The FastDay Forum

I was talking to my husband this morning about my goal weight etc and he asked what dress size am I now and what will I be when I reach goal weight.

I said that at my best weight in the past I was a 12 (UK), but since in some shops I'm already into a 12 (although generally I'd say I was a 14+ at the moment) then when I've lost the last stone I may even fit into a 10.

I've never been a size 10 in my life, but my feeling is that dress sizes are larger than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Once you discount the Spanish & French brands/chains such as Zara, who size up very small, I do think in general sizes are more generous than they were. He asked if that was true, or just my opinion.

What do you think? Are dress sizes more generous now, or is it something else - for example, is the widespread use of lycra and other stretchy fabric components just kidding us into thinking we're smaller than we are? I'd be interested to know!

I think you're right lizzie, but it does seem to differ depending on the make. I find Next and M&S clothes to be very generously sized and always have to go down a size to what I would usually wear. I agree about Zara though, once bought a jumper in size Small on Ebay and it would just about have fitted a 10 year old!

Have to agree there think sizes are def getting bigger. Try buying a dress from the 80s in your current size, I did, and well I'm not an 80s size 14 but a 2013 size 14. I can live with this as I started as an 18. My boobs are too big to ever consider a small size (.)(.) and avoid Zara because the sizing is depressing!

I think they do it to make us feel good about shopping in their shops. It's all in the head and some of them have clicked on to this. I'm a next size 14 but here in Spain (where I am at the mo) I find it difficult to fine anything that even fit's, I really don't understand it, they have fat people here too but god knows where they get their clothes from.
Dee

Yes sizes have got smaller. I now wear a size 8 to 10 but I have old clothes in the wardrobe that when I wear them the waist cuts me in half and they are size 12. I am sure the shops do it to sell more clothes,

Again the merchandisers lie to us to sell their stuff.
Oh for some proper honesty in this world.

I thought as much!

@Minsmum yes, I have a Zara coat which is a size XL but it's so tight you almost can't wear anything under it!

What is it with Spain? That must be a pain for you, Dee. We used to have a little boutique in my home town that sold nice things, but were invariably European labels, and I was always having a go at the shop owner about the teeny sizes. It's closed down now, wonder why??

Here in the States it seems that the more expensive the brand (Talbot's for example) the larger the small sizes are. Makes affluent customers feel better, I guess. I only buy them in thrift shops!

I work at a fashion designer. I've only been here just over a year so I can't comment on the change over time, but I can say that sizes in different shops vary so much. We design for the supermarkets and arcadia stores and each store has it's own measurements for the various sizes. I honestly see size 8 girls trying on a 12 that fits,and when I was a 12 I'd try some size 12s on that were far too big!

Life would be so much easier if they were standardised!

Definitely!
Next seem to be particularly generous, and while I'm sure they do it to please their customer, I wish they wouldn't.
I'm sure I read that we've all turned more apple shaped over the years, so the manufacturers have had to change the cut of clothing, but they still haven't managed to makea pair of jeans that fit my apple tum and slim legs!

I have several pairs of River Island size 16 & 18 as in 1997, they fitted me perfectly. They currently fit well as the waist comes in and the thighs are bigger.

Over the summer, was wearing a new 14 linen trouser and the waists of trousers are much bigger now.

However, I've been clothes shopping recently and got into a 12 dress in M & S...never been a 12 in my entire life but I know in my head, I'm still not really!

Yes, the sizes have definitely shifted. I remember in the past being stuck for a long time in a 'size blackhole'. This is the size between the smallest clothes at the plus shop and the biggest clothes at the regular shops. I went months without being able to find anything that fit. It was horrible.

Yep, I have an M&S straight black skirt size 12 in my wardrobe, unworn for years and now considered too short so recently I went to buy a new one and had to buy a size 8 from M&S. The daft thing is that new size 8 is actually bigger than the old size 12!!!! What is the point of that.

Ballerina x

Yup. My sister bought me a size 10 M&S skirt for my birthday today. It's lovely but way too big. What a load of old rollox is that I have a ten year old black pure wool pencil skirt which is a 'small' size 10. I reckon I'm about another 14lbs from being able to get into it.

This topic came up last month and someone posted a link to a fabulous site which calculated the algorithms for dress sizes in each major UK high street retailer. It was fabulous, but I can't find it!

Found it http://sizes.darkgreener.com/