Vanity sizing

There is one thing I am sure all women can agree on though. It doesn't matter what size you are, it's different in whichever shop you go into and fits vary wildly! It would be lovely to get some standardisation. Though as already said it's difficult to cater for everyone (more for women than for men as there seems to be a lot more variation in shape).

EDIT: Are people really silly enough to fall for the vanity sizing though? I mean really??? Say you go in and find a dress that is amazing on you and you feel fantastic in it but on the label it says you are 2 sizes bigger. Would women really not buy it? I wouldn't care, if you look good, you look good, what does a number on a label really mean anyway?
 
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Frank_Worth_with_Marilyn_Monroe.jpg


Size 12 uk?
 
Muban said:
There is one thing I am sure all women can agree on though. It doesn't matter what size you are, it's different in whichever shop you go into and fits vary wildly! It would be lovely to get some standardisation. Though as already said it's difficult to cater for everyone (more for women than for men as there seems to be a lot more variation in shape).
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Agree on that, it's very annoying.
 
Standardisation would be fantastic, i'm such a bizarre mix of sizes that i HAVE to try things on even in the same shop two things the same size one might fit the other might not.
 
every some amount of years they take some women and they measure there vitals so and they decide were to increase or decrease or modify the sizes unfortunately people get more fatter every time.
 
JodieG said:
Size 12 uk?
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In that pic no it doesn't look like it. But then I could easily find pics to illustrate my point. Judging by eye isn't exactly scientific either, her weight also varied over the years. So rather than that I used official studio figures. So for the MM debate I think i shall leave it there :) After all the main point of the thread was vanity sizing.
 
Blackstar said:
No i'd say 8/10 she looks very similar in shape to my younger sister, who is slim but is a size 8/10 but looks thinner because she has a large bust.
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I look similar to that (but not as good obviously) and have a larger bust still as I'm breastfeeding but do wear a size 8, sometimes 10 in tops. If she's a size 12/16 then so am I! I'm not trying to be arguementative at all honestly.

It doesn't really matter what size she was but the sizes have definitely changed since then. I'd love to be able to buy something without trying it on.
 
Muban said:
In that pic no it doesn't look like it. But then I could easily find pics to illustrate my point. Judging by eye isn't exactly scientific either, her weight also varied over the years. So rather than that I used official studio figures. So for the MM debate I think i shall leave it there :) After all the main point of the thread was vanity sizing.
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Agree with that and reminded me of another point, her weight did vary a lot so maybe some of the more well known pics were taken at a point when she weighed more? I guess she was just like the rest of us with the weight flucuations.
 
JodieG said:
Agree with that and reminded me of another point, her weight did vary a lot so maybe some of the more well known pics were taken at a point when she weighed more? I guess she was just like the rest of us with the weight flucuations.
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I'd have thought it more likely that it was the other way round, like a lot of models/actresses she probably dieted before shoots. I'm not certain but I think I read a small article years ago along much the same lines which stated that Ms Munroe used to walk around a lot heavier than when she was actually making films.
 
from Snopes:

Reliable documentary evidence is tough to come by for this sort of thing. Doctors might record a patient's height and weight, but not her dress size or measurements; other citings of Ms. Monroe's size are difficult to take at face value, as their sources (e.g., studio publicity shops) are known more for exaggeration and puffery than accuracy. Additionally, weight and other size measurements are mere snapshots: a mature person's height is unlikely to change significantly, but the other numbers can vary quite a bit over time.

