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Oh, the perils of in-store shopping — it’s no wonder there has been a great switch to online shopping in recent years. Between the long check out lines and flimsy changing room curtains, there is one thing that is probably easiest to hate the most; trying on clothing. Say for instance you grab a pair of jeans to try on in the store. After standing in cue for a couple of minutes you are guided to a fitting room in the back with a large mirror in place and your reflection in front of you. As you struggle to stretch the jeans over your legs, you let out a sigh of exasperation; you thought you had picked the correct size — at least that was the size you were in the last shop you went to. Exiting the changing room, you can’t help but think whether you may have grown a few inches or gained a few pounds. The answer is most likely neither, as the concept of an article of clothing being “true to size” does not exactly exist- and we have vanity sizing to thank for that.
Vanity sizing is a tactic used by clothing companies to make the consumer feel slimmer than what they actually are. They shift the metrics so that clothes fit bigger than what they are actually intended to, and this can cause a massive amount of frustration while searching for clothes. What was once a women’s size 12 in 1958, has been estimated to have evolved into a women’s size 6 today. And although there has been a shift to online shopping, consumers still aren’t exactly able to escape this issue. Customers return roughly 40% of the clothing they purchase online and a primary reason comes down to sizing. While this may be annoying for shoppers, it can also cost retailers a large sum of money to cover the return fees if they except free returns. This is an issue that can effect men and women’s clothing respectively and while the issue has been brought to light in recent years, there is still uncertainty about what a size “0” really means. If every store has their own vanity sizing, what can we as consumers rely on to find our true size?
The images below, courtesy of time magazine, help to illustrate the evolution of a women’s size 8 from 1967 to 2012.
Although it is easy to blame the fashion industry for creating this whole mess, we as consumers don’t necessarily escape blame either. Some studies report that customers prefer to purchase clothes that are labelled with a smaller size, as it boosts their self esteem. The average American woman weighed about 140.2 pounds in 1960, and the average man weight ranged from 146 pounds for a man 5 feet, 2 inches tall to 190 pounds for a 6-foot, 1-inch tall man. Today, the average American man 20 years old and up weighs 197.9 pounds while the average 5’4” american woman 20 years old and up weighs 170.6 pounds. While this is not an astronomical change, and being heavier doesn't automatically mean being overweight, this cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, in 2018, the data collected from The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America 2018 showed that the national obesity rate in America was approaching 40%. So as Americans are getting noticeably larger, companies have adjusted their metrics to make it seem like they are smaller than they actually are in order to boosts the confidence of consumers. By the late 2000’s, retailers even introduced the sizes “0 and 00”.
So if we realize the problem, and retailers are losing millions of dollars in free returns due to sizing, why is this still an issue in 2020? The problem stems from the fact that all bodies come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There is no “standard” or “universal” body type in the U.S. and basing the system off of women, for example, who are skinny and tall would still cause sizing issues even if retailers got rid of vanity sizing. This is what makes the issue of inconsistent sizing so difficult, but some large retailers, like Walmart, have taken steps to insure their clothes fit as “true to size” as possible. For example, they have worked on updating old sizing tables that don’t take into account the material of the fabric being used and how that affects the fit. A stretchy fabric may require you to size up, while a stiffer fabric, like 100% cotton jeans, might need sizing up.
In the end, the world of sizing is a difficult place, and that is why it is important not to put a great deal of importance on a number. Our concept of what a size “2” is has become warped as a size 2 on someone skinny is not the same as someone curvy, and some shops continue to use vanity sizes. The number stitched onto the back of your favorite jeans or blouse doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and it is important to embrace our bodies no matter what size they are because the number shouldn’t be the most important part; it should be the feeling of wearing a piece of clothing that makes you feel comfortable and confident, because no one should be reduced to the number hidden in the back of their favorite jeans.
