8, 10, 12 - Fashion's size problem

I’m sure we’ve all done it – gone into a shop, bought something in the size we normally get, then excitedly take it home, only to find it doesn’t fit. This is such a common problem in the fashion industry that the numbers and labels we use to identify sizes have become completely arbitrary. Not only are sizes different between stores, but they are also often different within those shops too – I once tried on a red dress in Zara, found a medium fit perfectly, then tried the exact same dress on in green, and found I couldn't even zip up a large! Whilst this could just be considered an annoyance, it’s actually a serious issue, that contributes to poor body confidence, eating disorders, and even climate change.

Most fashion brands have an in-house model – a model directly employed by that brand who has designs fitted to them during the designing and testing process. Once the design team is happy with the garment, the pattern will be drawn with the model’s measurements, then graded up and down. This means increasing each part of the pattern by a certain amount to produce the patterns for different sizes. This works really well for you if you have the exact same dimensions as the model, or are exactly 3cm bigger in each area for instance, but what if you have a different figure?

In a university project last year, I looked further into this sizing issue, by using different fast fashion brand’s size guides and three of my measurements (bust, waist, and hips) to determine what size I should buy from each shop. I found frequently that my three measurements fit into three different sizes. How am I supposed to buy a dress that is a size 8, 10, and 12 all at the same time?

Not only this, but the language used by brands can be really harmful. ‘Large’ and ‘extra-large’ are already problematic descriptors, but when a size 10 is considered XL, like it is at Shein, that can be really damaging to people’s self-confidence and perception of their body. The UK average dress size is currently a size 16 – what message does it send when a much smaller size is considered really big?

Whilst not the most important factor in this debate, I do feel like sustainability also needs mentioning here. If consumers shopping online are unsure of what size to buy, they are more likely to buy more than one size then send one back, unwittingly contributing to fashion’s waste problem. Some retailers admit to throwing away more than 25% of their returned items immediately after they arrive back at the warehouse as many companies don’t allocate enough space, staff, and money to dealing with returned items. This means that items are made and thrown away, without anyone actually wearing them.

The responsibility to fix fashion’s sizing problem definitely belongs to the producer, not us. As consumers though we can demand change from the shops we love and buy clothing that we feel comfortable in, regardless of the number or letter associated with it.

- Tegan