I was wearing a size 20.... my mother who gets used clothes all the time for the rag Johnny ( she cant help herself) brought me this Barnie the Dinosaur pants up here a few weeks ago..... i always takes what she gives so i dont hurt her feelings... i held them up to myself and said " i dont think they will fit"... but honestly wished they would! just to say they do.... they were a 16

well last night iwas going thru the closet and i found a pair of 16 i use to ware... black jeans, but they are pull ups, no button or zipper with a draw string..... THEY FIT!!!!!

I had to wiggle a little to get them past my hips ( i have an hour glass figure) but they fit! I didnt bend over in them to test that part, they were a little more snug then i like to go out for the world to see.... but they went on! with about an inch of room at the top.

So i went and got those UGLY purple pants that do zip up, thinking they might go on a little easier..... as i put one leg in i said to my self.... "dont get mad if it dont fit, you are loosing, you fit into the black pants you would ware in public, so what if these dont fit!"

They went on really easy over the hips, because of the zipper opening... i did get them buttoned and zipped.... but i had a fat roll pinched up and spilling over the top that i didnt have with the black pants ( different cut of course will do that)

but i guess i can say .... I CAN WEAR A 16,,,, but my 18s are so comfy right now!!!

Also before i close my post i have a question.... i have been in 18-20 for so long ... have pant sizes changed for smaller people?

I heard one lady say she was in a 6... she was 140lbs and 5'6"
when i was 130lbs and 5'6" i was in a 12?

I dont get it? im not a fashion expert so i really dont get Reg, med, and pet sizes was my 12 pet the other ladies 6 reg?

First - - for fitting into some older pants! I posted about "shopping in the back of my closet" sometime back, too. Isn't it great? It just gives you more encouragement.

I've been wondering about the sizes as well. I was wearing a size 10 when I was 120. I'm wondering what my size will be when I do finally buy something new for myself.

Sorry to butt in here but when I was in highschool I was 5' tall and weighed between 115-120 and I was a size 8 or 10, today I weigh 122 and am in a size 6...now I've been a faithful Gap girl since then so I can say without a doubt that their sizing has changed...plus I'm wearing a different cut.

I think the low rise jeans allow me to wear a smaller size. Still...Gap at least and Target I know for sure do the vanity sizing....so...

Sizes have definitely changed in the last decade or so. When I was in high school and about 140, I wore a size 12-14. Now, at 140 I wear 8's comfortably and 6's in some brands. I agree that part of it is low-rise pants, which allow you to wear a smaller size.

Sizes have changed dramatically in the last 20-30 years. For instance, my mother, when she was 5'4" and 120 pounds, wore an 8-10 depending on the designer. That would now be around a 4-6.

In the last 10 years, sizes have changed slightly, like a 6 ten years ago is probably around a 4 now. I think the purpose is to make bigger people feel better about themselves and smaller people feel like fitting into a size 0 or 00 is almost an attainable goal <----however, even at my lowest weight ever (around 105), I could only fit a 0 in certain brands and it was pretty tight. My hip bones just wouldn't let me get any smaller than a comfortable 2.

First, congratulations on the Barnie pants. I have a hard time picturing such a thing in adult sizes myself, but there you go. (And where do moms *find* this stuff? Mine was the same way about giving me clothes until we came to a compromise: she could nag me as much as she wanted about not wearing nicer -- to her mind, girl-ier -- clothes as long as she didn't bring home any for me.)

Second, on the comparison between wearing someone wearing a 6 at 140 now vs. you wearing a 12 at roughly the same weight. People store body weight in different places, of course.

But it's also true that sizes have been getting larger as Americans get fatter. Some genius marketer probably figured out that women were more likely to buy clothes labeled "8" than those labeled "10", so they shifted the 8 tags to the 10 clothes, the 10 tags to the size 12 clothes, and so forth.

