"Vanity Sizing" Soaring in America

Posted on Sep 15th 2010 10:00AM by Hilary Walke

Woman shopping Getty

Think you're a size-six waist? Think again. Companies like H&M and Dockers have been deceiving consumers by making them believe their clothing size is smaller than it really is. While pants shopping recently, one man discovered that many stores are "vanity sizing," or pretending that pants are smaller in size than they really measure.

According to Gawker, this decades-old phenomenon is only getting worse in America. When you take home a tag that says size 36, trying measuring the waistline next time. It could be a size 39.5 in reality. Some major culprits are H&M; Calvin Klein; Alfani; Gap; Haggar; Dockers; and, last and worst, Old Navy. When you're browsing the Internet for a new fall look this season, think twice before purchasing.

When it comes to body size, the number on the tag may not be as important as the figure in the mirror. We asked our readers what they thought about "vanity sizing" and if they shop at certain stores in order to feel better about their pant size.

Willow B.
Unbelievable!!! Kind of makes shopping online tricky!

Laura M.
Use a tape measure. It never lies.

Liz C.
You can never go by a size... you just have to try it on. I find the more expensive the place, the smaller the sizes.

Liliana L.
Lol, that is why I never focus on the number, only on the fit and how I feel and look.

Allyson H.
Not knowingly!

Joyce M.
My husband was so proud. However he has lost a lot of weight. I am not showing him this.

Koko B.
lt would make me feel like a fool. The GAP 34 inch jeans? Had to go back and buy husband a 36 (which was really a 37 and a bit too large).

Cynthia T.
Crazy "vanity sizing" in the higher end stores promote the fact that you will shop there!

Koko B.
Well it's how you look and feel that matters. l remember an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry rubbed the 32 off his jeans and wrote in a 31... as if anyone could see it.

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51 Comment

Tags: body image, clothing, pants size, self esteem, shopping

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Ann 9-16-2010 @ 8:20PM

There are more and more stores I physically can not shop at because they 'vanity size' me out of any of their clothes. With a 27" waist, I would be a size 6 or 8 in anything from the 1980's or before, but I fall into the category of a 0 or even more embarrassing 00 at many stores, if I fit into their clothes at all. It is absurd that normal sized women are being sized out of stores while fat (not 'overweight', fat... if people can call me derogatory politically incorrect nicknames because of my size, I can as well) people continue to get fatter and better treatment despite their unhealthy habits.

mhulon 9-16-2010 @ 9:25PM

I have the same problem. I like western attire and when I go to the "western wear" stores, I can't even fit in their smallest size...not to mention that they always come in 36" length!!! I don't see the point in paying 100.00 for a pair of jeans that have to be cut off a foot. More importantly though, is why do they charge the same for a size 00 as they do a super huge sleeping bag size??? We should get rewarded for taking up less material...by paying less. I am not skinny, just small. Kohls is the only place I can get jeans that really fit.

anne-other 9-16-2010 @ 10:18PM

I'm right with you. My weight hasn't changed in 30 years, but it's hard to get clothes to fit any more - I used to drown in women's 8's; now I drown in 4's. And 2's are heading the same direction.

I've resorted to the boys department for summer shorts. Boys size 12 works but, with hips, a boys size 10 Husky is perfect. So, yeah, the 50+ year old in the baggy shorts running down the street is probably me.

Jean 9-16-2010 @ 10:35PM

I have to resort to the juniors to find something that fits and I am a professional business woman, who is 63 years old! Expensive does NOT mean smaller! I swim in their 00's! I am a slim woman who winds up in size 0, 1, or occasionally 2 in a junior size. Business suits are generally out for me...though I have found a couple that work at Bebe's. However, I tend to mix and match and have can make things work...though I yearn for some "Grown Up" clothes for some occasions! My biggest problem with junior sizes is that they tend to be made in cheap fabrics that are NOT what I would choose for myself. I only "wish" that expensive meant being closer to actual size! I am willing to spend...but top lines and stores tend to be worse than middle price stores. Believe me, I have shopped them all!

