Working in the bridal industry means every day I talk to women about their body shapes, their measurements, and the sizing options they have. Some women ignore the numbers and accept our advice, generally just wanting whichever size will compliment their body best. And some women don't. When you encounter a size 22 lady asking you to order a size 14 because she will hit the gym and she will lose the weight I don't know whether to applaud her determination or cry at her desperation.
After all, numbers are only numbers..right?
How can we truly measure the size we are? Only last week I found the 'perfect' pair of stonewash skinny jeans from Zara and just knew I had to get a few more in different colours to refresh my summer wardrobe. So imagine my surprise today when the same size in a different colour just did not fit.
Surely a size 12 is a size 12?
It's certainly no breaking headline to hear that different shops have different sizing schemes; we all know a 10 in Topshop is different from a 10 in Marks and Spencers. But have you ever thought why?
My main belief is that the stores target their demographic; a young teenager shopping in TopShop has a very different mind-set to the lady shopping in M&S. The young girl wants to dress like, and ultimately feel like, the celebrity on the cover of Heat magazine; this is certainly no priority for the woman in M&S looking for summer essentials. The young girl must feel slim and fashionable, whereas the woman must feel confident and know she looks good. A size 12 in Topshop is 29.7" on the waist; A size 12 in M&S Per Una is 28.8". The standard British sizing guideline for Size 12 is a 28" waist: proof of stores manipulating their sizes.
The young girl who is a size 12 in Topshop would be a size 14 if she were to shop at M&S. Which store makes her feel better about herself- Topshop; so she will buy here and buy more.
Aside from playing mind games with your self- confidence, almost every woman will sympathize with the annoying scenario where you buy the same dress in 3 sizes from the same website just to try and find the one with the best fit.
Psychologists have a slightly more worrying problem to deal with; the growing obesity crises in this country. If you are encouraged to believe you can fit in a pair of size 14 trousers when you previously wore size 18, your self esteem goes up, but the true reality of your body becomes distorted.
On the other hand, high street stores also encourage the false idealism of Size Zero. A size 14 pair of trousers in Zara has large red 'XL' stickers all down the leg; really, a size 14 a large? The particular range of jeans I loved only went up to a size 16 (XXL don't you know!)
The Size 12 jeans were perfect in the light blue last week, tight on the thighs in Coral this week.. and yet I had just bought a size 10 pencil dress from Debenhams that fit great. If I had only shopped in Zara, I would definitely be going home to lettuce for dinner after I hit the gym!
Dress for your body shape; whatever your size, compliment yourself. Your clothes are a reflection of you; Keep your Heels, Head, and Standards High!
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