Apparently, Size DOES Matter!

Size does matter-to some:-) A very well known chef insisted that she was a perfect size 12. Trunk show after trunk show she would order expensive dresses (she liked her legs) and always asked for me to assist her as she knew that I knew she was a perfect size 12-regardless of the designer. For two years I assisted her with her special order purchases and sure enough every dress she purchased was a size 12. She purchased a lot of merchandise from me in those two years. Why, because we never spoke about the fact that she was a really perfect 16! If my changing the size ticket in her special order made her happy-and me a top requested personal shopper for a celebrity…Who carries?
Maria might want to know that the jacket was on the sale racket because it had the WRONG size tag in it! She really walked away from a great buy-but YOU didn’t!
Size matters…but it will cost ya:-) CN

Hi Wendy! Jo here – another old friend from MI! I go with what fits, not by the size.

Does size REALLY matter? ‘Really’ means ‘in reality’. Does the size of our clothing, in reality, matter? In the atmosphere of societal pressure that we all experience, perhaps it does. In illusion, image, fantasy, untruth – perhaps it matters. In REALITY, we are all beautiful and unique – and no, size does not matter. Let’s get REAL, ladies!!!

Thanks, Wendy, for being real…… and inspiring all of us!

Well Wendy you did it again, got us to think about something we may not have wanted to!

I used to be really hung up with what the tag says. I would do anything to not have to go up to the next size. I would ware stuff that was toooo small or faded or whatever. And say to myself I will loose some weight and then go shopping. So not only did I look bigger then I was because the close where too small, I made the situation worse by waiting to do something about it. Finally when there was not much left in the closet I would go shopping. What would I buy? Clothes with the same size that the too small and faded clothes had. Now I had some new stuff but they did not look on me. Also I would only buy one or two pieces waiting to loose some weight which never happened. What was wrong with me?

Then a brilliant woman came into my life and showed me the fashion way. She said, “Don’t worry about what the tag says, see how it looks and makes you feel.” Wow, this was a totally new concept for me. What a difference it has made in my life!! I am no longer scared of “the next size up”.

Thanks Wendy for reminding me of this!! Way to go girl and keep up the great articles!!

Wendy my friend!
Hi to you! We miss you in MI…
That said, You know me…went from size 26 to 8 after medical intervention. But guess what? I don’t care about the number on the tag, if it is cute and sassy, I’m buying it! The fun thing is to “see” where I may fall in numbers, but I don’t base my purchases on that one solo thing. Bras are different…ever try to by a (-)A cup? HA no such thing…so my girls hang tight in the ever popular A cup with TONS of padding. Still wish for the days of C cups!! You are the BEST! Miss you much!
XOXO Love, Kirsten B (in Gratiot Co. MI)

It is simply denial at the core of the female being. Fat = Bad and 1x equals fat thus if you wear a 1x you are bad.

I lived in fear of size tags when I was a teen. as if someone would find out what size I really was. And I tortured myself for being fat by wearing clothes that hurt me too. It was a self-hate taught from mother to daughter from media from back in the corset days.

Flash foward 17 years and I know that due to PCOS I had no control over the weight situation. And I think back of all the times I should have just sized up and been comfortable. I would’ve looked better and felt better.

Anyways I wish I could show your friend with a measuring tape how arbitrary sizes are in women’s clothes. A 1x at Ross and a 1x at the Gap are two different animals. Designer sizes run very small so it is just up to the manufacturer to pull politics like that. “Look I have made a plus size, but I still am going to make you feel bad about it, you woman that that does not look like a emaciated 10 year-old-boy.”

What an interesting piece! It reminds me of Carrie Bradshaw observing the small moments of life and then finding big meaning within the moments. Wendy has made us stop, pause, and then think big thoughts about a small clothing tag. To me, you are commenting on prejudice. Sadly, this is a case of prejudice against one’s own self. We wouldn’t tolerate someone being so judgemental against our friends. Why do we do it to ourselves? –Tammy

Wendy,

Thanks for this story. I am in total agreement that if you love the jacket no matter what the tag says, buy it and enjoy it! I have not had your same experience, but I have had something similar with friends not buying shoes because the size that fit was larger than they “think” they wear! OR – they buy the size too small anyway and hurt their feet! It is bizarre to me. I guess everyone is progressing along their own path…at their own pace. But by bringing these types of scenerios up for discussion in a safe forum, you are helping to elevate consiousness and create happy, healthier women.

Hi Wendy,
This posting really rings true in my life (as does everything you write). I lived with a person for YEARS who couldn’t get past the tag. Unfortunately, this really affected me when I had to make that transition from misses to plus. Back then I thought that people would notice what size I was wearing. I quickly realized that that wasn’t the case and it didn’t matter. Honestly, I love my Lane Bryant clothes much better than some of the ‘misses’ clothes out there.

Thank you for writing.

Wendy—As you said it is only a number (#####). If a person feels good inside it shows on the outside. A glint in an eye, the strut, and the smile. I feel good when I a beautiful person is near . I try to catch some of their inner self and carry it around for the day in my mind!!!!

I miss you so much.

