Have you been told the clothes are the problem, not you or your body? My mom told me this statement countless times growing up, and it’s a hard thing to wrap my mind around and truly believe. However, as I sat at my desk Friday afternoon watching “Lisbug”’s new Youtube video “Why Sizes Don’t Matter But Your Comments Do,” it clicked. I realized that my mom had been right all along when she told me, “it’s the clothes, not you.”
In the video, Lisa Schwartz demonstrates how every clothing brand and clothing item fits differently even when they’re the same size. She uses examples of holding up different brands of similar cuts and styles of shirts, pants, etc. to show how sizing differs throughout. Therefore, the feeling you have while shopping and truly not knowing what size will fit is a worldwide feeling amongst people… you’re not alone.
I have been in the situation numerous times where I’m shopping and find something I like, but when I go to get it to try on I struggle with which size I should get. I don’t want to get the smaller size and have it be too small because that will spiral me down, but something also holds me back from trying to get the bigger –possibly better fitting– size. So in the end I take two sizes of the same item to try on. When I get into the dressing room that is small with terribly lightning I go down a similar spiral with all my different clothes and sizes. For example, I was in Gap and trying on jeans and as usual, I had different styles of black skinny jeans in numerous sizes. When I tried them on I was going between two sizes for the majority of the jeans, half were one size and the rest were the size higher. In that moment I focused too much on why I was two sizes and if there was a problem with me and how maybe one size doesn’t fit me right and I’m just trying to fit. And that right there is the problem. I was focused on what could be wrong with my body rather than why do the jeans fit differently and what is wrong with the sizing in Gap?
Every clothing store has different sizes. Within one clothing store their clothing could fit differently. Even more common, sizes across multiple clothing stores differ all the time. AND THAT’S JUST THE FACTS! No matter how you look, what your measurements are, or what “size” you are, it is never guaranteed to be a consistent size through all fashion stores and even within one. My Gap experience ended with buying two pairs of jeans (both black mid-rise skinny, just one with knee rips)… in two different sizes.
So, why were the same jeans in pretty much the same style fit differently? Why do two shirts that are the same style from two stores fit differently? It could be for numerous reasons, the stitching, the dye, the material, the manufacturers, or the size charts vary. Not to even mention clothes are made for the individual to tailor it to their own body, which how unrealistic is that?
Another problem with clothing sizes could be how sizes fit for a generic body shape. You can be the same size as someone who looks different than you and that isn’t your problem or theirs for wearing the “wrong size.” Everyone carries their weight differently. Everybody usually has that one area on their bodies that stores weight and it may be in their breasts, stomach, hips, thighs, butt, arms, face, etc. Therefore, a clothing item may not fit in your size in one store because the store only follows a generic size chart that may not have wiggle room for bigger breasts, arm holes, thighs, etc. Again, not anybody’s body problem, but the clothing and the stores.
The moment you realize that everybody experiences the issue of not knowing what size to get and clothes fitting differently everywhere it can help you realize you aren’t alone and maybe the statement “it’s not your body it’s the clothes,” is true. Forget about the sizes and just make sure you wear what fits right on your body and gives you confidence, because that’s what matters. So go ahead and say “I told you so,” mom, because you were right, it’s never been me, it’s the clothes.