Size Flash

According to at least two of the four women's clothing catalogs that came in the mail yesterday, I am already closer to a size 8 (Coldwater Creek: 36"-30 1/2"-39", their size S; Simply Be: 37"-30"-38", their smallest size) than I thought I was.  Which is funny, because according to the size chart that I have been using for the past twenty years (Tweeds), I am still much closer to a 12 (38"-29 1/2"-40 1/2") than even a 10 (36 1/2"-28"-39").  Of course, Coldwater Creek caters primarily to women of a certain age (they also include Women's sizes), and Simply Be starts at size 8 and goes up to size 32 (61"-54"-62"), but I am still smaller (size-wise) than I thought I was even according to Athleta (8-10 36-37" 29-30" 38 1/2-39 1/2", their medium) and, lo and behold, Venus (10 37 1/2"-29"-40", their larger medium).*  Mind you, I still look more like the models in Simply Be, but how is it that I managed to drop two whole sizes without even noticing it?**

(I leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out what my measurements actually are.)

*Just FYI, I'm going for the Athleta, not the Venus look.  In case it wasn't already obvious.
**Although, in truth, I already have, even according to the Tweeds chart, by which I was closest to a 14 (39 1/2"-31"-42") five weeks ago.  If you're wondering, my goal is their 8 (35 1/2"-27"-38"), although at my thinnest nine years ago, I was wearing their 6 (34 1/2"-26"-37").  So now you know.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 27, 2012 at 11:58 AM

    This size stuff makes me nuts! I wear size 8s and 10s now that are the same size (and in some cases even larger) than some of my 10s and 12s from a few years ago. Then, on the other hand, I have some current size mediums that are smaller than some earlier pieces in the same brands that are size small. Because I shop almost entirely online, I really hate it when a company shifts their sizing unexpectedly. Maybe they explain it in the small print somewhere in a catalog or on a website, but it is frustrating when I order a medium in a brand in which I've worn medium for years, and when it arrives it is unexpectedly too big or too small, when my size hasn't changed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fencing BearMarch 27, 2012 at 12:47 PM

    What amuses me (when I'm not shopping for clothes, that is) is how none of the sizes is actually accurate for me: in one my bust is too big but my waist too small, while in another my waist is too big but my hips are too small. It speaks well to the impossibility of fitting anybody well with mass-produced sizing. And note how the "ideal" ratio of bust-waist-hips varies from brand to brand. Partial disclosure: I'm actually closest to the Athleta size 10 at the moment, which I suppose speaks well to their body type as my ideal!

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