General Chat

Seems that H&M are re-labelling some of their clothes after complaints that they are smaller than was to be expected e.g. a body won't fit in a H&M size 10 garment although they will fit in a size 10 sold by other stores and need a H&M size 12 or even 14.

Ladies clothes sizing seems to hit and miss as opposed to gents which simply go on measurement e.g. if I buy a pair of trousers labelled 34" waist, 29" inside leg that's exactly what I get and I know it will fit.

Same with e.g. a shirt: 38" chest, 16" collar. No room (parden the unintentional pun) for argument!

And then you ladies get UK sizes; US sizes; continental sizes and goodness knows what else!

The sizes are different now

1960s size 10 - 2018 size 8

1960s size 12 - 2018 size 10

1960s size 14 - 2018 size 12 etc., etc.

Don’t be so confident with men’s clothes, Brian. Cut & fabric also play a part.

OH bought a pair of tailored casual trousers from M&S. He didn’t bother trying them on as ‘that size [from M&S] always fits’. Guess what? They didn’t!

Thanks Pat, that just reinforces my argument that the sizing system is nuts with no internationally agreed industry standards.

How can it change over time?

Better to use actual measurements.

When I want a suit I go to see a tailor.
When I want to gamble I go to William Hill.
The two needs don't really mix though it is true that Wm Hill have a wholesale business dealing in used shirts.

Women who want clothes that fit go shopping, usually with a female friend rather than bored surly hubby. The others are easy to spot. The general idea is that while women are much taller and wider ( and more canny) than 40 years ago size numbering has gone the other way. The girls understand this. Continental sizing is based on actual dimensions and most garments sold in the UK are marked with these sizings.

M&S somehow manage to make clothes that will not properly fit a soul and if by chance they do there will be no fashion sense. They were once famous in Paris for their sandwiches and lingerie but never for their clothes.

Quite why clothes companies go on pretending that their clientele are of sizes 10-14 when the reality is that most are the wrong side of 16 I have no idea as it costs them dearly.

My OH does not understand wardrobe sizing but that is for another day. The topic is far from frictionless.

"Quite why clothes companies go on pretending that their clientele are of sizes 10-14 when the reality is that most are the wrong side of 16 I have no idea as it costs them dearly."

Did all us girlies just get called fat?? :-D

You’re on thin ice there Brian :-D

I find the more I pay the smaller I apparently am.

I was taught that there is a link between a good speech and women's clothing:

They should be short enough be interesting but long enough to cover the essentials. Lol.

MY problem with off the peg shirts is..to wear a tie (as one should)..I need a 17 inch collar,

unfortunately the rest of the shirt makes me look as if I've just come from a desert, somewhere!!


probably why I've got umpteen polo type shirts....

Different sizing in every shop! It is a minefield out there. No standard at all.

The trick is to have loads of time, and try everything on. No guessing.

Dear BrianW and All

Hello

In some shops, I take a size 18 in tops (they shrink in the wash!),
a pair of trousers in a size 14 and on occasions, a size 12 skirt. :-S

Thank goodness for the exchange/refund policy.

In addition, the quality of the jumpers is not good at all.

And my measurements are confidential! :-D

Take gentle care
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

PatinCyprus, that explains why, when a size 8 (true, in the '70's rather than the '60's), I could never find anything (apart from children's clothes) that fitted me! :-|
Even when pregnant, I had to make my own clothes.

Women's clothes have always varied in size from maker to maker, designer to designer ......... and that doesn't include the differences in sizing used in Europe vs UK vs USA.

I can buy clothes and shoes over here that have all 3 sizes on the label or marked inside the shoe.

It's something I've always known right back from when I was buying my own clothes in the UK in the late 1950s through the 60s, and why I try on clothes. It's also one of the reasons why I used to make my own dresses and skirts, and taught my daughter to do the same.

I'll buy tops and skirts online, but will not now buy trousers and never have bought shoes online.

I used to buy trousers online from Lands' End (an American company) knowing that they would be a perfect fit if I went for a certain style ...... and they also hemmed to the exact length I needed free of charge (another sore point for women!). That was fine for about 8 years, then they changed the fit although the trousers were still advertised under the same name and style number. The length from waist to crotch was about 1" - 1½" shorter than before.

The difference in sizing was really brought home to us when daughter was buying her wedding dress ........... she was a regular size 10, had been for years, yet she was trying on dresses marked size 2 :-0

The saleslady, when asked, said that manufacturers of wedding and bridesmaid dresses deliberately marked the sizings down because it made the bride feel "so much better about herself" :-0 :-P

Personally I am absolutely fed up with women's clothing sizing here in the UK :-|

I am not 'fat' but definitely not 'skinny', pear shaped best describes, and only 5' 1".
Trying to find anything that actually fits me off the peg is next to impossible.......
Too long or too short, too tight or too loose (or any combination thereof) :-P

I am size 8 (YES!) at some retailers and 10 or 12 at others.

At the '8' retailer I have even had to buy a '6' to get a good fit for a particular item but then, the same week, bought a size '12' elsewhere for something similar....

Go figure :-S

Chris

My 'driver' takes 32" waist trousers.
The number of times he's been into shops, only to find trousers start at 36" waist.
When he asks why they haven't got any 32" waists, he's told 'There's no call for them'.
If I'm with him, I point out that we're 'calling for them', so their statement is untrue :-|

Oh yes, and I am not the 'wrong side of 16', either - I'm a 12/14, and sometimes even a 10!!
To make the sweeping statement that 'most are the wrong side of 16' - implying women only, is as bad as the manufacturers' assumptions - those same manufacturers who appear to just 'stick a number' on an article and declare it's the size!! :-| :-| :-|

Why small cars have become so difficult to park. They are wider.
Why should that be?

https://renewbariatrics.com/uk-obesity-statistics/

The link you provided Rollo says 1/4 are fat that's not most girls, and the info is given by a company out to get money off fat people!

I think all of us can agree shops all have different sizing and it's annoying. No wonder young people have body image problems.

I wear 32/34 levi jeans and have no trouble getting hold of them.
Real trousers are best bought tailored, esp for those past 40 and bmi over 25.
Only Martians, m or f, can get clothes that fit in the average chain store. Maybe that is why so many are closing down.

Well many of us can't afford to send Hubby to a tailor or go to a dressmaker for ourselves on a regular basis!! Must be nice to be so rich LOL where do you go Savile row nothing but the best

As I've been following this thread, I thought I ought to join because this morning I got a shock.

I rarely throw anything away so I have quite a few items from years ago that are still wearable. Clothes in my wardrobe range from a size 8 to a 14 - the larger size being the newer items. I can get into all of them (so far!).

At weekend I ordered two petite-sized formal dresses - same style but in size 12 and 14, knowing how sizing has gone awry. I like straight dresses to skim the contours but not to be so tight that boobs and bums are 'in your face' so to speak.

I picked up the order and brought it home. I tried the 14 first and boy the dress is so tight that the boobs, tum and bum are thrown at you - and this is a relatively heavy, not so cheap, dress.

At my heaviest, when I was pregnant with children I was never over 10 stones or thereabouts. I don't usually give out information about myself but I buy the petite range and my weight is 9 stones in old money. I could do with losing a few pounds but I fit comfortably into size 12 trousers that I wear a lot - I hate them tight so could get away with size 10 - tried that size on recently and could get them fastened but they are so tight that everything shows.

I just can't bear clothes that are tight on me but current sizing is skew whiff. I wonder if it has got that way because the majority of clothes in the shops and online are no longer made in the UK?

I have ordered four dresses in the the two sizes from another firm. I'll let you know whether they are the same!