I just went out shopping for new shorts (old ones are too big- yay!). It's like the story of the 3 bears- one size 8 was too loose, one was too tight and one was was just right - all from the same manufacturer/company. Shopping is more exhausting than exercise; I have to take at least 2 sizes of every style into the fitting room, and it's a total cr*pshoot as to what fits.

I would love to order clothes from the internet to save myself the hassle of foraging on the sale racks, but don't see how this would be remotely possible. Do any of you have "rules of thumb" for predicting when something is going to fit? I'm going to need lots of clothes for fall, as my winter wardrobe is now 2 sizes too big (and if I'm really lucky, maybe even 3 by then), and I HATE the mall.

yea same here. sometimes i can fnd a size 5 yay but others i have to get a size 9 but all the same just work with it. i try alot now to find big 5 so i can avoid the 9's

It IS a total cr*pshoot isn't it! especially, as you said, when there are inconsistancies within the same manufacturer. I don't have any helpful hints, just congrats to you for losing and needing new smaller clothes

I think it is very confusing and frustrating. It also has alot to do with the way we are built and age. I notice that loveit states she wears a size 5 or size 9. I weigh 159 and I am wearing a loose size 14, almost into a 12. I HATE having to try clothes on, but it does save me a trip to return something that didn't fit.

So frustrating! I'm a 12/14. Recently I ordered some pants in a 16 for the express purpose of them being big and loose and comfortable. How discouraging when they arrived and were too small!!! I exchanged them for 18s which fit (but not loose) and I immediately cut out the size tag!

I own two pairs of jeans (Hate buying "big" clothes, so I just keep the bare minimum of clothing on hand)

One pair is a pair of 16s that are really getting baggy.
One pair is a pair of 18s that are pretty tight and hurty.

Lame!

i think alot has to do with how the body is formed. Alot of people tell me i dont look the weight that i am. but i think as far as pants its easy for my becuz i have a big top no boobies but my arm and chest are a bit bigger then i wish. i have alwayes had tone legs but tummy and arms are horrible

yes, agree with everyone else. There's no rule of thumb because the whole system is ridiculous. Or rather there isn't a system.

Shoes don't seem too bad (once you figure out whether it's supposed to be australian size, uk size, europe size or US size) so there's no excuses why clothes have to be so variable.

Gosh.... *grin*

I'm envious. Everything I buy is in large, larger and largest. So, I don't have much in the way of advice. I also find that shopping and trying things on that I like, but don't fit.. is a great way to motivate myself.

Mostly, I'm posting though, to congratulate you on your weightloss. I think yours is a fabulous problem to have and I truly hope I get to have it someday, too! :-)

Beth, your post made me smile. Yes, I am lucky to be in single-digit sizes (and believe me, it isn't always so!), but your dilemma is exactly the same- how do you know whether to try on "large" or "larger"?

Good to know I'm not the only one out there struggling, but I really wish there were industry standards for measurements, like Ange points out we have for shoes. I can definitely order those off the internet. Wish I could get jeans the same way...

I think the larger you are the more different ways the weight could be distributed. Like my widest part is my hips, so all pants must fit over them, but someone my weight with small hips could wear a much smaller size.

some mail order sites have the measurments for each size included in the catologs or online sites. I find the more expensive the cloths the more accurate the chart is. Lands end and Eddie Bauer are perfect, most coloths even include the length. Coldwater Creek is my favorite, all the cloths run larger than the stated size but it's consistent. Plus they have FANTASTIC sales and free return shipping labels are included with every order.

I actually ignore sizes entirely when I'm shopping.

This isn't helpful for if you're shopping online, but when I shop in the stores, I basically look through the rack of clothes and select things that seem to be the right size and fit for me. If I'm not sure which looks like my size, I try on the same style garment in a couple of different sizes at once. In the changing room, I pay attention to whether the garment fits my body in the way that I'd like, rather than to the arbitrary number sewn into the size tag. I'm quite fussy, and only buy something if it looks good on my shape, I'm more than happy to put something back if the garment just doesn't fit me well.

I also like to select the size based on how I want it to fit, rather than how the manufacturer wants it to fit (for example, in tops, here there is a fashion for extremely loose-fitting, baggy things, and on my shape that looks awful, so I'd try on a smaller size to see if it suits me as a more fitted garment).

I have really got beyond caring what size clothes I buy, since everyone knows sizes vary so much from place to place, and even within stores, from style to style. The best judge of whether something fits me is me and my own eyes, hence my decision to ignore what the tag says and just go on my own judgment. It's so much easier to do that, and now I'm left with a wardrobe full of clothes that fit me really nicely, rather than things that are "my size" but look ill-fitting and unflattering. I can often predict what things will suit my shape and what things won't, but I tend to avoid buying online (unless it's something extremely basic, or something I can't get in stores), simply because it's a hassle if you have to return it!

there is a great website called MYSHAPE you input a TON of measurements and it will tell you what will look good on your shape and tell you what size to order! OK I will give you that I would like there to be more vendors (more come online all the time) but they take a ton of guess work out of it and you can find which brands may suit you the best.

It does take some time to fill out the list of mesurments and preferances and you will need a soft tape measure but in the end it is well worth it.

I have found the things I have bought all fit and when going shopping or to marshals or tj's or shopping online I know which brands will fit and even better what size to take into the dressing room.

-L

Tinycities, you are quite right- I can eyeball clothes, guess at the fit, and try on multiple sizes of each. The issue is, THIS IS A LOT OF WORK. And would be completely unnecessary if manufacturers would only agree to keep to uniform size standards (the way they do in other countries). I too will sometimes prefer a style that is meant to be looser, to be more form-fitting (or vice-versa), but wouldn't it be lovely to be able to mail-order something cute from a catalog, and know it will fit?

L144S, I think that site is a pay-site? And for us dieters, it is especially unhelpful, since our dimensions change every month. I'd forever be updating it.

Regards everyone,
Andrea