Don’t be a slave to the size label
When I display my preloved clothing at pop-up events I don’t group them by size. The simple reason being that the size on a clothing label can be an arbitrary form of measurement. My concern is that people will only look at clothes labelled ‘their size’ and no further. In reality, that size 16 may fit a 12 and vice versa.
Sizes can differ enormously between brands, and what’s even more frustrating is that it can sometimes vary with the same brand.
There’s also the issue of ‘vanity sizing’ when brands deliberately put smaller sizes on their garments to drive sales. Unfortunately, we are still conditioned by society to think that smaller is good and this marketing method plays upon our self-esteem.
What about the small medium and large labels? These only give a vague indication of size. Items in my wardrobe vary from 10 to 16 so I decided a while ago not to judge myself by the size of my clothes.
Another issue is not the sizing but the cut and the way the clothes are designed. Historically, people would have had clothes tailored to fit them but that’s not an option for most of us today.
It’s not quite as simple as standardising sizes though. I found a great article The Sad Truth about Clothing Sizes by Verena Erin of My Green Closet which makes interesting reading.
My 5 take aways from this:
1. Women’s bodies are all so different so basically clothing off the rack perfectly fits almost no one.
2. Most people need different sizes for tops and bottoms.
3. Know your measurements and compare these to a brand’s size chart and don’t just go off what size you usually wear.
4. Understand your shape and proportions and find the kind of cuts that fit and work for you.
5. Don’t blame your body if clothes off the rack don’t fit.
