Finding Your Size? Good Luck with That!

One of the fun things about losing weight is buying all new clothes, right? What sizes do you think these dresses are? 

I recently have had the fortune (or misfortune for my wallet) of needing to buy new clothes and trying to figure out what size I need in the wake of my 83 pound ongoing weight loss. Well here's the thing... good luck with that! What I have experienced while trying on and buying new clothes is that the discrepancies in women's sizes are even worse than I thought. This is not a unique problem to regularly sized women's clothes, as plus sizes are guilty of the same behavior. At my heaviest, I may have been a size 18W dress from one brand, a size medium from another brand, a size 24W for my jeans, a size 14W dress in yet another brand, and a size 18 regular dress from two others.

So why the variability?

There are no set standards or rules for clothing makers to use. As time has progressed and beauty standards have changed, so have the sizes on our tags. With the American populace becoming heavier, "vanity sizing" has taken over the market. From a merchant standpoint, this obviously makes good sense. Sell women the same size clothes with a smaller label and they will be happier and come back to you again. The classic example of Marilyn Monroe still holds true today. A postulated size 12 in her time, she could be anywhere from a size 0-8 today.

When I was shopping just recently, I bought dresses in sizes 12, 10, 16, and even size 6! I am still roughly 40 pounds heavier than I was in high school, when size 10-12 was my average size, so the fact I can wear that same size now is baffling. It is confusing and frustrating to have no idea what size clothes you will need until you try on a specific brand. Now, anyone who knows me knows I love my dresses, but right now shopping is feeling a little more like work than fun! Thank goodness for online shopping with free shipping and returns! 

Answers to the question above: 

• A: 14W
• B: 16W
• C: 14
• D: 12
• E: 6