Vanity Sizing Back In?

I remember the first time I heard the term “vanity sizing”. My mom actually used the term and was laughing at me when I was younger because I liked to shop at a certain store where I could fit in pants that I normally couldn’t fit into in other stores. She said something like “oh that vanity sizing will get you” or something along those lines.

I didn’t really get what that meant at the time and had to have her explain it to me (I was very young), but it’s basically where the fashion industry sizes their clothes a bit bigger than what some of the standard sizings are, in order to make you feel better about buying their clothes, and to entice you to come buy their clothes over other retailers who size their clothes smaller and therefore narrow their customer pool to skinny minnies.

For example, I can go into a New York and Company clothing store and fit into a size 4 very comfortably. But if I go to the junior department at Dillards, I may not be able to fit in size 4 pants there. You get the drift. And of course, where do I prefer to shop? Well, I’ll admit, I’m only human, and I like to shop where I can get clothes that are sized more to my advantage!

Actually, vanity sizing is making a big comeback and is pretty much being done by most clothing companies as America’s waistlines increase, and now you may be a size ten whereas before you would have been a size 14, which is quite a substantial difference. But are the clothing companies really doing us any favors? Not really, they’re helping to lull overweight Americans into a false sense of complacency with their weight, since people tend to go by what size they are to determine whether they are still in their healthy comfort zone as far as weight goes, BMI and all that good stuff that goes along with maintaining a healthy weight and slimmer waistline.