Recently, while shopping with a friend, she eyed a dress with lust, it was a size 42, a European 6 give or take. She really liked it, I really liked it for her. Always playing fairy fashion godmother, I told her to try it on, there was one more on the floor a 38 which is more like a 2. She is small, but she is no size 2 in European. For one, like me she has curves; hips, thighs ass as well as length, she's 5'7" muscle she works out and boobs a full B. Great body, sick body but this dress was straight and narrow. Going for a smaller size would be a joke so when she picked it up I let out a huge WTF? She was adamant about trying on the 2 because she always bought a 2 or a 4 in everything. I had to laugh out loud because I realized I was dealing with a Size Nazi. Yes baby, in my Mo'nique voice a Size Nazi. As in a person 99% of the time a woman who will only buy one size and one size only not giving to the fact size and cut really differs depending upon the retailer and designer.
I learned a long time ago that size more than age really is just a number. Don't get me wrong if you usually wear a 12 and you attempt to squash yourself into a 2 you're delusional, which is a whole other esteem issue. Honestly, when it comes to women's clothing sizing it's the wild wild west! Step into my closet and I have a sprinkling of 4's, 6's and 8's. I have a few tops in small, a bulk in medium and a few in size large. It's no big thing to me, a dress at Forever 21 is not going to be cut like a dress from Tahari and that Tahari dress is not cut like a dress from Donna Karan. I have dresses from all three and they vary in size in a major way.
Maybe it's my days working in retail that made not give a second thought on sizing. Retail was where I met my first Size Nazi. I learned that mass American retailers, size based on what is called Vanity sizing. Retailers like The Gap and Ann Taylor are known for vanity sizing which is really going a size down so that the buyer thinks she is smaller in size. So that size 10 is more like a size 12 woman, but who doesn't want to believe they are smaller even if it's only in one store. That same size 12 could be a size 14, or even 16 in Forever 21 or Joyce Leslie. Trend heavy stores with fast fashion are notorious for very random sizing. Their apparel doesn't go through major fit tests like Oscar de la Renta. Chances are mass retailers have one fit model for everything and they draft patterns off of one model. So slim jeans, coats, dresses are all cut off of the same person. The grade for error is high.
Let's not forget about where the clothes are manufactured and primarily sold. The difference between Made in USA and Made In China usually means go up a size or two or three if you really like it. In addition retailers that are found in Europe have different sizing than the US. Mango, Zara, TopShop and H&M you usually have to go up a size for. Let's be honest, Europeans are slimmer than Americans, they don't have corn dogs and Cheez Wiz!
I hope this posts saves you from bursting out in tears next time your in the fitting room. Sizing is a tricky thing and deep down you know your body. Your an individual, your body is unique. Don't get stuck on a number, it will cause for lots of heartache and the possibility of missing out on some pretty fly things because your stuck on a size. As for the Size Nazi, she went into the fitting room with the smaller size, never came out but showed up for dinner a few weeks later with that dress. I bet you she went back to get that size 42- How yo doin?
photo courtesy of American Apparel
Posts
