speaking of one size fits all, does anyone remember that sizing in the 90s? I was wearing tents 24-7. Horrid clothing manufacturers.... :mad:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sweet sparrow

Why are bathing suit sizes different than clothing sizes? Years ago, they used to be the same. Now you can buy a size 6 in a bathing suit and a size 00 in pants. Sweaters you can still buy in XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, ........

And what is size 00? I'm waiting for them to go into negative numbers.... And don't get me started on petite sizes. They're only about an inch or so shorter than the regular sizing and why is it that they don't go on sale when the regular sizes do? When flare styles were in, they looked like bell bottoms after they were adjusted to my height.

hollyquaiscer, I'm glad you brought that up. I just about passed out when I tried to squeeze myself into my regular size at a bridesmaid dress fitting. I thought it was just me. The bride told me they obviously ran out of dress fabric when they got to the end of the bolt and we wouldn't be taking that one. :tongue:

I can see why they went to spandex on Star Trek. One size fits all in the future. :-)

Speaking of one size fits all, does anyone remember that sizing in the 90s? I was wearing tents 24-7. Horrid clothing manufacturers.... :mad:

---

OMG.....too funny :shock: I was wearing tents too!

Haaa don't get me started on the bridal sizing. When I ordered my dress I was really skinny because I had just been sick. But they said I should order a size 10 and when it finally did come, it was a tent. :rant:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hollyquaiscer

Doesn't it just drive you crazy. Then they have the nerve to try and sell you a pj set in s/m or l. What??? In their sizing of coarse. Excuse me make, can you switch this pj top to a large, and the bottoms to a small!!!!!

what really gets me is if you want an extra large, all of a sudden you're plus size? Why can't us women just have size double 0 through to size 30 or 35. Why must we be defined as x-small to xxxl. What's up with that. Talk about giving us a complex.

Then if you. Get into the bridal wear, well the bride, all of a sudden if you take a size 10, your. Size 5 and for the bridesmaids, if your a size 6, well then your now a size 14???? I know it's all about the bride and making h feel good but really?

Hello.....we're women, just make all manifactures stick to the same sizing charts, PLEASE!

---

Have you ever noticed when you go to a sale at Forever 21, Dynamite, A &F, etc., that all the merchandise that is left at the end of the season is size XS and some Smalls? If you go to a Dynamite or Garage Outlet store, there will be racks and racks of size XS. When are they going to realize that people are not sticks? CHANGE YOUR SIZING!!! You would seriously have to be anorexic to wear an XS in Garage. And you would think the company would realize that having that much inventory left at the end of the season in one size that their customers are NOT THAT SMALL!

I watched a show on VANITY SIZING, there were pants same size on the tag from different stores that were all completely different sizes....

i felt so bad for my sister in law a few years ago....she had lost a bunch of weight.....she was a 2X .....lost weight and went shopping.....headed to Walmart.....only to find that she needed a 4X....what a kick in the teeth....

i guess I'm comfortable with who I am and what I have....I haven't been a size two since I was four years old....no vanity here....I'm more concerned with saving money, then being in a smaller size

Oh this is such a good rant!!!!lol Add being tall and I am all screwed up not to be rude but they think all overweight people are short and most tops look like crop tops. I have TShirts from Walmart from apx 2 or 3 years ago use them as pj tops LOOOOOOOVE them fit perfect now everything is so short including the arm sleeve length! And again with loosing weight I am all over the place reg for somethings plus for others so freakin annoying!!!!

what is size 00?? it's what happens when thanks to vanity sizing, a segment of the population of women who are legitimately small (and often petite) get sized out of clothing.

i used to be a plus sized woman, size 24 infact. finding clothes was MUCH easier back then. the kind of clothes i see in plus sizes these days?! WOW!! gorgeous!! nowadays, that i'm a 0 and sometimes 00 depending on the cut/fit/store etc...it's a mission to find ANYTHING that is reasonably priced that doesn't make me look like a 14 yr old instead of an adult woman.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Carlotta

Have you ever noticed when you go to a sale at Forever 21, Dynamite, A &F, etc., that all the merchandise that is left at the end of the season is size XS and some Smalls? If you go to a Dynamite or Garage Outlet store, there will be racks and racks of size XS. When are they going to realize that people are not sticks? CHANGE YOUR SIZING!!! You would seriously have to be anorexic to wear an XS in Garage. And you would think the company would realize that having that much inventory left at the end of the season in one size that their customers are NOT THAT SMALL!

