Vanity sizing, aka size inflation, is somewhat of an unknown truth.
You go into a store. Try on the size 8 jeans and they feel… BIG! You can’t believe it! You haven’t been a size 6 since High School! You look at the price tag and squirm a little. $150 for a pair of jeans!??? You know you can probably find a cheaper pair at H&M but will they fit this good? Quickly you rationalize the logic behind buying the more expensive pair of jeans. High off endorphins, you head to cash register.
Whether or not this sounds familiar, it’s called Vanity Sizing and it happens every day! High end labels size down to make their customers feel good about themselves. They have found that when a consumer fits into a smaller size, they experience a period of jubilation that makes the purchasing decision much easier and more money is likely to be spent.
While this has been speculated since the genesis of the size 00, it appeared in an article today in USA Today, comparing side by side measurements for a size 10 at KMart and Ralph Lauren. There are no regulations nowadays regarding sizing. It’s pretty much up for grabs. This is disturbing, especially with my addiction to RueLaLa! How am I suppose to just guess my size when it can pretty much be whatever the designer wants it to be? Should there be regulations?
Curious what I had in my own closet, I discovered that most of my clothes range between 3 sizes. The majority being the lower 2 digits, and a few outliers from Target. This is because I know and admit to falling victim of vanity sizing. I will not buy an expensive piece of clothing if it is a large size. I feel like it’s because “I’m bloated” and will come back when I’m not to make sure the size still fits.
Curious about what everyone else thought about Vanity Sizing, I made a YouTube video. With over 28 comments in less than 2 hours, the majority of my viewers had no idea about vanity sizing! I am shocked to be honest. Do you fall victim or do buy what fits and what your budget allows? Like me, do your bigger size pieces of clothing tend to be from lower end stores?
