Women’s Clothing Brands Need To Get It Together

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a good week so far. Today’s post is a little different. While I was at Target on Sunday, I decided to try on some new jeans. My pants have been loose for a while and I’ve just been a little lazy with getting new ones when tightening my belt has been enough. This post is going to have some real talk in it so just keep that in mind.

Now a few weeks ago, I placed an order at Macy’s and grabbed a pair of my beloved Levi’s in one size smaller. When I say I couldn’t even pull them up over my thighs, I’m not kidding. Now I was annoyed because it left me feeling like I was just going to be stuck in between sizes for a while even though I could tell I would need smaller pants soon.

While at Target the other day, I decided to try on jeans again. I figured maybe it was just the style that didn’t work with my body. So I grabbed a size 6 skinny jeans and headed to the dressing room. They were big. Not just a little big but “a belt would help big”, they were “they looked huge on me” big. So I grabbed one size smaller. Still big. I was in disbelief at that point. Yes I’ve lost weight but there was no way I would fit in a size 2. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been a size 2. Yet they fit.

When I got home, I told Alex because it was just ridiculous that a 28 in one brand wouldn’t go over my thighs but a size 2 in another fit perfectly. It got me thinking that maybe it was the same with men’s clothing to. So I asked Alex if his sizing changed based on the brand. He informed me that nope, he’s consistent across all brands. Now I can’t take one male’s experience and apply it to every male everywhere. That’s unrealistic but it seems like that’s the case because I’m pretty sure my brother’s are the same way. Upon checking the sizing guides for multiple brands, men’s clothing is consistent across all brands.

I looked at both of the sizing charts for the brands. The Levi’s that didn’t fit were a size 28 which is equivilant to a size 6 and corresponds to a waist of 25 – 26 inches with hips being 36.25 – 37.25 inches. The brand of jeans I was trying on at Target was called Universal Thread. A size 2 (the size I ended up buying) corresponds to a 26.75 inch waist and a hip size of 36 inches. While I haven’t tried any other brands on recently, a look at a variety of brands sizing charts shows different measurements for different sizing. Why is the size so different for fairly close measurements in the waist and hip?

Women’s clothing brands are so inconsistent with sizing. It’s not okay. Luckily, I’m comfortable enough in my own skin that being a size 2 in one brand and a size 8 in another isn’t that big of a deal. But what if I wasn’t comfortable enough for that? What if I was someone who put their self worth on the size of clothing I wear? If I’m a size 2 then I’m pretty or skinny or whatever the adjective may be that I would chose to call myself. Even if I had a pair of size 0 and thought I was good enough but then in another brand had to go up multiple sizes, that could really hurt someone who is struggling. Women shouldn’t have to go into a store and try on 10 pairs of pants just to find what fits.

A size 4 should be a size 4 across all brands. I get maybe going one size up or down depending on the style. But 3 sizes smaller?  That’s not okay.  What high up executive decided that a size 2 for Target is the same as a 28 in Levi’s? Apparently someone who doesn’t care about what the constant changing and inconsistent sizing can be taxing on the female brain. How come men’s clothing is the same across the board but women can’t get any consistency? It’s just plain stupid.

Maybe I’m ridiculous in thinking that brands need to all conform to one way of sizing. But in today’s diet culture and the social media comparison trap, clothing companies shouldn’t be playing into that. Clearly this is something that really bothered me the other day haha and hopefully I’m not the only one who has noticed and finds it a little ridiculous.

Question of the day: Do you agree with me on this about female clothing brands and their sizing?