Sizing Charts - The Truth

Hey i been dieting recently and have lost about 1/2 a stone overall. been kinda researching how we determine size.

I just measure my bust/waist/hip area to determine what a sizing chart classes as my size, after all of the measuring it assures me im a size 14???
I actually for the last few years i been down as low as a size 6, yes i have put on weight over the last year and went up to a 8/10, and lost a bit, so im a happy size 8 (still gonna lose more weight) Some items i do need to wear size 10.
Im confused, if i did follow the size charts i think id have bigger clothes than my dad.
So i dont get why wearing the clothes, i can be 6/8/10 depending on the item, in the chart im 14/16?

Hey i been dieting recently and have lost about 1/2 a stone overall. been kinda researching how we determine size.

I just measure my bust/waist/hip area to determine what a sizing chart classes as my size, after all of the measuring it assures me im a size 14???
I actually for the last few years i been down as low as a size 6, yes i have put on weight over the last year and went up to a 8/10, and lost a bit, so im a happy size 8 (still gonna lose more weight) Some items i do need to wear size 10.
Im confused, if i did follow the size charts i think id have bigger clothes than my dad.
So i dont get why wearing the clothes, i can be 6/8/10 depending on the item, in the chart im 14/16?

Well... .Obviously you need to be measuring the right bits in the right way with a cloth tape measure

Since the sizing seems so far out I'd double check whether it's a modern chart and a UK one as well.

Other than that, since I don't know what chart you used, I can't really help much more.

g_k

well my waist line i measured is 29 inches, and in the sizing chart that shows size 14, its generally all different sizing charts ive googled and on clothes shopping websites, however a size 10 pair of trousers is most like to fall down on me? so i dont get it, a size 14 is gonna be like balloon pants, so i dont get why the measurements say that?

If you can fit into a pair of size 10 trousers then I suspec that you've not measured the correct bit; I'm a size 8-10 and my waist is around 24-25 inches.

Your waistline is the pair of your waist that is narrowest, as shown here: http://www.whirlingturban.com/img/waist-tie.jpg

g_k

thanks hun

im size 8-10 and my waist measures as i just re-measured about 29-30 inches.

Well, i'm 44 years old and i'm pretty sure clothes are sized far larger than they used to be. Waist sizes on clothes are certainly larger and fittings in shops vary greatly. I'm everything between a 10 and a 14 depending on fit. I think the size chart you are referring to must be a size chart based on the old 50/60's body measurements. Posh spice was critised for having a 22 inch waist but than was an old size 10, whereas now its 28 inches as a size 10.

In topshop im a size 12?
I dont know, however more than anything its making me want to push my diet and exercise more.
But then again maybe i am a size 12 and depending on the item and material of the item the size maybe smaller, so hence why alot of things i wear are size 8-10. I have gained weight over the last year but am sure my stomach hasnt gained it as much as other places, so that doesnt make me understand why last year a size 6 was easy to get in to.

I think im giving myself a headache!

waist sizes on trousers do not measure the real waist . i think its more like between your hips bones and your ass. so size 10 is either 36 or 38 uk or european. your top size is based more on chest size so 8= 34 or 36.

Yeh im 36 there, still strange as i can get into size 6's and mostly size 8 is what i buy. Maybe it all depends on the fabric, shop and such. The strange thing i find is mostly my clothes arent a tight size 8, they are mostly a baggy size 8.
I must admit my body is an oddish shape, my tummy doesnt go out, its width, as i have slightly more shapely hips, so very in and out.

I think lechef hit the nail on the head regarding how clothes are sized today. I actually kicked off my new blog earlier with a sizing chart comparison, what we regard as a 0/2 today is pretty much what was a 10/12 years ago...my nan pulled out an old pelmet of hers a few years ago when I was a UK 6 and it was apparently a 10, it fit me pretty snugly!

From what I found, Oasis and Miss Selfridge are amongst the most forgiving clothing stores, but asos.com and Dorothy Perkins are the most stringent with their inches. In oasis I am a 12, in Dorothy Perkins a 14. I didn't look at Topshop, but I am going to now! At the moment I am trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy size 6 (which was a little loose on me even then) so the sizes frustrate me too.

I can certainly sympathise with just about everybody here.

In clothes, because of my extremely odd shape (not quite pear, but not hourglass either as my shoulders are narrower than my hips) I am a size 8/10 on top (mostly 10) and a 12/14 on the bottom (depending on the shop, fabric etc etc). However, I can promise you that according to H&M's measurements I should be taking a 14 all over (no chance), and its a similar story with TopShop and Miss Selfridge (both of which incidentally I'm told deliberately cut their clothes to be 1 to 2 sizes smaller than the label states - don't quote me on the accuracy of that but my friend who worked there told me this). And as for Jane Norman...WELL, I don't even bother in there!

The point is, my mum has always said that you cannot always trust the tape measure and I completely agree. There are so many more things that it doesn't take into account - such as height, body shape etc etc. The way I've always played it is to just try things on in the shop and not listen to their quite frankly INSANE ideas of what sizes we should be wearing. We're all intelligent ppl, as long as you look good and feel confident in your outfit, ignore the number on the label

There's been tons of discussion about this lately. There needs to be some sort of standardisation for clothes sizes; if I buy trousers in New Look then I'd be after a 12, a cardi in Dorothy Perkins is usually best in a 10 and tops from Next I can often get into an 8, and a dress I recently bought from Monsoon in a 10 fits me perfectly, even slightly loosely, though my bust measures a 14/16 and my waist a 10. Shoes are no better; I've got a pair of pumps from ASOS in a 6 which pinch and feel a bit small, but sandals and high heels from them are only a 5 and fit fine.

A lot of measurements are still based on ones taken in the late 40's. There was an update in the 90's at some stage but a lot of legislation brought in by the EU just intends to standardise the dress sizes across Europe, so that a woman in each different country knows what she should buy abroad. There's no guarantee that this'll be the same dimensions, however (look up British Standard EN 13402). Spain sorted this out 2 years ago; they measured 8000 women between 12 and 70 and all shops must have standard sizes now, as they were worried that the increase in eating disorders in Spain was fueled by super-thin celebrities and the fashion industry. Their mannequins in shop windows are supposed to be at least a size 10 too.

Recently, I've noticed that a lot of shops seem to think that women have very skinny legs with a big muffin top and a flat bum. What I like to call 'gape' at the back of trousers is just not attractive! I'm certainly not built like that! Even though I'm a 10, I find the sleeves on tops very tight too, because I've got muscles. It's like someone took a child's drawing of a person (i.e a circular blob with stick arms and legs) and thought 'yeah, that's Britain's average woman'. What...?!!!!

I used to buy a lot of vintage clothes, and clothes sizes are much more generous than they used to be, but size guides often don't reflect this. A dress size 10 30 or 40 years ago would be the equivalent of a size 4 today; a huge difference.

I find sizing also varies massively shop-to-shop; I have clothes in anything from a size 6 to a size 14, and shoes from a 5 to a 7. At the moment I'm probably a size 12 on average.