A.D. 9-16-2010 @ 11:19PM

I have been talking about "vanity sizing" for a while, mostly because of diet/makeover/bridal shows claiming the person on the show was a size 8 or 10 when they were clearly a generously cut 10 or 12 at best. The funny part is that when it comes to talking to others about clothing in general... I only hear them complaining that most sizes are cut smaller these days. That just shows how oblivious/delusional people are.

On a semi-related note, I was watching about Fashion Week and was really annoyed at the fact that they kept talking about finally having "real women" on the runways (sizes 12+). Apparently you must be moderately overweight to be considered a "real" woman. There is a huge disconnect going on, you cannot have one news story about the obesity epidemic needing more attention and action whilst running another story about promoting plus sizes. Also, I find it very hypocritical that people see nothing wrong with bashing those who are considered thin (whether healthy or not) but everyone is supposed to be supportive/complimentary of fat and obese people.

janna nikkola 9-16-2010 @ 8:27PM

I find the opposite to be true in women's clothing, since most are now made in China. I always wore a size Medium in a knit casual top, but now I need an Extra Large -- but the Extra Large is the same size as a Medium I already have. I think manufacturers in China just don't get how much bigger women in the US are than women in China, where I think an average woman is about a size 1 or size 2 compared to an average American woman who is a size 12 or 14. It's not their fault though; the US manufacturer who's having their inventory made in China isn't staying on top of things. They should have an American on staff at every Chinese manufacturing facility to measure and keep track of the size of clothing being exported to the States. It's sooooo frustrating!

trudy405 9-16-2010 @ 10:23PM

I totally agree with you Janna, and I also agree it is the manufacturers' fault. They should be the one giving the Chinese the measurement they should use instead of letting them guess. Another thing is the buttons on the wrong side of the shirt. It drives me crazy!! And I don't know where these petite ladies who are complaining in here buy, because my problem is always finding clothes on my size. I'm a tall woman, 5'11" and have a few extra lbs (no fat) but most of the time when I see a cute garment, when I go into the store to get my size, they don't have it, only in small sizes... It is very frustrating!!!

Kare 9-16-2010 @ 8:30PM

I know clothes to be different sizes and cut depending on the store, and evne within the same brand and style--it's not like it used to be when there was sizes across the board were uniform.I agre that the higher end stores have clothes that appear smaller by the size tag.
I don't often shop high end stores anymore, so I know it's not going to vary too much.But it isn't what the store or clothing piece says on it it's whether I look nice to myself.If I wear a 14 and look good--who cares.Of course wearing a size 9 was better--but *saying* I'm a size 9 proves nothing.:-)
Oh--and no--to my knowledge I never (knowingly) shopped somewhere because the sizes *seemed* smaller.

wabbit 9-16-2010 @ 8:32PM

Over the years my 'size' has gotten smaller and smaller ... sometimes now I have to look for, get this, a size ZERO! I hate it. In some pants a size 3 is like a 6 (huge on me) and some 3s are tight ... it's driving me crazy. Grrrrrrr.

NWBL 9-16-2010 @ 8:38PM

I'm average weight for my height (5'6") and I love vanity sizing. I can wear a 6 or sometimes even a 4. I know it's all trickery to make people buy more but I admit it does make me feel good to wear a small size.

Holly 9-16-2010 @ 11:54PM

What you love is deluding yourself. Whatever you really are, you're not a 6 or a 4 at 5'6" and average weight which is 120-133 lbs for a small framed 5'6" woman. Until menopause hit in my mid-40's, I was a perfect size 7 since I was 14, 5'3" and 105 pounds. Now in my mid-60's, I'm a real size 14-16 and it doesn't bother me one bit. No amount of vanity sizing is going to change that. If it makes you feel good to be a phony 6 or 4, maybe you should see a shrink because you have self-worth issues.

dickn2000b 9-16-2010 @ 8:43PM

Reading the comments reminded me of what my grandmother used to say about her shoes. She said she was a size 7 but 8's felt so good she bought 9's.

