Gotta say, as someone who wears sizes that are definitely in the double digits, I’m having a hard time empathisizing here.
Why such hate for size zero clothing? Are small people not entitled to stuff that fits?
Are they actually making smaller sizes, or just shifting the sizing scale? I hope it’s the former. Maybe then I could actually find clothing that fits off the rack. I don’t care what number I am, I just want something that fits for once.
The problem with most store’s petite sizes are that they are usually either short or small, but very rarely both (and very, very rarely short enough!). Average height but skinny as a pole? Try petites! Short and curvy? Try petites!
What about those of us who are proportional? It’s a pain the ass to find stuff that fits and is age-appropriate. I don’t want low-cut anything, don’t want to show off my navel, back, or butt, and it’s impossible to find a suit with a 26" inseam.
And there’s no way I’m alone in this. I’m 4’ 11.75", just under 100 lbs, and I see women smaller than me all the time. If you haven’t noticed them around you, it’s probably because they got swallowed up by giant, baggy clothing.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even silent about it… :rolleyes:
In my defense, though, it was the same style of jeans from the same designer that I always wear, I was just finally fitting into a smaller size. And they’re from the same year as the larger size.
Still, my point is, I bought into the numbers game.
I’m not seeing any hate for actual small clothing. What I’m seeing is hate for vanity sizing, which is what the issue is. They aren’t making smaller sizes, it’s the clothing size scale that’s shifting.
I don’t need to be told I’m an extra small when I know I’m not, but the clothing industry thinks differently. I am, for some crazy reason, OK with being a medium.
Labelling formerly-medium sized clothing as x-s is just another way for clothing manufacturers to get you to buy their clothes. Some people actually will stick to a certain brand if they know that they are a smaller size there.
When I give talks to post-gastric bypass patients, I use a similar article to help them understand that sizes are meaningless - it’s how an item fits that is important. I’m 5’10" and 182 (with about 20 or so pounds of excess belly/thigh skin) and I can wear anything from a 14W to a 12M and everything in between. I have a black & white houndstooth checked skirt from Jessica London (Chadwick’s plus size division) that alleges to be a 14W. There is no way on God’s green earth this is a 14W…or…is it? Maybe it’s my 12M skirt from Talbot’s that’s wrong. Or maybe that 16M jacket from Ann Taylor loft is sized differently? Impossible to tell, and extremely frustrating - especially for women who were so limited in what they could buy formerly. We’re all dying to wear “normal” clothes and find it a chore to do so.
I tell my audiences that if sizes bother you that much, cut out the tags.
VCNJ~
I’m sure a lot of the women here don’t need to be told they’re smaller than they are, but clothing companies are always going to do what they think sells. As long as women out there are buying into it, they’ll keep doing it.
Okay…maybe someone can clear this up for me. What’s the difference between Juniors and Misses? I mean, I wear a s-m in a top in Misses, but a Large in Juniors. I thought a 3 Jr falls between a 2 and a 4. Is that wrong? Aside from style, which is always ultra youthful in Jrs, what’s the dif?
Yah - I get it. I have a couple of size 2 Banana skirts even though I’m a 4 or a 6 everywhere else and I kinda dig it when I pull one of those skirts out and put them on. “Lookit ME - I’m a 2” even though I’m not really.
Also, I was going to add to DianaG - I think the left over 0s, 1s and 2s must be a regional thing - at my local Bananas it’s always the 14s left, which do me no good, whatsoever. 
Less room in the boobage and butt area in juniors, plus less difference between the waist and hip measurements. If I try on a pair of juniors jeans, by the time I get a size that is big enough in the butt, the waist is just hanging there. Juniors tops tend to fit me well, though, because I still haven’t grown much boobage. 
IME, juniors clothes are cut a lot straighter, so if you have any amount of hips, butt or boobs you need to go up a size to fit. I’m too hippy to wear juniors pants, since if I get a size to fit my hips, there is a huge gap in the waist.
Junior sizing is 1, 3, 5, 7, etc… These items are targeted for “Juniors” and tend to be cut straighter through the waist and hips. They’re often a better fit for asian woman - I know that my aforementioned SIL looks for this type of sizing.
Misses sizing is 2, 4, 6, etc…These items are targeted for grown up people (I’m thinking myself here, people) and tend to be more flattering if you actually have hips and an ass. I almost never bother trying on Juniors stuff because not only will I go up about 8 sizes, things that fit in the hips will be huge in the waist, and that just looks dumb.
However, this isn’t a failsafe - it’s depends on what sort of size model the particular store uses. For instance, Esprit uses a HongKongese size model (this is a fairly recent change) - well I used to be able to pull a 6 off the rack and be done with it, now I’m lucky if anything fits. Benetton uses a Euro size model - I love them - Their 40 or 42 (about a Canadian 4 or 6) fit me perfectly, because I have a Europian style booty, apparently. Banana uses a North American size model - I do pretty well there as well, but for someone like my SIL, even their smallest size doesn’t fit.
