Clothing makers - perception skewed!!!!! I Hope!!

[lindsayanne0]

Okay....I'm a little miffed. I am CONVINCED that depending on WHERE you are shopping or WHAT clothing maker you are shopping, their perception of women's sizes is ABSOLUTELY skewed. No big deal until you're the person trying to find the right size! My case:

All my clothes in my closet are currently either size 10's or 12's and a pair of size 8 jeans that I was proudly able to snugly fit in last week! I've come down from a snug size 14. I swim 3 to 4 times per week. I own two swim suits - one is now too big for me and the other is getting worn out. Swimsuits aren't exactly in stock everywhere you go here in Colorado right now so I thought my best bet was to go to a sports store to get a new one. Plus I thought if I got one from there perhaps they would be made better and last longer for all the swimming I do.

ANYWAY, I start out with a size 10/36 (Speedo brand). NO WAY. Okay...I figured I'm sure the next size up should do it. I grabbed a pair of the next size up - size 12's. Still pretty tight. I was getting a little frustrated but figured that perhaps the Speedo brand runs small. So I went back and got the NEXT size up. I still was bulging out all over! I frustratingly grabbed a SIZE 16 and tried it on. It still fit horribly. At this point , I threw on my size 10 slacks and my loose fitting size 12 shirt and decided today was not the day for me to get a new suit.

Now...I know that swimsuit shopping is not fun in general. But it's pretty disheartening to walk in wearing size 10's and not even be able to fit in to THEIR size 16's!

Okay...vent done. Thanks.

[rosie321]

Re: Clothing makers - perception skewed!!!!! I Hope!!

The same thing happened to me at the Gap this weekend. I was trying on their new jeans and not only could I not get my normal size on my body but the next size up was even snug. I was freaking out until I talked to the sales girl and she said that everyone has been going a size up. Lesson learned: talk to the sales people because they usually have a handle on what's running big or small and can offer some reassurance.

[not2late]

Re: Clothing makers - perception skewed!!!!! I Hope!!

Women's clothing sizes vary from brand to brand. So don't worry about it. Heck, I've even seen slight variations between pieces of clothing of the same brand, style and size! I learned this trick from my college roommate. You get two of the same size and brand, then you stack them on top of each other, making sure the seams line up. For slacks you want the inseams to line up, then you compare the outer seams. For blouses, line up the shoulder seams and see if the under arm and bodice seams line up. Again, I've found differences of 1/4 to 1/2 inch on each side----which makes a big difference.

[hopejoy]

Re: Clothing makers - perception skewed!!!!! I Hope!!

I just ordered 2 new bathing suits from Landsend... I like their suits bc I can buy them with a long torso... they are pretty good about fit and if you don't like it you can send it back without a problem. I have been buying suits from them for years and really like them. Very rarely have I sent any back. Also right now they are having a bunch of sales... so even better!
no i don't work for Landsend.
liz

[imagood1]

Re: Clothing makers - perception skewed!!!!! I Hope!!

Brands and stores differ from size to size. It use to be you could order clothing from any catalog and you knew they would fit. Now, you can do to a mall, enter 5 different stores and I bet you come out wearing 5 different sizes. It's ridiculous.

[WetBanana]

Re: Clothing makers - perception skewed!!!!! I Hope!!

I was a competitive swimmer and wore a size 32 bathing suit. I was also pretty hefty, around 180-190 lbs during High School. Of course those were my racing suits. The ones I practiced in, I had to get size 38's because I wanted to have the polyester suits so I never had to get new practice suits because they never fade, plus the original ones never stretched. I had my polyester suits for about 3 years of practicing 2 hour practices 10X per week. Once I quit when I finished HS, I think the dog got ahold of them accidentally. I wasn't very happy.

I go for the polyblends now - I don't remember what size I'm in, but I'm fine with regular suits like TYR and Speedo. I find TYR to run just a bit larger then Speedo though.

I swam Masters for 2 years, but it got too expensive for me to keep up with and keep my son doing activities...I'd like to go back, just not sure when I'll have the money to do it.

SO - bathing suits do size differently depending on what you're buying, what your needs are with it, and the brand.