Post Op Clothing Sizes - ThinnerTimes

Polly D · 07-13-2007, 09:05 AM

It seems to me that when people lose weight their clothing sizes are smaller than that of others who weigh the same? I mean, you see a commercial on tv that now someone is down to 150 and in a size 6, and even our own Rhonda who just reached twoterville (yay Rhonda!!) is wearing a comfortable 2x while I at the same weight and pushing it with 4x.

What's the deal? Are they all 7 feet tall? I'm 5'6.5", so average to tall height.

electrichoney · 07-13-2007, 09:47 AM

You know, Polly, I think it all depends on the clothing manufacturer. One manufacturer's 2X can be the equivalent of another's 4X or even 1X! It's really frustrating to shop when this is the case, and especially now because I'm getting to the point size-wise where I can buy clothes at a larger range of stores and catalogs. Even if I use my body measurements and compare those to the size chart of a given vendor, that doesn't even guarantee that things will fit right! Making It Big, which is an online catalog company that sells "natural fiber clothing for large and supersize women" (according to their tag line), is a perfect example. I've ordered from them a few times using my measurements as a guide and when I got my items they were much bigger than I expected. In my case, I usually have trouble with garment lengths (because I'm 5'4" and most large women's clothes seem made for Amazons with abnormally long arms and legs), and fit around the hips because I carry a lot of my weight below the waist. So yes, to quote Bill Clinton, I feel your pain!!

mindycure · 07-13-2007, 09:52 AM

i totally agree, i am now 171 and in a 14, when i was a 14 before in high school i think I weighed around 140 or so and so on, i have totally noticed that.

lyndsy_jones · 07-13-2007, 11:32 AM

I have been trying to figure this out myself lately!! I am 7 months out and comfortably wear 15-16, or 14-16, but 16s are too big and 14s are too small. AHH!! I don't know when I wore a 14--maybe when I was 12???!

cnvh · 07-13-2007, 11:50 AM

PEOPLE haven't gotten smaller, just the clothes sizes. Over the last several years, the trend for clothing manufacturers-- at least for women's garments-- has been "vanity sizing:" that is, what would have been a size 6 twenty years ago is a size 2 or a size 0 today... it's all playing up to our ideals that a smaller size is better, and you all know how a piece of clothing becomes infinitely more attractive to buy if it's a size smaller than we thought would fit. "I just HAD to buy it, it's a size 8! I haven't fit into a size 8 since I was twelve!!" Yep, been there done that...

Now it's even gone so far as "negative sizing." Come on now, people-- how can there be such a thing as a size -2?!?! Is a person who wears a size -2 partially invisible or something?!?! It's ridiculous.

I really wish women's sizing was like men's, measured in inches instead of some weird random number... it's completely stupid, how it is now. For a man, if he fits into a size 38, he's a size 38, end of story... but me, I have everything from 14-16's to 22-24's that fit equally well, and I have a size 22 pair of jeans that are tighter than a size 18 by another manufacturer.

So, moral of the story-- don't get too wrapped up in the sizing, or trying to compare what size you are now vs. what size you were in your teens, unless you actually HAVE clothes leftover from then... because chances are, the sizing is completely different now.

KarenInKali · 07-13-2007, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electrichoney

In my case, I usually have trouble with garment lengths (because I'm 5'4" and most large women's clothes seem made for Amazons with abnormally long arms and legs), and fit around the hips because I carry a lot of my weight below the waist. So yes, to quote Bill Clinton, I feel your pain!!

LOL, if only this were the case! I too, feel your pain! I am this Amazon you mention

and for me they're all too short. I'm 6'0" and I'm all legs - LOL, can't wait for them to be THIN legs but that's another story. I buy pants that are supposed to fit the average person at the ankle and on me they are capris!

fitbefore40 · 07-13-2007, 12:50 PM

You know one thing that no one accounts for much is body shape - and that is one reason I can weigh so much and wear such a small pant size. I have no fat below the waist - it's just not there - I wear a 2 or 0 in pants and I weigh almost 130 pounds. I have 33 inch hips - my best friend weighs 120 and wears a size 6 pants. She has about a 36 or 37 inch hip - that's just the facts. Now she can wear a small top or jacket - but I can't. My bust - as droopy as it is . .. is still a c cup. We both teach aerobics - so our fitness levels are the same - but I weigh 10 pounds more and wear 2 sizes smaller in pants.

seen&heardall · 07-13-2007, 08:49 PM

[quote=cnvh;200940]PEOPLE haven't gotten smaller, just the clothes sizes. Over the last several years, the trend for clothing manufacturers-- at least for women's garments-- has been "vanity sizing:" that is, what would have been a size 6 twenty years ago is a size 2 or a size 0 today... it's all playing up to our ideals that a smaller size is better, and you all know how a piece of clothing becomes infinitely more attractive to buy if it's a size smaller than we thought would fit. "I just HAD to buy it, it's a size 8! I haven't fit into a size 8 since I was twelve!!" Yep, been there done that...

Sad but true . . . you hit the nail right on the head. But, I am just going to enjoy the bliss of saying, "I AM IN A SIZE 18!" vs. a size 28.

kittens4 · 07-13-2007, 09:30 PM

It's true....sizes have changed! I was 155 all through high school...and wore size 14...once in a blue moon...a 12. I now weigh 153 and am in size 10.

sweetchristiangal · 07-14-2007, 07:52 AM

Ya gotta love vanity sizing. And most of us have probably fallen for it too. We will buy jeans that are the same size but have a smaller digit on the tag because it makes us feel good. Clothing companies know this and take advantage of our insecurities.