So, what can we say with any certainty? We can at least establish a range of measurements for Marilyn Monroe based on the available sources:

Height: 5 feet, 5½ inches
Weight: 118-140 pounds
Bust: 35-37 inches
Waist: 22-23 inches
Hips: 35-36 inches
Bra size: 36D

A woman of Marilyn's height, at the extreme of Marilyn's weight range (140 lbs), would probably wear a size 12 dress today (which is the same dress size listed for Marilyn in the book The Unabridged Marilyn). Perhaps at one time she did wear dresses that might have been considered size 16 (or even 18) back in the 1950s, but she almost certainly did not wear dresses equivalent to today's size 16. This is borne out by citings such as the following (which might also be a source of some confusion, as a British size 16 would be the equivalent of an American size 12):
[The Times, 1994]
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you gotta take into account how the piece of clothing is intended to fit, eg a pair of 32" levis will most probably feel much looser than another brands 32" jeans
 
deps where its being worn, some jeans are higher, some are lower etc.

Tis a joke how stuff varies though, makes man's job much harder of buying woman gift, and increases our chance of getting it wrong (because sometimes we listen, and sometimes we pick up on the sizes you mention at certain shops being 2 small/2 big)
 
JodieG said:
They do but not like most women I don't think. Men are more straight up and down while women have hips that are curvy to necessitate childbirth. Not all of course, I don't have big hips at all but most women do.
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You think right. Or you don't think right :)

There is a strong tendency towards slightly different skeletal structure in that area between men and women, the upshot of which is that there is a strong tendency for women to have proportionally wider hips than men, most likely because it it's an advantage in childbirth. Women also tend to have more bodyfat there, making the effective size wider.

I'm being conservative when I say "strong tendency". I'm not certain, but it might even be an absolute difference. I know you can sex a human skeleton from its pelvis alone, but I don't know how. It might have nothing to do with anything that affects hips.
 
Wow long time no post in OCUK but couldn't help to with this thread.

Marilyn-Monroe-oversized-postcard--.jpg


Just thought I'd post this picture as a comparison to the one you posted above JodieG (as a reminder that we all fluctuate in weight. Hell, she could have been smaller in the picture you posted - I was smaller two years ago too. We all change.). Now if she's a size 6 then I am too. Bizarrely though, I have dresses at size 8 in my wardrobe, up to size 14, trousers from 10 - 12 and tights which are EXTRA large as the silly "Medium" sized ones (which apparently are my waist size according to the packaging) are too tight and short in length.

I gave my friend one of my size 12 fitted dresses to try on a while back (and she's smaller than me - generally size 8/10) and it was too tight in certain areas and mahoosive on her chest. Why? Because she's a completely different shape to me. So perhaps the people trying on Miss Monroes dress had the same problem?

Also, super sad of me but still, on a larger scale good ole Trinny and Suzanne got a bunch (I think 100... maybe 50) women who classified themselves as a size 14 to put on a standard size 14 dress... and funnily enough it only fitted one of those ladies well. Just one! Amazing? No, just obvious :)

I couldn't care a flying monkeys about what size I have to buy in the shop - as long as it fits well and looks good then that's fine. Hell, I've got me a size 16 Jacket - it looks blooming stunning on! I tried on other jackets elsewhere at size 10/12/14 and albeit they were nice... I preferred the one I saw before and went and bought it.

Inches are inches, fashion sizes are whatever they want to be. Does it all really matter in the end? No, not really :)

This weekend = *take off size 9 slippers (mens... ladies only went up to size 7s and despite being a size 7 I couldn't get into them), plonk on size 7boots, size "medium" jumper, size 16 jacket and get prepared to take back a size 10 top to Next which she got for Christmas.... as it's too big... despite having a huge bust.*

;) :rolleyes:
 
I don't notice a huge difference in sizing, but then I have never looked at myself and thought that I should actually be a size 6 or 8. Certain shops definately take huge liberties with their sizing though, as I can remember at one point I was a 10 in River Island, but a 6 in Next could still be big on me.

It would be nice if all stores could bring their sizes in line with each other, but it doesn't really bother me that much. Most of the time I'm an 8, and if I don't fit into an 8 it's almost certainly because I've put a bit of weight on rather than the fit of the clothes. I won't buy bigger than an 8, because I don't want to let my weight creep up, I'd rather use it as a reminder to be more healthy. I never try on tops, because I can tell just by looking if they'll fit me or not.
 
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