{Disclaimer: This is not about healthy living and/or responsible diet and exercise. I am obviously not responsible in the area of healthy diet, but I do exercise somewhat often. I'm no example of healthy living, as I've just eaten candy corn for dinner. Take this for what it's worth.}
If you're not familiar with it, or if you like reading about the downward spiral that is body image...
What size are you, really?
The Insanity of Size 0
Using vanity sizing to sell more
Numbers are meaningless
I suppose I should start out with the fact that, in 2005, I bought my first pair of size 2s at American Eagle. It. was. thrilling.
For 2 years, they were my yardstick. Finally, I got annoyed and threw them away. Size 2s were not for me after all.
In the summer of 2009, after a weight gain/weight loss cycle, I bought my second pair of size 2s. Dang. It felt good. I still had it in me!
They became my yardstick. For almost 3 years.
Currently, they are at the bottom of the guest room closest.
No need for that stuff anymore. I'm sick of them.
I am so tired of jeans making me feel bad about myself. I've discussed this in my Body Image Fail. post and in what I consider to be my first honest post on this blog: I hate jeans.
I just think we need to realize that every brand is different. Every style within a brand is different.
Take these Aerie super-soft skinny pants.
They are a size 8.
My Aerie skinny jeans? Size 6.
My Arizona skinny jeans? Size 5
But this dress from Loft? It's a ZERO. Wtf.
So the people who wear a size 0 at Aerie or American Eagle...what size dress do they order at Loft?
I guess they don't.
(For the record, this dress is the only size 0 anything I've ever owned. My wedding dress was a size 6. And no, I can no longer wear a 2 at American Eagle. Apparently those models on the website are 15 years old.)
I'm so confused.
Is there are such thing as "people who wear a size 0 at American Eagle"?? Because I kinda doubt they exist. In fact, my 4th grade students probably couldn't squeeze into those size 0s.
This skirt from Old Navy is a Small. And I just overloaded myself with shorts from Old Navy (summer clearance..woot! woot!), and they are all size 4.
What about the person who needs a size 0 in shorts from Old Navy, but also wants that skirt? That skirt is BIG on me! So you're telling me that there are people out there who are a size 0 and do all of their shopping at Old Navy?
Let's not even talk about those Old Navy Rockstar Skinny Jeans. I really really wanted some purple ones. I tried on a size 8. Couldn't even get the 6s up. And the 8s felt weird. Too high of a waist or something.
My beef with Old Navy stems from the fact that I need an XS in their dresses/skirts, but can barely squeeze into their size 8 skinny jeans. That's just poor clothing design.
I also tried the Mossimo brand skinny pants, because they were on sale for $13 this past weekend. The 7s were too tight and the 9s felt strange. Again, with the high-waisty thing going on.
My preferred brand for skinny pants is Arizona from JCPenney's. That brand has never steered me wrong. I don't care if they're not cool. They look good and they are comfortable.
I'm sure this is why people actually measure themselves and use inches instead of sizes. But I've never done that. Maybe I really missed the boat on that one.
I suppose my motivation for this post came from my summer of working out constantly (which is no longer happening if you haven't been following along) and the fact that I like to know exactly how much candy I can eat before my jeans get tight (I'm serious). So if I can't trust the stores to size their clothes properly, Idon'tknowhowmuchcandyIcaneat!
What are your thoughts on vanity sizing? Does it bother you as much as it bothers me?
