So, here’s the day in which I post something very, very important to me.
Over the last few years, five years to be exact, I have been keeping track of how the size charts of some of the major chain clothing stores have changed over time. What I have found is a systematic enlargement of most sizes over time.
Thus, a size 12 today is much closer to what a size 14 was a few years ago.
What does that mean for us? Oh, many things, but there are two that stand out for me:
- One, it does in fact mean that larger women can buy clothes in these chains. That’s a good thing.
- However, it also demonstrates that, since so many women “grade” themselves on the size clothing they wear, they are judging themselves against a moving, arbitrary target that deserves to be revealed as such.
So, I’ll post my charts here and hope that the following message comes across:
Our importance in this world has NOTHING to do with our clothing size.
Being a size this or a size that is an arbitrary standard that changes over time. Being a size 12 is not a value judgment.
Find places that make clothes that fit you. Not some vision of you that corresponds to a number. You will fall in-between sizes at places you love. Do not take it personally. Find another place you love. What is the Internet for if not for that. Rant over. Facts begin.
[Oh, and as will become obvious, I haven’t been tracking ALL of the sizes. Just the ones that apply to me: 12, 14 and 16]
