Just thinking out loud really. Heard on the news that a dress size 0 equates to a UK size 4 and the reporter held up a pair of jeans and said in a shocked tone, "these only have a 23" waist".
Well now, BC (before children) my waist ranged from 22 - 24" and I was a size 8/10. True 22" did make me look a bit scrawny, but the point is now I am a size 12 but if there has been dress size inflation to this extent, that must mean that in 'old money' I am really a 16.
Thoroughly depressed by that thought -sigh
Off to go an smash the scales, they have been lying :'( :'(
Cheer up! My understanding is that sizing has gone the other way...as peeps have got bigger generally, the dress sizes are marked smaller? Pretty sure that a US size 0 was a UK size 8.....my DIL in the US used to be 8 (or 0) and even AC (after children!) her actual size hasn't altered....I know, makes you sick, doesn't it. Still, wait til middle-aged spread hits her (evil grin)
That's my point Lish - I am MUCH bigger than I thought I was, but the label still says 12 :'( :'(
My figure is an 'O................ no, I cant be THAT heavy!' :o :o
cj :)
I thought US 0 equated to a size 4 UK. Size 8 isn't exactly new shocking news is it? Like you, pre babes was a skinny little bird in size 8 jeans but even if they'd do up around my waist they wouldn't get over my legs!!!!
Me too - BC, I was a size 8/10, now size 12.
Have seen shops selling size 6 and have wondered who the h*ll, apart from skinny, younger teenagers, wears them. There's no way that a size 6 now equals a size 8 then - it's much too small. I couldn't have worn a size 6 even in my skinny minnie days. I think they've mucked around with the sizes further up the scale so that garments are larger (& we think we're smaller :-\) and also created new & tinier sizes - just to make the "still a skinny minnie" brigade really smug.
I've now got a 28" waist, used to have 22/24", but am now wearing size 12", sometimes even size 10. How can I have gone up 4" and only moved one dress size? They are messing with our heads!
(I blame the chocolate manufactures - as long as we're still size 12, it's OK to eat another bar ;))
Tabbycat
The good news is that 51% of the female population in Britain wear size 16 and above ;D. Off to Moda in B'ham this weekend to drool over stuff I couldn't get my 'ample' 12 into even with a shoe horn. ;D
I am a size 10/12 now, depends on the cut of the clothes. The clothes from NEXT tho has been going up a size to a 14. Their tops are not like the other High Street shops. I never thought I would see the day when I was this size because I have been thin or painfully thin most of my adult life. I have never had the pleasure of BC. I struggled with my low weight and hated being so thin. Advancing years have seen the weight going on but not too much and according to the charts my weight is acceptable for my height.
Back in the black and white days, I clearly remember a size 10 was a 22" waist, size 12 was 24", and so on.
Fair play to the manufacturers though - people who were size 12 twenty years ago can still be a size 12 today - different measurement of course, but who the hell wants to read the small print? Psychologically, it's a stroke of marketing genius! ;D
Incidentally, re size BC v. size AD (after delivery), I've never really thought that's a waistline problem as such - more of an upholstery issue! ::)
Try going in Miss Selfridge and finding you've gone up a whole shoe size! My size 4 everywhere else is a 5 in there! Am only 5' tall and would love to know why I pay more for 'petite' ranges! Less fabric, more money?
You lot don't know how lucky you are having a 'size' at all! At the last reckoning I was a 14 bum, a 16 tum and a 12 around the boobles. ??? (When I got married I had to have my wedding dress made as nothing off-the-peg was made to fit a 5' 1" female with a 31-21-31 figure! ;D) So, girls, enjoy being whatever size you are and watch it - cos the blubber sneaks up on you when you're least expecting it. ::)
Its a shame that we all have to worry about our size just because of fashion. A few hundred years ago, I think it was the time of the painter Reubens(she says, trying to sound intellectual :o) it was fashionable to be fat. Just look at the old paintings of naked ladies. Who knows, it may get back like that one day, and then I wont have to feel bad about myself because I dont have to avoid drains incase I fall down them!
cj :)
Oh come on girls I am a size 20 - 22 and proud of it - and feel that we should not be worried about the size of the woman but the soul of the woman
and as a Nana who wants a skinny Granny to cuddle into ???