Just wanted to say that I have that exact same jacket in red and always get tons of compliments about it. Your friend was silly to put it back! I buy what fits best and try not to get hung up on the size. I’ve lost a fair amount of weight recently and can finally shop in non-plus sized stores but still intend to shop plus sized stores because I think the cuts and proportions are so much better. It’s not the size that matters but how you feel in what you wear!

Fascinating. I just read a web article about sizing in the fashion industry, and your friend should know that her need to wear a medium is based on an erroneous understanding of how sizing works. “Medium” is a manufacturer’s measure of the average amount of fabric used per item, NOT a size!

Essentially, the size “medium” is based on THAT PARTICULAR MANUFACTURER’S average customer, and that manufacturer’s fabric needs (i.e., they figure out the amount of fabric for the average garment sold and multiply it times the projected number of sales so they can figure out how much fabric to order for a manufacturing run of a particular garment).

Since, as any first year marketing student knows, the “average” customer is strictly a matter of target demographics, the average size of a manufacturer’s clothing sale (the “medium”) is going to be different if you are targeting prima ballerinas or football players or couch potatos (as, obviously, the average prima ballerina is a completely different size from the average average football player or average couch potato).

As another example, it’s a well-known fact that on average, lower-income persons tend to be heavier than higher-income persons, tend to shop at Wal-Mart, not Macy’s, and have differing quality expectations. The demographics are not the same, nor is the “medium” size, the “medium” quality, or the “medium” price for those two stores, so why do shoppers expect Wal-Mart prices and sizing at Macy’s? Why do they expect Macy’s quality in Wal-Mart clothes?

As a personal matter, I am large busted (say, the largest 1% of the natural spectrum). While I love the very pretty bras made in cup-size A and B, I know perfectly well that even if those bras were made in my band and cup size, a size FF/G couldn’t wear them, because the support is zero. I need underwires. In my everyday bras, I need coverage. I not only don’t expect to find those designs in my size, I know that given where I fall in the demographics, it’s difficult for manufacturers to profitably serve my needs even for basic bras. I want them properly engineered, and that means extra fabric, extra design, and extra labor, which equals extra cost. Why should a manufacturer, designer, or store that doesn’t target that largest 1% of the natural spectrum have to incur that cost? Since they don’t market to me, I’ll never find them anyway. I am not the “average” bra customer. But for a certain type of bra manufacturer, I’m the perfect demographic, and I’m thankful that the internet has finally made it profitable for them to market to me.

The only people that think they should be able to purchase a “medium” in every store they visit, from every designer they see, regardless of whether they are the demographic target of that store or designer, are consumers. And consumers are NOT driving sizing in the fashion industry (and probably shouldn’t, since, again, “medium”–and other clothing size such as “4″ or “6″–is a measure of the average fabric used per item made, not a size at all). The sizing used today (i.e., “4″ “16″ etc.) used to have meaning in manufacturing, until consumers came along and started using it as a measure of “size” instead of what it was meant for, “relative scale.” That is to say, sizes today ARE arbitrary, but that’s because sizing is based on a number that was never meant to represent size (the plus sizes–1X, 2X–may or may not be an exception to this).

For more about this really fascinating, complicated, and arcane topic, you can visit this website (with which I am not affiliated): http://www.fashion-incubator.com, and in particular:
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/the_myth_of_vanity_sizing/

Great post and wonderful comments! I have always been what most would call thin or skinny and never thought of dieting. I was naturally this way and could eat what I wanted. I am almost 5’10′ and for most of my adult life until I reached my 40′s I weighed between 125-130 pounds. Then I got pregnant and it was like a get out of jail free card. Baskin & Robbins and I had a love affair since prior to my pregnancy I was lactose intolerant. 65 pounds later and much urging from my doctor to quit it or I would be diabetic the miraculous birth of my son left me with much more weight on me than baby itself. I wore my maternity clothes after the birth far too long. Everyone would say that if you breast fed you would drop all your baby weight instantly. Not for me. To my own surprise I did not fret a lot about it. I would try to eat better and even “diet” with Weight Watchers because I think they are the only healthy program for me. I would lose a couple pounds here and there and then stress would pack it back on as I am an emotional eater.

Then 3+ years later hovering around 140, my life took a turn. I started following my spiritual path with more vigor and found that in this quest for enlightenment I automatically stopped doing things that were harmful for my body temple. Not dieting, not exercising and I started to lose weight. I realize that my healthy weight is around 130. That is where I feel the best physically. I need to make sure I am clear that I said “feel” the best not look the best. Because that is what it should be about, right? How healthy you are and how you feel physically.

I had a friend recently tell me that I looked anorexic. At first it hurt my feelings but almost instantly that went away because I don’t own that. I CERTAINLY don’t look anorexic and I love my food too much to even consider that way of life. Plus, it just seems like it is too much work physically and emotionally to have this disease and I would not wish that on anyone (I had a friend in high school with the disorder). Anyway, I digress. To bring a long story to a close. I am happy, healthy and who cares what weight or size. I have a lovely aqua cable knit sweater that my mother recently complimented me on. She asked me where I got it. I looked at the tag and laughed. It was from the maternity shop and a large. Poo on sizes! This body we have chosen to house our spirit is a beautiful sanctuary. Take care of it and honor it but don’t make it who you are.

I miss Elizabeth in 22wp shorts…they fit great boooooo boooo no more….