Once one manufacturer starts fudging the sizes, they all have to, for the same reason: all else being equal, a woman is going to buy the jeans that say size 10 over those that say size 12.

Curiously, the cheaper the clothing, the more "downsizing" of the labels. I'd seriously doubt that 140-pounder would be able to fit into a haute couture size 6. Well, unless she's over 6 feet tall.

well im glad to finnaly get the "skinny" on the jean mystery.

So assuming i hit goal ... i will be in a 10! Cool.... i havent been there since grade school! ) althou i know it is still a 12.

i hate figureing out sizes... for me or hubby or son.... i think they should all be the same scale.... of course starteing an infant at 0... i guess i would a be a size 150 now.... but at least i would know!

That is great!!!! Keep up the great work! I have a pair of "stretchy" boring brown pants, size 16 my mom gave me years ago and they fit comfy, I wear them on occasion. I have a pair of tight black jeans, size 16 that are cut tight I can squeeze into but...not comfy enough to go out in. i can not wait til I can! I should go try them on again today.

lendingheart...congrats on fitting into the 16's. That is an awesome feeling isn't it????

Yes....it is true about sizes not being what they used to be. I just pulled a trunk load of clothces from the late 90's. I was wearing a size 9 Jr, and 13 jr's. I fit into a size 11 jr now...but when i tried on the 13's from the 90's....i barely fit in them!!! How crazy is that?!?!?

lendingheart, I bet you will be in an 8 when you hit goal. I would expect someone 5'6" and 130 lbs to be an 8. You also asked about petite vs regular ... there shouldn't be any difference in sizes between the two. Petite vs regular is a difference between arm and leg length. Someone 5'6" should be a regular. Usually 5'4"/5'5" is the cutoff for petite. I occassionally need to get a petite size, but usually regular.

Sizes are funny. I weigh 8 pounds more than you, and am 3.25 inches shorter, and I also have an hourglass shape. I am also able to wear a size 16 again now. Just shows the drastic differences in different bodies! I wouldn't stress about it too much!! Just celebrate getting those pants on LOL.

Arm and leg length isn't the only difference in petite, or tall sizing, vs. regular. Clothing that is made for petite sizing also has a shorter rise (from the crotch to the top of the pants) and a shorter torso in tops/dresses-since shorter women have shorter torsos than average figures. Talls is the opposite-with a longer rise in pants, and longer torso length in the top or dress, or swimsuit.

Vanity sizing, and sizing changing over the years isn't the only reason that people wear different sizes at the same weight. It is the reason why someone wears an 8 now, when they wore a size 10 15 years ago with the same measurements...

The main reason someone here can be the same height and weight as someone else, but in a different size, is muscle mass vs. body fat, and body type. Someone who is a pear (larger on bottom) is going to wear a size or so larger in pants than someone who is an apple (larger on top) who is the same height/weight. Their body weight is distributed differently. The pear might wear a size medium top and a large pants, and the apple might wear the large top and the medium pants. Make sense? Some of us carry our fat in our behinds and legs...and others carry it in their torso.

You can have a size range of 2-4 sizes in people of the same weight. There is nothing wrong with it, everyone is shaped differently.

I'm 5'6" and I weighed 130 pounds once. It was a good size for me - I wore around a 6, sometimes even a 4 in places like Old Navy and A&F. According to my current calculations, I'll probably be a 4 if I get down to 130, since I'm around an 8 currently at 160. However, I always have weighed more than what I looked. I'm not sure why this is.

I hope to be in at least a size 6 by the time i reach 130. I'm 5'6" and 154 and I can fit in a size 8 or 10, depending on the brand and cut. I hope by the time i reach goal of either 120-130 that i'll be in a size 4. But i guess the number on the pants doesn't matter as much as just being toned, healthy and a nice weight.

sizes don't matter all that much to me (althought it did feel good to buy a size4) but I have sizes 4-10 in my drawers and closets for skirts,shorts and pants. Shirts I am usually a medium.