Pre my babies I was a size 16 36 D and Twiggy was all the rage then
Do men really like skin and bone ??? ??? ???
You're so right, Blue Bird - Grandmas have a duty to be cuddly! Lots of hugs xxx
the only thing i know is that a Next 10 Regular fits me. A George 10 Standard is too long !
I know when I feel lumpy and when I've over done it so then I stop, but what does grate on me is when the 4' 6" loud mouth in the office moans about how fat she is and then eats all day ! you wanna lose weight ? stop eating.
I'd rather people were happier in themselves so that a clothes size didn't matter.
As long as you're reasonably healthy and not putting a huge strain on your heart, the cuddlier the better as far as i'm concerned.
;D
blue bird i am with you depending on the fit i am anything from an 18 to a 26!
sizes dont work here!!
What gets me very cross is people think that thin means fit - well I disagree you see just as many thin people in doctors waiting rooms as the Fluffy ones
I am fit to do what I do and am happy to say the last time I was in need of medication it was for a hysterectomy which had nothing to do with my size and was 23 years ago
I regularly have check ups with the well woman clinic and have not problems although my mother who was never bigger than a size 8, and at my age was always poorly (she did smoke 20 a day and that is something I have never done)
The strain on the internal organs of these young girls must be a worry and if ever they became ill what reserves have they got??
But I do blame the media for all the pressure that is put on young women >:(
i blame the media for a lot of things ::)
but agree with you bluebird thin should definitely not be automatically assumed to be fit. There are extremes of both up here and you wonder when both sets are going to keel over.
I,m a 16 in modern jeans because the waistbands are lower and supposed to sit on the hips and are wider. I havn,t got a waist and where it was is very low
so i hope the fashion never changes. if waisted jeans come back I,ll have to give them up or get them from charity shops
margaret
I'm 6' and almost 11 stone... OH had a waistline i could span, all the way round, BC
she has ghot a bit bigger, but I agree why do petite pay more?
;D
I have noticed that whenever I chat to my friends, the subject usually comes around to dieting or body size. I have friends ranging from a size 10 to a size 28, and they all seem to suffer with a poor body image. What has the media done to us :o :o
cj :)
I agree Caroline. I was at college the other day and overheard a conversation between 2 ( very) young mums. Went along the lines of, I can still fit into my size 8 jeans even though I'm 4 months pregnant, I'm so lucky twitter,twitter. Was really shocked as 1) girl obviously feels no security within her relationship but is having 2nd baby and 2) no concept of being healthy or eating well to help babes and probably not a lot of energy for child she already has, and no concept that this was not a good thing. Although I do blame media I also think they'd have no power without the women who buy into the 'dream'.
The nice thing is my 7 year old daughter saw Kate Moss on rimmel ad and said "Ooh mum, that woman looks horrible" when I asked her why she thought that she said "She looks all skinny and evil!"
I'm now getting concerned, my 8 year old grandson is worried about his weight..he's very slim and was told by another child he's fat..
he's worried about eating anything remotely 'unhealthy'..he eats every fruit and veg going, plenty of lean meat..his mum's a nurse..and he's worried about the occasional bar of chocolate or bag of crisps..
how do we go about reassuring him..oh, he's in a rugby team, plays football , rides a bike and goes out for walks every day with his dog..ideas please :-\
Manics, that's such a shame. My nephew is the same because someone at school called him fat. He is healthy, active 9 year old boy. We've all tried to reassure him and show him photos of us at same age to show how we change, but I think he still frets. He plays football, rides his bike everywhere, comes to us in the summer and runs around the south coast like a mad thing, but still worries. I feel so sorry for him as I don't remember worrying about anything at that age, other than how to explain to my mum I'd fallen out of a tree (again) or that my Gnasher badge from the Beano wasn't going to turn up.
