Vanity Sizing: What’s Your Take?

Wearing a size 6 back in 1971? You better have a 22-inch waist!

Sometimes it really amazes me how big sizes have gotten in recent years. While I was in Salt Lake City, I visited a fabulous vintage store called Decades, and it was really an eye-opener. Among things I noticed – a dress that had to be pinned on a mannequin, because it was too small to fit her; a size 8 sweater dress that I could never have gotten on without ripping it; a size XXL Chinese print jacket that was only slightly big. We held up item after item, wondering whoever could have been small enough to fit into some of these things (which never went below a size 6).
Fast forward to today, where an XXL jacket is fit for someone weighing over 200 pounds, size 4 jeans are suspiciously roomier than they once were (and you haven’t lost weight) and sizes start at 00, or 0 in adult stores.
The places I’ve noticed this most are less expensive stores like Old Navy and the Gap. Old Navy especially – suspiciously enough, I am only one size bigger than I was when I was around 95 pounds in high school.
I’ve grown tired of finding an honest size – so I like to buy pants that are sized by waist in inches. Admittedly this isn’t perfect either, but some more upscale brands do it, and there’s a little less guesswork involved.
Will this trend continue? Will naturally skinny people be forced to shop in childrens’ departments? (This is already true for some). Or will they start making sizes like -2, -4, and -6? Think of the possibilities – “What size are those jeans you’re wearing, a zero?” “No, they’re a negative two. Zeros are huge on me!”

What do you think of this trend? Let me know in the comments!

Claire

(Image from Etsy.com)