Of course, then there are actual Euro sizes. French manufactures tend to respect curves - a Chanel 34 (4) fits me fine, a Marc Aurel 36 is ok, but if I want Gaultier, I need a 38.
Really, it’s a wonder that women don’t fling themselves under busses more often.
As I recall, the differences are in proportions of the garment. Different bust-to-waist-to-hip ratios.
Years ago, when I was in my early twenties, I was in tears because I was trying on velvet jeans in the Junior department of Macy’s, where I always shopped. Even the largest-size they had (a 13) didn’t fit me right. I thought I had turned into a hippo.
Something made me try the Misses department. I was delighted to find out that the Misses size 8 velvet jeans fit perfectly.
And it wasn’t even vanity sizing back then, just the difference in proportions.
No matter what size you’re looking for, it’s going to be the exact opposite sizes that are still left on sale. That’s just how that works. Same goes for shoes, too.
Hear, hear! I’ll be marching right beside you with a pitchfork.
I weigh about 115 and wear some size between 0 and 5. This is a lot better than a few years ago, when I weighed 100 pounds and wore a size 14…in the little kids’ department.
I need clothes desperately, and I can afford them, too, but I never get any because I don’t have time to try on 3 of each item, trying to figure out which size I am in which brand. Last year, I tried on a pair of jeans. When I found that they fit, oh joy! I ordered two more pairs of the same style and size but different colors.
I had to go back three times before I managed to get two more pairs of jeans that were approximately the size of the first pair.
Well, I’m definitely in the double digits and not bitter about it. I can empathize totally because I can’t just go to any store and grab a pair of size 16 jeans and have them fit.
Old Navy? Waaaaaaay vanity sized and run HUUUGE- so they totally fit.
Gap? Still runs huge, but not as much as Old Navy. Slightly more snug.
Paris Blues from Torrid? Ouch. Better grab an 18.
Baby Phat from Torrid? OH GOD WHY WONT THESE ZIP? grabs a 20
Ugly ill fitting jeans from Lane Bryant? Oh, there we go, back in the 16. wipes brow Hell, these are a bit big. I can squeeze into a 14!
Yeah, it’s stupid. I’m probably actually a size 20 or bigger, but because of vanity sizing I have jeans in my closet that range from 14-20. Or why is that I can wear a Large shirt from Old Navy, an XL from the Gap, a 0 from Torrid (that’s their extra small size), and a 14/16 and Lane Bryant hangs off my 40 D boobs? Because vanity sizing.
Oh my god, Lane Bryant is ridiculous. I was a 16 at the Gap for a while, and so I thought I’d try some basic black pants and a couple of cute tops that I saw on Lane Bryant’s web site.
I figured they’d probably run a bit bigger than the Gap, so I got the pants in a 14, and the shirts in whatever the smallest size was. None of it was remotely wearable. I looked like a four year old playing dress up in Mom’s clothes.
My problem with Jr’s clothing is just what you mentioned. They’re too big around my waist and too snug on my butt. They’re aimed more toward a straight figure.
Unfortunately the misses sections doesn’t usually carry the 0’s and 00’s. Also, most misses and petite sections (that I come across) seem to be aimed toward women in their 30’s plus. I’m 21 - I just don’t find anything I like in the misses/petites.
This problem exists even in men’s jeans. I wear men’s 501s, and even though I get the same size every time, they do vary a bit in the way they fit. I heard it’s due to the way they are cut - apparently a whole stack of cloth is fed into a machine at the same time, and the cloth near the top is going to end up being cut smaller than the cloth on the bottom. Don’t know if it’s true, but it sounds plausible - either that or different locations cut their material a bit differently. Still, I can at least grab a pair off the shelf and expect to be able to fit in them!
See…this is what I need. I have a slightly bigger waist these days but I still wander the Earth assless. I’m gonna go git me some Jrs.
At Express I can hardly get a pair of size 14 pants over my ass, let alone zip it. At Macy’s a 14 fits just fine. At most stores I have to wear a large or extra-large top (I wear a 38 bra on the last hook and have wide shoulders). At Macy’s I fit into the medium about 1/2 the time. I often take several sizes of a single item in the dressing room to try on.
And even at Macy’s there’s some weirdness. I tried on a pair of pants that fit perfectly except they were about 3 inches too long. On a hunch, I just went and grabbed another pair in the exact same size, and voila, normal length.
And trying on wedding dresses was hilarious - The size 16 fit my waist and hips perfectly but felt like a fricking corset on my upper body, while the 18 fit my upper body just fine but left my waist and hips swimming in fabric.
Most places are practically sold out of my size but have tons of small sizes, regardless of whether it’s on sale or not. Now I guess it will be filled with negative sizes, making me feel as though I shouldn’t even be shopping there.