Over the course of a year, I went from a size 12 to a size 16 without gaining any weight. Just from stores changing their clothing sizes, I got fat. Clothing stores have always put smaller numbers on larger clothes, thus making their customers feel fatter than they actually are. I’m an average sized woman at 5’2” and around 160 pounds, but “normal” sizes don’t fit me. My chest isn’t large and I don’t have an overly sized butt, yet I can’t fit into a size 10 dress. I know I’m a size 10 jeans, but when I pick up a size 10, it looks like a toddler would even have trouble putting them on. I’ve had to start shopping in the plus sized section just to find clothes that fit comfortably.
Marilyn Monroe was a size 12 in her prime time, but her waist would be a size 00 and her bust a size 4 in modern day sizes. Her body was small, even for her time, and now would be considered even smaller. It’s only been 60 years since her prime time, but her sizes have gone down due to vanity sizing, which is where companies put smaller numbers on bigger clothes.
Part of the fact is that clothing stores adjust their sizes to increase their market. By putting smaller numbers on larger clothes, more people will be forced to shop in the ‘plus sized’ section of the store, making more traffic. This might help the store, but it just makes us customers feel bad about ourselves. And it doesn’t help that stores increase their numbers at different times, so I can be a size 12 and a size 18 at the same time.
If the U.S. clothing market was smart, we would regulate clothing sizes. It would be more efficient for the stores; instead of customers spending all their time trying to find the correct size for one piece of clothing, the customers could be trying on multiple items, which would increase profit. This is also good for the customers, because they can feel more comfortable in a clothing store. And isn’t that the goal for clothing stores? For the customers to feel comfortable enough in their stores to try on clothes and buy them?
I stopped buying clothes about two months ago. I hate going to stores just to find the size I’ve eyed is too big or too small; then I have to go back out and get another size. If I ever go shopping, I’ll grab three sizes of the same item and try them all on, just to pray if one of them fits. My mom will buy me shirts from time to time, and I tell her to buy me an XL; I’m skinny, but I have to make the shirt will fit. Occasionally, a large will fit me just fine, but most times an extra large will fit my bust and shoulders.
No one store made me fat; they all did. It’s not my fault that I’ve sized up, and it definitely isn’t any of yours. What you have to remember when you go into a store is that each store is different just because one size doesn’t fit doesn’t mean the same size will fit in another store.