susan 9-16-2010 @ 9:29PM

I also remember Dolly Parton saying the exact same thing in "Steel Magnolias" (the scene where they're loading the colored eggs into the trunk of the car)

littlekoala 9-16-2010 @ 8:46PM

As someone who is trying to loose weight this is very frustrating. I have clothes of varying sizes, not many of them are new so I feel really good when I move down a size in the clothes that I have, but to go in the store and try on clothes, that is a different story. I don't know if I am really the size that I try on or if it is one of those stores that have weird sizing. I want to know what size I really am and be able to feel good about myself when I go down a size. If the only reason I am going down is becuase the store is stupid than I don't really want to shop in that store. As an obese person, when a store is trying to hide the fact that I really am in a large number size it makes me feel like that store is ashamed to have fat/obese customers. Lieing is not going to help anyone, all brands should have a regulated size chart and all should go by it. If I don't like the way I look than I need to do something about it! The solution is not to shop in stores that lie about the size of their clothes, but to do what I need to do in order to be proud of my body, no store can do that, so stop spitting on me and telling me that it is raining. I know that I am fat, I know I wear sizes in the "women's" section, I know that I need keep working to get to a size I am happy with (because I feel good about myself and like the way I look - not because it is a low number). If all it took was changing the number on the tag than I could have done that on my own, a long time ago. These stores are not helping anyone!

littlekoala 9-16-2010 @ 8:50PM

Ann, as a fat person I can feel your pain. I have had friends who were so thin, no matter what they did. It drove them crazy when people would make comments. People really need to live by the rule "if you can't say something nice than don't say anything at all." I know that I am fat and I am trying to change that. I also know that people who are thin do not like the comments any more than fat people do. I wish the world was a more tolerant and caring place. The bottom line is that everyone needs to be happy with themselves and the stores need to be honest with their products. If either of these are not true than the person, or store needs to do what they can to make it true!

Cleo 9-16-2010 @ 10:09PM

For years at least 20, the more they charge the smaller they say it is. Go to a cheaper store and you will become at least 1 to 2 sizes larger.

Elizabeth 9-16-2010 @ 9:00PM

This has been going on for decades!!! The higher end the store--the smaller the size. Now even the budget stores and brands are in the act--bought a pair of jeans at Wal-Mart recently--size six--haven't been a size six since I was six LOL--and I had to go down from a 10 till I found a pair that actually fit

DB 9-16-2010 @ 8:59PM

It used to be that the more expensive and "designer" the clothing, the more deceiving (vanity) the size. The thinking was that someone who has more money to spend on clothes is not going to want to know that they are actually bigger than they believe themselves to be and will spend more if they see a smaller size. I am surprised that HM has vanity sizing. I consider their clothes to be not well made. Most inexpensive clothing ( such as HM) tout what is most trendy and this type of clothing runs typically small for the size displayed. Some of this is based on the lower quality of the material used and the fact that there is less seaming and material used to make a garment. I do laugh went someone in a magazine, who weighs at least 10-15 pounds more than I do says that they wear a much samller size that I do- must be the vanity sizing. That being said, if it helps the industry sell more clothes- so be it!

Barbara 9-16-2010 @ 9:09PM

I once worked for a clothing manufacturer (now out of business) who had a group of women in the warehouse whose only job was to change size tags in order to have the sizes that stores wanted. For instance, if a store ordered 50 smalls, 100 mediums and 50 larges, but all we had was a couple of hundred mediums, the women would take take the tags out of 100 of those mediums and make 50 of them smalls and 50 of them larges. The stores knew what was happening and went along with it. I wonder what would happen now, since a lot of manufacturers are printing the size right on the fabric itself.

B. Leigh 9-16-2010 @ 9:02PM

It always cracks me up. I have lost a lot of weight recently, and have been 'shopping' from my closet, circa early 1990's, as well as regular stores. In my vintage clothing, I am a size 18, which are getting a bit roomy, but still wearable. I just got a pair of very nice new size 12 cords for fall that fit perfectly.

When I was at my goal weight before I was a size 5 at my tiniest (I am short, but have a large build).
Who knows what ridiculous size I will wear this time, heh.
I don't really care what size it is, as long as it looks good.