Clothing Sizes

I am puzzled by clothing sizes.  I have recently lost a little more than 70 pounds.  This is weight that I gained in my pregnancies but never lost.  So now I am a little less than 150 and wearing size 8 jeans. 

Here's the puzzler.  In my pre-pregnancy days I weighed about 115 pounds and wore a size 6.  And, I was much more muscular since I was dancing daily back then. (I really did have rock hard abs.)

Have dress sizes changed over the past 15 years?  I'm not complaining; but, I am confused.

I think they have.  I think everything is vanity sized now, some more than others.  I am wearing a much smaller size now than I did 20ish years ago at the same weight. 

I think it varies by the maker too. But it's puzzling for sure! I wore a size 4 ten years ago. And about 20 lbs heavier after my second baby, I could fit into a five comfortably. But they're different brands, different styles. I don't know how much weight constitutes a dress size. For me it's 20-25 lbs.

Thank you.  It's nice to see that others are experiencing the same thing.  Maybe I'm not so crazy after all!

Sizing has definitely gotten to be more "user complimentary".  I think it really varies also according to the maker.  For instance LL Bean and Coldwater Creek ten to run large, you can almost always buy a size smaller than you think you would need.  I think they like to play games with our heads and I think some of us like it!

yeah i think sizes have changed a lot over the years.  i always hear people saying that marilyn monroe was a size 14, but i've also heard that 1950's size 14 was nothing like 2000's size 14.  not even close.  plus when i was a size 14 my body looked nothing like hers lol.

actually Marylin Monroe was todays size 10. According to her measurements...lol. not obsessed...but my best friend is. haha. I should really turn on the selective hearing more.

yep, Monroe is a today's 10....and back then she was a 14....so basically they are giving us 4 size leeway for the tag.

There was one company that was going to start plus sizing at like a 4 or soemthing...so even if you wore a 22 or 24, it would really be like 4 or 6. They thought it would help ppl feel better when buying.

I do have to say, though. I have 3 pairs of pants from ONE brand and all of them fit completely differently than the other one. It's insane! It's impossible to just say ok, here's a 10, that's my size, let's go. it HAS to be tried on. Poo on that! haha

I think that a lot of how a size fits has to do with the cut and style of the article in question. For example, at 5'4" and 126 pounds, I'm currently a size 5/6 Aeropostale jean, but a 3/4 Old Navy jean.

Absolutely. 

But even factoring that in, sizes today are much bigger than they used to be.  I'm just now fitting back into some of my high school clothes (all 15-20 years old).  While I'm a size 8-10 in today's clothes, my high school clothes than fit are all size 12-14.  My favourite kilt is even an 18!  (Though that's in UK sizes, so it would have been a 14 US or 16 CAN at the time.)