---

I have a completely opposite experience!! I'm wearing xs/s depending on the store and they are never avaliable on sales! They are sold out... There is always lot of XL and XXL left though... At least in Montreal ;)

It drives me literally insane having different sizing in each store, and none of them being on the same page. It is so frustrating to have to find your size every time you step into a store, because none are the same. There should be a standard for every single piece of clothing in a store so people actually know what works, and what doesn't. This is my number one frustration of shopping lol!

OP if you are plus size then I would love to know what they think of me! I haven't been single digit sizes since I was 12!

I also find it funny that WM's "plus size" section wouldn't fit me yet I am still able to find a piece or two at Old Navy once in a blue moon AND I fit into Lululemon size 12 pants.

Walmart? Aren't you an american company? Or is that saying "Everything's bigger in America" just a lie? (Its not because when I went there I was in clothes heaven)

Each store has different sizing. I know it can sometimes be crazy and hard to find what size you really are when different stores have different sizing. If you go to a store that is based on euro sizing you will see your size 6 go to a size 10! Because they make things in a smaller make. Same thing with Canadian and American clothing stores. I am usually a large in pants and a large in tops, but sometimes I might be a medium in one and than an extra large in the other. Don't worry about the size number just make sure the clothes you buy fit you properly and look good on you.

Every store has a different sizing. Even Europeans and North American designers use different sizing numbers, its all so vague and confusing and not standardised at all.

That's why lot of people hate shopping for clothes online all though you geat a great deal. If you just go by the size they tell you that you are without trying them on, they are almost guaranteed to not fit you :(

The same exact size will be different in different retail stores or even in the same store depending on the designer/manufacturer.

Usually its better to take 3 sizes with you to the change room ..your size , one size up and one size down..the chances are atleast one of them will fit you

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Doda

I have a completely opposite experience!! I'm wearing xs/s depending on the store and they are never avaliable on sales! They are sold out... There is always lot of XL and XXL left though... At least in Montreal ;)

---

that's what i often find too and i'm in Toronto. i've been told because xs's are not "as popular", they make & send the stores fewer of them in comparison to the more common/popular sizes like mediums & larges, so when you see one you have to grab it! unless of course you are somewhere like hollister that caters to the high school crowd and xs's are abundant lol

i will say though, my dh is a BIG guy and it benefits me when i hit the clearance racks for him because the XXL is always abundant :lol:

IDK I don't have this problem, I know when I shop at the tween stores I need to size up because their products do run small

This drives me insane. I can go from being a size 4 (sometimes even a 2) up to a size 6. In the UK I'm a size 8 - 10. Shirts are the same thing... and I find stores make size XS as big as they possibly can... it makes no sense to me.

Try having a 36" inseam! Apparently that means you're a sizexxxxl. It drives me nuts! And if you have a large bust, supposedly you are a large woman as well. So instead of saving time by buying a matched set, I can't. I have to buy everything seperatly and just hope it all matches.

In the 70's 80's and 90's I never seen a size zero the smallest was a size 4/5 they made the sizes smaller to make women feel even smaller than they are,the bra sizes have changed also if you wore a size 36C you now fit in a 36DD to make women feel that they are bigger busted,the shoes we bought were smaller and got bigger when they had the metric change in the 80'soooooooooooooo so many memories of weird information LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wolfwoman

Try having a 36" inseam! Apparently that means you're a sizexxxxl. It drives me nuts! And if you have a large bust, supposedly you are a large woman as well. So instead of saving time by buying a matched set, I can't. I have to buy everything seperatly and just hope it all matches.

---

Oh don't I know about that large top! I used to find lovely tops in GT ... until my boobs didn't fit in the "boob section" anymore of the shirts.

On a side note ... I couldn't fit into one of the rides at the Markham fair this year because of my chest. I'm only a D cup! Needless to say I still went on that darn ride! I made the two teenager operaters of the ride shove the shoulder thingie down on me. After they were able to get it clicked in I had to do some ... adjustment ;) It was tough and hard to breathe but I had fun!

