For a group that makes up more than half of the world’s population, women don’t seem to be respected, considered, or regarded as highly as they should be. As valued as we should be. Such a notion is painfully obvious in the lack of care or attention in multiple aspects of life. Our healthcare is not a top priority; we are often dismissed and neglected. Our feelings are labelled as ‘overdramatic’ and ‘inappropriate.’ Studies ignore us, and society makes fun of us. 

We are conditioned to be interested in beauty and make-up. To gear our entire condition into looking good for others while marketing it as ‘feeling good for ourselves.’ Our value is based on our appearance. When we are young, we are bombarded by influences to get work done on our bodies so as to appear older. When we are older, we are flooded with products to use and procedures to get done in order to look younger. 

We are never just enough as we are. Even our clothes do not fit right. Women’s sizing is less than uniform across brands and styles. 

Why are women’s clothing sizes so inconsistent? It seems like a form of blatant disrespect from the fashion industry not to put the effort or care into creating a universal sizing across brands for women and their clothing. 

Women are the main actors in consumer spending when it comes to clothes shopping, clocking in 85 percent of all spending for the industry. The average woman spends around 16 days per year shopping and over 2000 dollars on clothes. So it would make sense to tailor the industry towards them. To ensure that their needs are met. That their experience is seamless and simple. 

But it is anything but. Clothes shopping for women is increasingly stressful and overwhelming. It is discouraging and greatly time-consuming. Many of us end up wearing ill-fitting clothes simply due to how exhausting the shopping process is. Trying on three pairs of jeans in sizes that you know fit you in other stores just to leave sweaty, discouraged, and empty-handed is enough to steer you clear of the mall for as long as possible.

Premediated? Or Do Brands Simply Not Care?

Such a fluke is too large to be a coincidence. It gives the impression that brands do not care about the quality of the shopping experience their consumers have. While an individual might be a size six in one store, they could go into the next one and discover they are a size ten. This problem is infamous among various clothing brands for women, both those known and those less popular. 

There are a few different reasons behind this. A lack of industry-wide standards is the foundation of this headache. Since there is no mandated or enforced sizing chart, brands tend to follow their own definition of what each size equates to. Different models used for each brand heavily influence how they market their clothing, with sizes being found to vary up to seven centimeters in the waist between stores. 

They take what their ‘ideal body type’ looks like- often based on their models- and design it off of that information. Target audiences and demographics also impact each brand’s sizing charts. Clothing stores that are aimed towards teenagers will have wildly different sizing when compared to stores made for older women. They take into account their average body shapes and profiles, and create a sizing label around that. 

As that information is by no means a general piece of statistics across all women, clothing sizes tend to fluctuate, even changing between items in the same store. The fit of the material also has an impact on how a piece of clothing fits, making denim jeans fit a size four and linen pants a size eight for the same person. 

The increase of fast-fashion has left negative consequences on the shopping experience. Because of how quickly brands are designing their production cycles, they cannot keep up with the specific sizing charts they themselves have created. Inconsistencies are born, and brands don’t seem to care. 

Psychology Behind the Clothing Rack

We all want to feel good and look good. Most of us get our confidence from our appearance, and if we don’t think that we look our best, we won’t feel our best. Clothing brands know that. And it’s a part of the question: Why are women’s clothing sizes so inconsistent? 

Because clothing brands are tricking us. 

Vanity sizing has become a major player in how brands design their size charts. They know that women will shop more if they feel better about themselves and their bodies, so they have altered the labels. 

Vanity sizing is when brands size clothes smaller than they actually are, changing a size 14 to a size ten, for example. This makes the shopper feel like they are a smaller size than they truly are, and in turn, more likely to purchase clothing. 

Because of the skinny-epidemic attacking women across the country right now, a smaller size is sure to boost the shoppers’ confidence and raise their self-esteem. Vanity sizing is admiteddlt a smart marketing strategy on the products’ side, but is quite harmful to the shopper. In making these adjustments, it only further exacerbates the inconsistencies in sizing charts. Sure, it gives a nice boost of confidence when you fit into a smaller size- albeit a falsity- but it widens the divide when compared to other brands’ sizing. 

To counter all of these obstacles, the best solution is to simply take your own measurements. It’s not worth it to keep track of which store is which size for you, as they change their own charts too much. If you have your individual measurements on hand, you can translate them to the sizing tables that brands have on their websites. 

Clothes shopping should be a tolerable, if not enjoyable, experience. So while your size might vary from place to place, your measurements will stay the same, alleviating the constant trial and error that comes with shopping. It’s important to remember that you are not the size in your clothes. You are more than whatever number you happen to be wearing in this moment. You are enough, just on your own.

Have you noticed this stressful part of shopping? Let us know in the comments below!