My boyfriend is 6’1”, 225 pounds and wears a size 36 jeans. I am 5’6”, 165 pounds and wear a size 12. The other day, I borrowed my boyfriend’s pants to wear to work and they fit about as well as most of my own.
I recently wrote a piece about the history behind women’s clothing sizes, and during my research I learned that clothes are not sized with people in mind. That is to say, a designer creates the blueprint for clothes, a factory makes them and a third party (whether that be a Macy’s or a Walmart or a Court Street shop) sells those clothes to consumers.
The people who created my pants likely used a model who is smaller than, as well as shaped differently than I am. For that matter, when the people who made my boyfriend’s pants were designing, I seriously doubt they had my body type in mind.
All my life, I’ve struggled to find clothes that actually fit my body. A pair of jeans may fit in the hip, but not in the waist. A dress that’s too small in the chest fits perfectly everywhere else. For an American woman, shopping for clothes is difficult and I used to get so mad and wonder why designers couldn’t just make clothes for every body type.
It took a combination of researching sizing standards and discovering that my boyfriend and I (who are not the same size) wear the same size jeans for me to accept the fact that size doesn’t matter.
Not only does your clothing size have nothing to do with your value as a person (and therefore, should not significantly impact your self-esteem), but clothing sizes, especially for women’s clothing, are arbitrary.
In other words, a “12," a “Large," and a “1X” are terms that could be applied to similar clothing items in different lines. When it comes to women’s sizes, every designer uses a different sizing chart for their own line. So, is it all that realistic to expect the ready-to-wear, cookie-cutter clothing in any department store to consistently fit us perfectly? Even if it is “the right size”?
The fashion industry has no obligation to the betterment of society as a whole. The industry is not here to promote body positivity, nor inclusivity. If anything, the industry thrives off of exclusivity and, some might say, low self-esteem. So no, we cannot expect designers — professionals, artists working for their own interests — to accommodate all people, and we cannot depend on the fashion industry to place each person’s individual needs over its own profit.
The good news is, we don’t have to depend on the industry. If you want good quality clothing that fits you, do your research. Learn how to read, compare and use sizing charts. Shoot, learn how to sew and make your own clothes if you’d like.
Understand that you are not entitled to the clothes you wear, that scores of people were involved in producing the shirt on your shoulders, and not one of those people knows (or cares) about you, your size, or your life.
Then, knowing this, relax.
Kayla Beard is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University. What has your experience been with clothing sizes? Let Kayla know by emailing her at kb851412@ohio.edu.
