being a size?

[keryx]

There was a spot on the Today Show this morning [The Today Show - your finger on the pulse of America!] about 'vanity sizing' and the ever-evolving tendency of brands and designers to alter size numbers. The segment was clearly coming from the perspective that we are all very silly and easily fooled by designers 'flattering' us that we wear smaller sizes than we actually do.

Which is interesting. Is there really a One True Size 8? The number on a tag is just a number on a tag, barring the use of standardized size measurements, isn't it? The Torrid, for instance, likes to use 0-4; they're not numbers that correspond to anything - they're just the five sizes the store carries, numbered from 0 up because they used to not go as small (thus, started at 1). I actually like that better than their 12-26 sizes; the numbers feel more rational.

I have always been a little weirded out by the whole idea that a women is a size, which I remember seeing when I was 10 and reading those Sweet Valley High books. Both twins were referred to often as 'being' size 6. I think that was supposed to call up an image of slim perfection.

Finally coming to my point - all the women talking on the show this morning clearly had some aspect of their identity tied to being a certain size, but they all seemed pleasingly shocked to find they now matched a different, lower, number than they had in the past. Lower was better, thus I suppose the appeal of 'vanity' sizing - and I bet it's that same SVH idea that a size is a numeric indication of relative perfection.

Comments

[jane-ire.livejournal.com]

It seems like there must be some kind-of standard for sizing that exists, at least for use within the industry. But (and I've given this a lot of thought in the past) clothing designers then choose to assign random numbers to those sizes that are relative only to each other within that brand. So while I could be a size 0 in one brand, I could easily wear a 4 in another, etc. I think this "relative sizing" (my term) is much more prevalent in younger women's clothing, as the more I shop for professional attire the more the sizes seem to correspond across brands. Then, this would make the ability for women to identify with a particular size a realistic conception of themselves.

Also, I totally remember the Sweet Valley High books. I think that if they were written today, the twins would no longer be a size 6. In today's world teens have the Lindsay Lohan's to compete with and compare themselves to.

[keryx.livejournal.com]

True, it doesn't seem like a "size 6" is a standard anymore (if it was to begin with).