Women’s dress size labels are a joke, and a waste of time.
I often feel anxious about trying clothes on in a shop. After trying to find the fitting rooms and making sure the curtain is properly closed, the emotional turmoil is based on not knowing what size I am.
I don’t do a lot of online shopping, because the risk of getting the wrong size is too darn high. In one of my first encounters with online shopping, I was struggling to breathe in a size M.
My most recent encounter, my oversized hoodie arrived in a size L, I tried it on to find it looked like I was wearing a duvet cover.
I’m either squeezing into a 14 or drowning in a 10 and somehow there is no in-between or consistency.
Why can’t all clothing brands decide here and now, the measurements of an L or a size 14, M and 12 and so on? That would help a lot with my confusion.
We are yet to reach the sophistication of European sizes based on waist measurement, rather than sizing charts based on a lucky dip. It is especially annoying when sizes vary within the same shop.
I’m sure clothing factories and designers have internally justified their measurements on the tag. The most likely is “vanity sizing”.
The tactic used by clothing companies to make the consumers feel slimmer than they actually are, with gullible women encouraging the practice. Studies reported that customers preferred to purchase clothes that are labelled with a smaller size, as it boosts their self-esteem.
I can see a perpetual shift of women’s dress size labels showing smaller numbers. Instead of general clothes stores selling sizes 6 to 18, within 30 years we could have US-style labels, the smallest sizes starting at zero, or double zero.
I once read a conspiracy about Marilyn Monroe’s size. Legend had it, that she was a US 14, however, when her dresses were recently measured they came in at a modern US 2.
Clearly, the person behind the ‘conspiracy’ had no idea how sizing labels had changed since the 1950s.
Does this “vanity sizing” also work in men’s sizes? Do the societal ideals of a slim woman play out in men’s fashion?
I also take issue with the difference in sizing charts when it comes to online shopping.
Most online shopping returns do not have the option to exchange the item for a different size, despite the fact that about 40 per cent of online clothing purchases are returned because they don’t fit.
You can either get a refund or store credit. Given the hassle of online forms, you would have to be absolutely in love with the item to go through the process of filing for a refund.
I respect the creativity of fashion, but artistic interpretation should not apply to a number-based sizing system.
While fitting into a dress with a smaller label size may boost confidence, it also makes shopping ridiculously infuriating. I dream of the day when I can just buy a t-shirt without trying it on.
