clothes sizing
 

Meg I too am finding that LL Bean jeans I've had for 5 years are smaller :?: than ones I got earlier this year.

The boomers' waistlines are expanding :o as they age. Since they make up such a huge market segment and are generally affluent a lot of products are targetted towards them.

I have hips and am finding it increasingly difficult to get jeans that fit in the waist and hips. More and more I'm resorting to the really low rise to get a good fit. Those make me feel like my pants are falling off all the time :p but I know that, with my bum, that will never be the case :D!

Dagmar (it's still raining here :()

I'm afraid I won't report anything regarding maintenance and healthy foods. But for those who're interested:

- There was a protest march right next to where I live (like, 150m from my building) this morning between 7 and 9. Complete with police vans, tear gas and choppers patrolling above the area. No need to say I wasn't feeling very confident when I went for my morning run... ^_^;

- This afternoon, the protests were carried in an area bout... 15 minutes on foot from where I live. Some people forcefully entered a Ibis hotel and set fire to it (I could smell the smoke from my window), along with a couple of other buildings.

And it's not over yet.

I'm due to go to a friend's in an hour from now, and I hope things won't be too heated here. He doesn't live very far, and I wasn't worried the least bit until this afternoon, but you never know. (Yeah, I know, "it's not Baghdad"... but it's very unusual all the same!)

PS. Thanks for the fingers crossed for my other friend. He hasn't got an answer yet, but getting the job is a likely possibility for him at this stage, it's not like he flunked it.

Stay safe, Kery!

Good Morning,

Kery, wow - I don't think I'd want to be near those mobs right now! As midwife said, be safe!

Don't get me started on vanity sizing! In 2003 after reaching 120 lbs and having trouble finding clothes to fit me, I did some research into sizing. In HS I rarely weighed over 105 but wore a size 7 or 5 (Jrs). At 120 lbs the size 4s and even some of the 2s were bagy, esp in dress pants at high end shops. In addition to being at least 15 lbs heavier than in HS, I'm pretty sure my hips are wider after 4 pregnancies, the last being twins (I was HUGE!). According to this Wikipedia article:

... as a result of various cultural pressures, most notably vanity sizing, North American clothing sizes have drifted substantially away from this standard over time, and now have very little connection to it. Instead, they now follow the more loosely defined standards known as US catalog sizes. These are on average 6 sizes smaller than the original standard. So, for example, a size 12 on the old standard would today be described as a size 6, while a size 6 on the old scale would be what is today known as size zero.

It's crazy! :mad:

Anyhow, I slept in until 7 (late for me), got in a good workout, ate a healthy breakfast, and now am going to spend the rest of the hunched over my sewing machine (I try to have good posture while sewing, but mostly I don't). It's sunny today, maybe I'll take a break after lunch and go for a walk. I can't wait for summer sunshine!

Everyone have a fabulous day!

ps: is there a way to switch the view and so I can see/edit the vB code directly rather than using the tool bar?
_________
Shanna

http://tickers.tickerfactory.com/ezt...6e93/event.png

hey guys! again, thanks for the welcome!

Update--I signed up for the gym last night! :) I decided to give up my netflix membership ($18 a month for 3 at a time unlimited) to subsidize my $30/month plan (pretty good deal, I think), which, along with the fact that I am no longer paying 11 a month for the gym at work...pretty much has me breaking even. :D

I even worked out last night. Weird thing happened before that, though. I have been eyeing this red velvet cupcake in the bake case at the Barnes and Noble cafe near my house for a while. So last night my friend offered to buy it for me and I said ok. WORST CUPCAKE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. I ate a couple bites and just had to throw it out. I mean, I think it tasted normal. In the past, I would have just eaten it to eat it. But now I just can't waste my calories on food that isn't pretty much fabulous tasting. At least, if it has a lot of calories, etc....it better be the BEST CUPCAKE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Does anybody here identify with my feelings on this issue? What I can hardly believe about this is that I used to just eat mediocre-tasting food because...well...I felt compelled. "Money's spent...better eat it."..... "It LOOKS so good, just eat it and don't ask questions. "..."I just need something, anything in my mouth right now..." My reasons for eating are sometimes still way out of whack. I DID just stand at the counter eating peanut butter cup frozen yogurt last week because I felt really crappy. But before....when I think about my reasons for eating, my entire life up to a few years ago, I am just amazed.

At least now, when I eat for emotional reasons, its healthier for me because I try to shop smart, lol.

I have a lot to do today. I am refinishing some yard sale furniture because the weather is beautiful :)

We had an incredible time on our Alaskan cruise in 2006. It was a small (70 people) ship daylight cruise so we were in ports in the evening, which I enjoyed since I'm not a shopper. That was the last year for that cruise, though. And I got a sunburn in Alaska because I brought fleece (and never wore it), not sunscreen.

Okay, am I the only one who likes vanity sizing? Would my current size 10s translate to size 16? Ack!! When I weighed 145 lbs. in high school (at 5'9"), I think I wore a size 14. Of course, age and gravity play a role in how things fit now.

Kery, please be careful out there! Hope things settle down.

Tortuga, it's so disappointing when something looks so good and then it tastes so lousy, especially if you've been looking forward to eating it. I'm proud of the fact that I often throw something bad away rather than eat it all, but have to admit that doesn't happen all the time. When I was heavier, that never happened.

Taking a break from yard work. The freshly mown grass smells good, and the weed-free front yard looks nice. It's wonderful to have a sunny, warm day after seeing snowflakes yesterday.

Sheila,

I like vanity sizing too.

Anne

I did like vanity sizing at first. Until I realized it was vanity sizing. ;)

Now I kind of feel like a *fraud* wearing such small sized clothing. And I wonder where the heck the really skinny people are shopping and what size are they wearing. A negative 2?

