Sizing Me Up
I've been looking over old clothes, some that have been sitting in my bedroom in my parents' house since I was in high school, some that my aunt sent to us in boxes, some that other people have given to me. And I've discovered something that I find absolutely baffling. I've tried on about fifteen pairs of pants, conditions varying from tags-still-on to worn-to-tatters, trying to decide what still works and what to toss or give to Good Will.
Now, I don't want to comment on my specific pants size,* but most of my life I have been size - let's call it X. I lost a bit of weight recently, and found when I went out to buy new pants the other day that I am now a size X-2, and even fit into some X-4s. This was weird to me, since I have really always been size X, since I was a teenager.
Trying on the pants that I wore in high school, however, I found that they still fit me. Even though they are size X. To make it odder, I just tried on a pair of decade-old but never worn (tags still on) pair of Express pants in size X+2 and they fit like a glove. It was Express where, yesterday, I fit into an X-4. Right now I am wearing a pair of Old Navy pants, also with the tags still on them (but tags so old the logo isn't even familiar to me) which are a size X+4. And they are uncomfortably tight.
What the heck?!
I mean, I guess it's a good thing if sizes are getting bigger? Maybe it'll cut down on the number of girls feeling inadequate about their size. But really, it makes me wonder. When the Sweet Valley twins were notoriously changed from a "perfect size 6" to a "perfect size 4," did they actually stay the same size? Could it be cyclical? Or is sizing totally, completely arbitrary?
*And sorry, Europeans, but I cannot translate to your sizing system, nor can I use the word "trousers" without sounding 85 years old to all Americans.
Now, I don't want to comment on my specific pants size,* but most of my life I have been size - let's call it X. I lost a bit of weight recently, and found when I went out to buy new pants the other day that I am now a size X-2, and even fit into some X-4s. This was weird to me, since I have really always been size X, since I was a teenager.
Trying on the pants that I wore in high school, however, I found that they still fit me. Even though they are size X. To make it odder, I just tried on a pair of decade-old but never worn (tags still on) pair of Express pants in size X+2 and they fit like a glove. It was Express where, yesterday, I fit into an X-4. Right now I am wearing a pair of Old Navy pants, also with the tags still on them (but tags so old the logo isn't even familiar to me) which are a size X+4. And they are uncomfortably tight.
What the heck?!
I mean, I guess it's a good thing if sizes are getting bigger? Maybe it'll cut down on the number of girls feeling inadequate about their size. But really, it makes me wonder. When the Sweet Valley twins were notoriously changed from a "perfect size 6" to a "perfect size 4," did they actually stay the same size? Could it be cyclical? Or is sizing totally, completely arbitrary?
*And sorry, Europeans, but I cannot translate to your sizing system, nor can I use the word "trousers" without sounding 85 years old to all Americans.