The Many Myriad Sizes In Your Closet

[sbk]

The Many, Myriad Sizes In Your Emotionally Manipulative ClosetTrying on clothes recently, I found that the sizes of the garments varied. Widely. One shirt was a Large; another an XL, another an XXL. Pants ranged from 14 to 16 to 18 to 20. An informal poll of coworkers revealed that we all have a minimum of three different sizes in our wardrobes. What the hell?

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Standardized Sizing Is A Joke

Sometimes it's not you, it's the system. if you wear a Small T-shirt from Old Navy, you'll need a Medium at Abercrombie & Fitch. If you have a 31-inch waist, you're a Medium at LL Bean, but the largest possible jeans at Hollister won't fit. You cannot shop there. There's no overall synergy between Juniors, Misses and Women's sizing, and even those names are ridiculous. Does any of it make sense? Not really!

No kidding, I probably have 3 different sizes in my closet.

[Goinghomesoon]

I was just thinking the same as I was packing some winter clothing into boxes to be stored until we next go back home. My Aussie 12s and 14s are often the size of a Thai XXXL or even larger!

[redfish44]

In Thailand I range from M to L to LL to XL (have been M and XL in the same brand - although M a rarity and a personal moment of triumph, as were the LL knickers).

Went back to Aus recently to buy maternity wear, and was staggered to find I was an S at 4 months pregnant.

Was also very chuffed to be a size 10 in knickers too!

Most clothes in Aus a 10 or 12, but can be 14 too, range S to L. Am usually bigger size in jackets in Aus as have gridiron player shoulders.

I have bras in 8 different sizes, and haven't bought any maternity ones yet....

[Carry]

Shopping in Thailand for me is usually not very fruitful or at least a little depressing, love the blunt way someone in a jeans shop will say: No you are too big! ....lol

True many different sizes espec. in jeans [the ones that just go by confection and not by length...]

Edited March 16, 2011 by Carry

[sbk]

I love it when a saleswoman looks at me and says "oh farang big" and yet the saleswoman is bigger than me

The irony of it always gives me a good laugh

[eek]

One time i went into Jaspal here and an XS dress was too big. That had me wanting to throw the dress up in the air. Absolutely stupid.

In Thailand i am generally a small size in the "good" shops. but work out more of a medium in the general shops.

I never trust sizing..anywhere.

Total farce.

Talking of sales ladies, i learned early on the stupidity of the size pre-judgment on farangs. When i first arrived in Thailand i was underweight. I had been working out a lot and not eating as much as i should have been. at around 5'7", i was around 7 1/2 stone or so (around 105 pounds). I went into mbk and one lady said "no have big size" and i was aghast. She was standing there with a little squat body, telling me the clothes she was selling wouldnt fit my very slim frame. no skin off my nose, she was the one losing out on a possible sale. I just moved on to another store. never had it happen in Chiang Mai though (oh except one male vendor who insisted i wouldnt fit into a certain size of shorts..well he insisted that "farangs" wouldnt fit into that size..and i doubted myself, and i wanted them, so bought the size up, and they turned out too big..go figure!). Actually i recently had a few "ตัวไทย" (body Thai) comments, meaning they think i have a small frame (like a Thai). Which..I suppose..is meant as a compliment..but at the same time its a big frustrating.. not only Thai people are slim in this world..lol. (no disrespect meant, just that it does come across as quite a backhanded compliment and a bit of a dig at other countries..maybe im reading too much into it though!).

[PattayaParent]

My missus had problems fiinding sizes to fit her in the Middle East, she ended up in the teens shops to get size 6 jeans and in the teens section of M&S to get a dress that was supposedly for a 14 year old.

Edit: Recently in Bangkok she bought a bra in her size that turned out to be too small when we got home, so going to the local branch (Central) they told her she needs a size bigger in that particular style. All other styles of the same brand were right, just that one style was different sizing for some reason?

Edited March 16, 2011 by PattayaParent

[sbk]

Rule number 1: Always try on bras! I never buy a bra without trying it on first, sizing issues aside, sometimes they just don't fit right.

[BigCan]

Speaking of bras... Anyone had the salesperson put the bra on for you over your clothes? All the while they are giggling and saying Big Big! My mother was visiting when that happened, and she thought it was hilarious.

Large (er) breasts are such a pain both in terms of sizing and also in terms of attention. Took me a while to figure out what my students were whispering about when they said 'bee mil.' Poorly enunciated version of big milks! Put a stop to that one quickly!!

[PattayaParent]

Rule number 1: Always try on bras! I never buy a bra without trying it on first, sizing issues aside, sometimes they just don't fit right.

Not always possible if I'm doing the shopping though, they'd never have my size!!

[Konini]

I'm English but lived in Australia for 20 years. Australian size 10 is English size 12. No doubt at all. I barely squeeze into an English size 10, a 12 fits perfectly there. I believe that Australian size 10 is US size 8, but it could be a size 6 (I have a pair of US Levi jeans size 8 and they're baggy). In my wardrobe I have various clothes ranging from size 8 to size 14. OK, the 14 is a bit on the big side, but I can still pull it off. In Australia there is no real standard or consistency - mostly I'm size 10, but I can buy size 8 in one shop, 10 in another, 12 in another and they all fit. So annoying.