Robin-- I'm with you. I like vanity sizing. I like wearing a smaller size now than I did in high school. But.... I have trouble finding clothes small enough to fit me now and I'm not that small. I think I'd have less problems if I went to the juniors department but I just can't bring myself to do it-- I don't like the way most of the stuff looks-- and then I'd lose my vanity sizing!!

I was giggling about vanity sizing to myself earlier this week. I was looking at a Small at J. JIll but noticed they also had XS and XXS. So...if they used to have S M L and now have XXS XS S M L XL XXL, where does that put me - why, I'm an "old school" Large! Ha :)

My friend Carly is very very petite and has trouble finding clothes small enough - yay for vanity sizing!

I very very briefly weighed around this weight back in the early 90s and was a 10. My original goal was to be a size 10 again (based on my size when I was slim) and I'm pretty confident I am a size 10 from that era, even if they dress it up all pretty and tie a size 6 bow around it.

I remember being a size 10 in high school at 135 pounds. Now I am a size 8 at 152. But my body fat % must be lower than it was in high school.

I think that for me, vanity sizing supported the nefariousness of my weight gain. Cause I was a 10 in high school, so getting into a 12, 14, 16...not too bad, right? Until I worked my way back down....so would I be in an old-time 12 now at 152?

Blah.

I remember my mom wearing a 6 when I was in junior high school and me being too big to borrow her clothes anymore. Now I'm loose in a lot of the 4s I buy. I look at pictures of her then and me now and I know there is no way I'm as little as she was then - heck, I remember her weighing 105-110 then so I've got 10-15 pounds on her... Then, we go shopping together this week and both buy 4s now because she can't find anything small enough to fit her so she buys 2 & 4 in lines that don't make 0. She is 5'1", 85 pounds. There is no way I should buy the same size dress that she buys, even if it is a little loose on her and fits me nicely. Makes me giggle a little, too. :) (makes her self conscious though, which makes me sad. more signs of the ED that she can't shake loose from...)

Robin, I feel like a fraud too because I'm not a small person by any means. You'd never look at me and think "thin" or "tiny". Fit maybe, average sized maybe, but that's it. We all love vanity sizing until it comes back to bite you because there aren't clothes that fit. The junior department really isn't an option when you're 54! :fr:

As for genuinely small people, some of them shop in the children's department, the lucky ones who are short can shop in Petites (though I read that department stores are cutting out Petite departments -- why??), and the rest either make do or get clothes tailored to fit.

But ... when I shop the sales, the racks of L and XL are much larger than the racks of XS and S. Which could mean either there weren't a lot of XS and S to begin with or else people are snapping up the smaller sizes and they never make it to the sale racks. I've been in ongoing correspondence with the manager of our local Macys about the lack of smaller sizes (there will typically be only one S in a style and it's often on the mannequin, leaving one to ask for help or just undress the mannequin). He's been quite responsive but I haven't noticed any changes yet.

Glory, I remember reading that one of the athletic clothes manufacturers (can't remember which one) did just what JJill did. They resized all their clothes so that a L became a S and an XL became a M. I guess it makes sense because the average woman today is overweight and from a marketing point of view, most people are going to buy the smaller size item. But it brings home the point that being a "normal" weight is definitely not the norm today.

One last clothes note -- if you like Talbots, go shopping there today because they're taking 40% off sale prices (I think today is the last day). I got three pairs of pants for less than what one originally cost and a gorgeous jacket for 75% off. When I was waiting to check out, I was chatting with the woman in front of me in line and it turned out we were both wearing identical pink sweaters. She was larger than I am and was going on about how she loved hers because it was such good camouflage and covered all her problem areas. It was funny because I bought it because it was a pretty sweater and never thought about it's ability to hide anything. It's kind of nice not to have to wear camo any more.

More taxes and cleaning today -- I better get to it!!

Wow, Meg, sounds like you did great at Talbot's. I don't have one near me. But yes, I hear you loud and clear about not having to shop to "hide" trouble *spots* anymore. It's really and truly marvelous. I still have to pinch myself sometimes. :D

I gotta tell you as I was losing weight and I was somewhere in the mid 150's and I fit into a size 8, maybe a 10, I don't exactly recall - I couldn't believe it. I was perplexed beyond belief. How could it possibly be? And then when I got down to goal, I could not believe for the life of me that I was wearing mostly 2's. And many 2's swim on me, depending on the cut and the brand. Swim. Especially slacks since I've lost all my hips and behind. Most small tops are HUGE on me. HUGE. I was shocked to find that I was having such difficulty finding clothing. Okay -something's just not right here - then it finally hit me (I'm a little slow) that they've up and changed the sizing since 20+ years ago, the last time I was in regular sized clothing.

Why would they make it so difficult for someone like me to shop, yes, I'm small, but I'm not teeny tiny skinny skinny? There's most likely more people my size then the real skinny minnies out there. It just makes no sense whatsoever.

And yes, I DO shop in the junior stores. But of course being 45 it kind of limits me. Every now and then I get very lucky. Especially with blouses, sweaters and jackets. Slacks, just every now and then. Skirts sometimes too. The prices are much less then woman's clothing as well, usually.

Oh and for sure, I've stripped down mannequins. I always know to look for smalls on them. Although sometimes they're damaged from being pinned and what not. But I'm desperate! I take them.

I'm in crazy Passover mode here. Cleaning, cooking, cleaning, cooking, cleaning cooking. But it's gorgeous out today and it looks to be the only nice day for quite some time, so no matter what - I am leaving the house today. Maybe I'll just find a way to squeeze in some shopping. :smug:

Thanks
 

Thanks for the update, Kery, I do worry about the man venturing to a country that was polishing its diplomacy before our country was yet envisioned.