What Dress Size Do You Identify As? The Internet Says Different!
“I’m a size 12.”
Are you?
It’s one of the first things women tell me when they walk into SNOB.
“I’ve always been a 14.”
“I’m definitely a 16.”
“I used to be a 10.”
But here’s the thing…
The internet can’t even agree what those sizes are.
Search online and you’ll find dozens of different size charts. Some say a UK size 12 has a 28-inch waist. Others say 29 inches. Some brands make a size 12 with a 38-inch hip, others a 40-inch hip.
Who’s right?
All of them. And none of them.
Who decided what a size 12 should be anyway?
Here’s something that surprises almost everyone…
There is no official UK clothing standard.
Many people assume there must have been a parliamentary committee, a government department or some sort of industry agreement that decided:
“A size 10 shall measure this…”
“A size 12 shall measure that…”
There wasn’t.
There is no law.
No official rule book.
No national sizing police.
Every retailer is free to decide what it calls a size 8, 10, 12 or 16.
So while your shoe size is relatively consistent, (though not without its issues - read on for more on this) your dress size is whatever the brand says it is.
No wonder we’re all confused.
It’s not just dresses…
Let’s not pretend this is only a women’s clothing problem.
Even shoe sizes can’t agree.
I’m usually a UK size 8.
I recently bought a pair of Adidas trainers.
Apparently, in Adidas, I’m a size 7.
Same feet.
Different brand.
Different size.
And that doesn’t even take into consideration a high instep, a wide foot, a narrow foot or the fact that most of us have one foot slightly larger than the other.
So if brands can’t agree on the size of your feet…
What chance have they got with the rest of your body?
The number has become part of our identity
I’ve lost count of the number of women who apologise before they’ve even tried something on.
“I’m normally a size 16…”
As though they need to warn me.
Or they refuse to try the next size up because the label feels like a judgement.
But clothes don’t know how old you are.
They don’t know whether you’ve had children.
They don’t know whether you’re menopausal, bloated, athletic, curvy, petite or six feet tall.
They’re just pieces of fabric with a number sewn into them.
My favourite dress proves labels don’t matter
One of my favourite dresses is a linen dress from Fenn Wright Manson. (Remember them? or am i showing my age - AGAIN!!
The label says it’s a size 16.
It’s cut on the bias, so it skims the body beautifully, and I’ve owned it for decades.
Here’s the funny thing…
Over the last forty years I have been every size - from an 8 to a 16; and that gorgeous piece of Orange linen sewn on the bias has fitted me every single decade no matter what the scales said.
I remember buying it from House of Fraser in High Street Kensington. I dont think back in the 90's i was particularly bothered by size, i just knew it fitted, and it has ever since.
This dress is one of the reasons I have never had any faith in the number sewn into the neckline.
The dress has never cared what size I think I am.
It has only ever cared whether it fits. ( its actually been in 2 charity shop piles and once it made it into the shop and i actually bought it back! im so glad i did)
So why has sizing changed?
There are several reasons.
The biggest is something called .......
1 Vanity Sizing
Over the years many brands quietly made the numbers smaller because women generally preferred buying a garment labelled with a lower size.
A dress that might once have been labelled a 16 gradually became a 14… then perhaps a 12… even though the actual measurements hadn’t changed very much.
Then along came fast fashion.
When you’re producing millions of garments every year, every centimetre of fabric matters to the profit margins.
Small savings in pattern cutting, seam allowances and garment proportions can add up to enormous savings across huge production runs.
And because there is no official sizing standard, every retailer is free to create its own fit model.
The result?
You can walk into three different shops and come out wearing three completely different sizes.
2 Fashion has gone global
Fashion is no longer designed in one place and sold in one country.
A garment might be designed in London…
Its pattern developed in Italy…
Manufactured in China
And sold on the British high street or via on line retailers and their own platforms
Historically, clothing brands often developed their sizing around the population they primarily served. Average height and body proportions do vary between different populations around the world. For example, Northern European populations tend, on average, to be taller than many East Asian populations, while body proportions can also differ. Of course, there is enormous variation within every country, and no individual should ever expect to match an “average”.
Manufacturing a garment in China doesn’t automatically make it smaller, and many factories produce clothing to whatever specifications a brand provides. But when fashion is designed for a global market, different fit models, grading systems and target customers all contribute to the confusion.
So perhaps, before you even look at the size label…
Have a glance at the “Made in…” label too.
Not because it tells you whether the garment will fit, but because it reminds you just how many variables are involved before you’ve even tried it on.
3 Once upon a time, clothes were made for people
Years ago, many of our mothers or grandmothers made clothes, or knitted our jumpers
Or they knew a dressmaker who did.
The very first thing they reached for?
A tape measure, and they measured ....
Bust.
Waist.
Hips.
Shoulders.
Length.
The clothes were made to fit your body.
Not the other way around
4 Why is it different for Men
Men traditionally had shirts and suits tailored too.
Which brings me to something that has always amused me…
Why do men get measurements and women get guesses?
Walk into the men’s department.
A pair of jeans is labelled:
34 x 32
A 34-inch waist.
A 32-inch inside leg.
A shirt?
16½-inch collar.
42-inch chest.
35-inch sleeve.
Actual measurements.
Now walk into the women’s department.
What do You get…
Size 12.
Regular -
Or perhaps…
Long - What does Long mean? I identify as a Tallish person, However i feel quite short in comparison to some of my taller customers. But we are all supposed to have the same length legs?
Short.
Petite.
But what does “Regular” actually mean?
Regular for someone who’s 5’2”?
Or someone who’s 5’10”?
Women’s clothing often asks us to trust a number rather than giving us the information we actually need.
Maybe we’ve been shopping the wrong way all along.
Maybe women should carry a tape measure in their handbags.
Not because our bodies need measuring…
But because the clothes do!!
This is why we measure everything at SNOB
If you’ve ever shopped with us, you’ll know we don’t simply tell you the label size.
We tell you the garment measurements.
Bust.
Waist.
Hips.
Length.
Because that’s what actually matters.
A dress labelled “Medium” might fit one woman who usually buys a size 10 and another who normally wears a size 16.
The label hasn’t changed.
The expectations have.
So here’s my challenge to you…
Forget the label.
Take five minutes today and measure yourself.
Wear your best-fitting bra.
Stand up straight.
(I know… I sound like Miss Jean Brodie!)
Don’t suck your tummy in.
And don’t worry if you’re having one of your “heavier” or bloated days. We all have them.
* Measure your bust.
* Your waist.
* Your hips.
* Write the measurements in the Notes app on your phone.
* Check them every six months.
* Definitely before summer
* Definitely after Christmas.
Then, when you shop, compare your measurements with the garment measurements.
The results will be ........
1 You’ll buy fewer clothes that don’t fit.
2 You’ll return fewer parcels.
3 You’ll waste less money.
And perhaps…
4 You’ll stop allowing a tiny number sewn into a label to decide how you feel about yourself.
Because here’s the truth.
You are not a size.
You’re a wonderfully unique collection of measurements that no clothing brand has ever managed to agree on.
So perhaps the real question isn’t…
“What size am I?”
Perhaps it’s…
“Which retailer decided what my size should be today?”
At SNOB, we’ve never believed the label.
We’ve always believed the tape measure.
I’d love to hear from you…
Have you ever walked into three different shops and ended up buying three different sizes?
Tell me in the comments. I have a feeling you’re not alone.