This is the part that annoys me! I have lost weight recently. And I've never been bigger than large. And now they are telling me I need to go to plus size...when I've actually lost weight and my old clothes are looser??? So I've skipped XL altogether? Make up your minds! As if taking 3 sizes into the change room was not enough, now I have to take in 3 sizes from another entire section too? I am not superwoman

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by saddlebag

I watched a show on VANITY SIZING, there were pants same size on the tag from different stores that were all completely different sizes....

i felt so bad for my sister in law a few years ago....she had lost a bunch of weight.....she was a 2X .....lost weight and went shopping.....headed to Walmart.....only to find that she needed a 4X....what a kick in the teeth....

i guess I'm comfortable with who I am and what I have....I haven't been a size two since I was four years old....no vanity here....I'm more concerned with saving money, then being in a smaller size

---

Yes but the problem is that i don't want to try on every single size to finally get the one that fits. Arrghh lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by saveadollardiva

Don't worry about the size number just make sure the clothes you buy fit you properly and look good on you.

---

But that's my point! Why should I have to bring 3 sizes into the change room because the store itself can't be consistent with its own size. Fitting into Size 6, 8 and 10 and plus size in ONE store is ridiculous. Seriously. That's a range of 5 sizes. So I had to bring in five of each item. When you are trying on 5 different pieces... That's 25.And an hour in the fitting room. And very tired arms items

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tjthemanto

Usually its better to take 3 sizes with you to the change room ..your size , one size up and one size down..the chances are atleast one of them will fit you

---

When the store has its petite, regular and plus sizes (Laura store in Mapleview Centre!) in one location, it is much easier to look around for the things that catch your eye to try in the fitting room. Ditto Reitmans.

Happened to watch CityLine this morning. Lynn Spence said that the Spanner line of clothing is the same for its regular and plus sizes-no certain colours for one size group and a different set of colours for the other size group (something that bothered me immensely with the former Cotton Ginny store: their Plus size clothing usually had the better colours than the regular sizes for the same garment).

Sizes--best to be in the mood to try and not be in a rush. I eyeballed Forever 21 merchandise and thought how little fabric (length, as well as thickness) there is, yet some of the garments beckon (colours and textures).

Let's not even get started on those bra sizes. I purchase the same bras from the same store for years, well I used to. Same thing, for over 30 years I always purchased a 36 D, now.....I have to look Round, try on a bunch, just to get the. Cup to fit anymore. I'm used to wearing a Demi cup, now......well let's just say the girls love the day out if I ever tried to wear one again!!!!

Thats why I hate pjs. They always come in a set, well HELLO.....most of us ladies are not the same ontop as we are on the bottom. I take a small or extra small (again depending on the manufacturer) for the bottoms, and it can go from a medium to an extra large for the top, the girls like their space, :tongue:!

i have seen my bra size go from a D to a double D to an E????? I understand when I get sick and loose weight, but. WHen my weight is stable....what the hell.


As for the. Comment of just being patient and bringing several sizes to try on, that's the point of this rant, we shouldn't have to do that. I'm not sure an put the rest of you, but. WHen I go shopping to buy an outfit, I don't want to spend the entire day, an hour or so should be sufficient. They do it with men's clothing, so they should be able to do it with women's.

Here`s a trick to save time on trying on bottoms. Take the bottoms off the hanger and wrap the waist around your neck, if it goes around your neck 9 times out of 10 it will fit your waist. I usually grab the next size up as well just in case the first size is too tight in the legs or whatever.
I know it sounds nutty but a stylist friend of mine told me this trick years ago and I never have to try on more than 2 pairs of bottoms to find one that fits now.

Oh I can't believe how timely this rant is!!! I have given up on buying clothing! I make most of mine, or alter, including t-shirts. When I was working in a high end store (clothing), a "medium" would fit me just fine. They ensured that all of their clothes were made to specific specs from the many manufacturers that they used. Never needed to worry. I didn't try to shop anywhere else because it was easy. Now, three pregnancies later- I can't afford to replace that kind of clothing. And the kind of clothing that I can buy- size is all over the place because if the retailer specified to the manufacturer a certain fit, they would have to pay, then so would we!

Not that I am surprised really, reality hit about sizing a few years ago when I travelled overseas only to find that my size 10 frame (what I usual wore), couldn't fit into a size XL there!!! I was in Paris but couldn't buy one stitch of clothing:(. I did come home with a great bag, and some fantastic accessories though.