I’m not thin but neither am I large. In the local Asian brand market, I usually take an M (Medium) size for clothes without being over ambitious.
Yet going into to Western (American, British or European) clothes stores, I find I’m fitting into sizes like XS, S (MNG, Zara, Banana Republic) 0, 2 (Banana Republic, Gap) 8 (Marks & Spencer, TopShop or any British brand). The question is, am I really fitting into those tiny sizes? If I am, then how on earth are the even slimmer or smaller sized girls fitting into anything in these brands?
This is the phenomenon of vanity sizing. I personally believe that vanity sizing exists. Why I say so is because when you compare men and women’s clothing sizes, you’d notice that most men’s sizes are constant across most brands. Men’s shirts are measured by collar size (which don’t differ by very much), chest and sleeve length and men’s pants are measured by waist and length of the leg. That’s mostly all there is to men’s wear I’ve found. Know a man’s collar and waist size and you can invariably shop for your man at any time, even with him absent, without too much fear of his clothes not fitting.
Try with with women’s clothes and you have a nightmare on your hands. Continue Reading