COSMOPOLITAN June 2015 163
“
- NAME HAS BEE
N CHA
NGED. GETTY IMAGES
size 14, ’cos I just couldn’t deal
with not being a size 12,” she
says. “Now, I don’t even look
at the label. I just think, ‘Will
this fit me?’”
Sadly, not all women
have achieved Sam’s state of
size-related Zen. Christie* is
a boutique owner who imports
garments from Europe – and
the labels are two sizes up
from what you’d expect.
“I have to explain to
some customers who usually
buy a size 10 that in my shop,
they’re a 14,” she says. “I’ll
always make it clear that it’sjust the way the sizing works
with the manufacturers, but
the response can be shocking- some women have burst into
tears, demanding I measure
them again, and some have
even become aggressive.”
Is it any wonder that
so-called “vanity sizing” (a
phenomenon where clothes
are being labelled up smaller
than a few years ago) is such
a widespread practice? And
what exactly does it say about
our culture – that we’re more
likely to part with our cash
for a garment in a smaller
size, even though our body
shape remains the same?
SIZE MATTERS
Vanity aside, the discrepancy
in sizing between brands
means it’s difficult to know“I WON’T
EVEN TRY IT
ON IF I NEED
A [BIGGER]
SIZE THAN
I USUALLY
WEAR”WHAT’S IN A
NUMBER?
Perhaps it’s hardly surprising
so many of us have become a
bit precious when it comes to
dress sizes – fitting not only
a set of measurements, but a
social definition. “I think the
way women feel about dress
sizes gives you an insight in
to their state of mind,” says
Sam Tomlin from Models of
Diversity, an agency that aims
to broaden the range of sizes,
shapes, ages and races we see
in the fashion industry.
“I used to cut the label
out of any clothes that werewhat to order when shopping
online. UK campaign group
Curve Collective launched a
petition on Twitter last year
that aimed to standardise
sizing across all retailers.
Fashion commentator
Caryn Franklin, co-founder
of activist group All Walks
Beyond the Catwalk (which
was behind the introduction
of size-16 mannequins in a
popular UK department store),
is sceptical. “We can’t have
standardised sizing because
we don’t have standardised
bodies,” she says. “By that, I
mean Topshop’s size 12 caters
mostly for a younger, more
fashion-forward customer. A
brand such as Wallis [similar
to Sussan in Australia] on the
other hand, uses its size 12 to
fit an older woman who has
probably had children and is
likely to be middle-aged. Her
body will be a different shape,
with a thicker waist, fuller
tummy and breasts placed
lower. Each retailer [caters]
for its own demographic.”
Plus-size designer Remi
Ray says the way forward is
to make positive associations
when it comes to how we all
label our clothes and bodies,
rather than just changing the
labels themselves. The term
“plus size”, for example, has
been fully embraced by some
women as synonymous with
positivity, while other women
consider it stigmatising, as
the word “plus” suggests a
surplus – that we’re larger
than we “should” be.
“One of the reasons the
‘plus-size’ wave has been so
successful is because it’s about
acceptance, being confident
and comfortable,” says Ray.
“It highlights that you are
more than the size of your
clothes and society’s view of
what that says about you.”
When I posed the size
question on Twitter, peopleSeems one
size doesn’t
really fit all.were quick to point out that
women at the other end of the
size spectrum struggle with
fluctuation, too. “Despite [my
body] having the exact same
measurements, my clothing
size has gone from an 8-10
to a 6-8 in the past 10 years,”
says Sarah, 28. “It means I’m
often stuck buying [clothes]
from specialist stores online.”THE FUTURE
OF FASHION
So what’s the solution? Online
retailer Asos, which stocks an
impressive range of sizes (from
size 2 to 28), is leading the
way in the new trend of body
scanning. Its project, Size
Asos, scanned a cross-section
of customers’ bodies, which
then allowed the company’s
designers to better understand
the specific shape and size
requirements of its target
demographic. In turn, this
will inform future designs.
In future, body scanning
could become a whole lot more
sophisticated – as we enter a
shop, we’ll be able to send our
unique body measurements
using our smartphones, and
be recommended a range of
products to suit our shape.
“It could be a chance to
do away with numbers in the
back of garments and think
about another coding system
altogether,” says Franklin.
In the meantime, though,
it seems many of us require
an attitude makeover. During
my investigation into sizing,
I heard several otherwise-
confident women say things
such as, “Even if a dress looks
fab, I won’t even try it on if
I need a size that’s bigger
than I usually wear.” Surely
it’s now time for us to look
beyond the mass-produced
clothing labels and instead
see women as the individuals
that they are. #body love