All we can do is build their self esteem and confidence and hope it's enough!!
I have just watched the news! A model has died from a heart attack, it was thought that all she had eaten for three months was lettuce. When is the fashion industry going to allow women with ordinary bodies to understand that they are the norm! and that thin is not beautifull.
One of my friends has dieted to the point of losing her health, just to try to get her ex back, he likes thin women. I am so worried about her :'( :'(
I know that I am over-weight for my height, but , I eat .plenty of fruit and veg, and walk every day, so am not too unhappy about it.
Sorry to rant, but this subject worries me!
It worries me as well, I teach in a poor area and have seen the growth of obesity but most pupils/children have no idea about normal body weight... I am 6' and just under 11 stone, probably helped by developing Lactose intolerance... but now I have stopped eating a full box of after eight mints a day (to keep my weight up) I wait for the beer gut to develop!
???
I see two problems here; firstly, most people in the UK are on poor to very poor diets, secondly, we have this ridiculous obsession with being a particular shape.
Spot on Robert !!!
thank you, surely it has to be a health thing..as opposed to what you look like..don't get me on my soap box ;D ;D
I hate the whole body image thing. I'm 6ft and currently in a 16. I'm exercising every day right now as I'm getting married in Jamaica in 6 months so want to be toned. Not bothered about my dress size, it probably won't go down, just want to be fit. I hate the fact that I'm considered as this huge fat beast by the general public who've been force fed this false image of normality by the media. Being so tall too, I just feel like a freak most of the time. >:(
My 8 year old has been called fat at school too, and spotty and ugly because he has freckles. He hasn't an ounce of fat on him:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Laney2005/IM000234.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/Laney2005/IM000234.jpg)
lovely looking little lad, all we can do is love them and try to build up their confidence :)
Not one of my female friends is happy with their body shape, and now, some of my male friends are beginning to develop the same hang-ups about their bodies and the way they look.
It is totally the fault of the perfect images that are produced by the media - no-one seems to stop and remember that they aren't actually real - they're all airbrushed and photo-shopped into that perfection.
I made a conscious decision in my early 20's to never, ever read a so-called "woman's magazine" again - they are at the root of the "body-issues" evil. I'm 5'8", I eat a reasonably healthy diet, get lots of exercise and as long as my clothes continue to fit me, then I know I'm doing OK. I'm not saying I don't bother about how I look but I try not to obsess about it like lots of women I know - there are more important things to do with your life.
The Bas Lurhman song "Sunscreen" gets it right when he says - "Do not read beauty magazines - they will only make you feel ugly"..... I make sure I play it regularly to my girls.. some of it should hopefully stick in their minds!
8-year-olds don't have a very big repertoire of insults; it's usually 'fat' 'ugly' 'gay' and anything else they've heard from their parents. Terms are used almost at random, and often they don't even know what they mean. But they really get upset over it!
Tabby-cat, I'm getting a copy of that song for my girls. I used to love mags when I was younger, but it's so true, they do make you feel ugly (or poor, or fat, or out of the loop if you don't need a 'capsule wardrobe' for work)
Robert, I agree that 8 year olds insult repertoire is pretty limited and my nephew has taken the insults levelled at him really to heart!
As to they don't know what it means- so true. My daughter came up to me while i was queuing to get into school play, with her little friend who is the main source of all bad words and phrases that pop up in our house and announced to me, the queue and anyone else who could hear that she was a lesbian! She is 7! Could have died? Doesn't even cover it!!
Was a bit shocked when I told her what a lesbian was though and agreed it was possibly a bit early to make up her mind! At least if she is, she won't have any trouble coming out!! :o
I am going to get so much flack from saying this, but , I think that there is far too much pressure nowadays for children to grow-up . To my mind, this is reflected in their clothes, magazines, hobbies etc. I hate to see little girls in crop tops and even thongs!There is so much peer pressure for them to put up with. Why can't children be allowed to enjoy their childhood whilst they can!
Yes, before you ask, I do have children!
Cookie could not agree with more - all children are not given the chance to stay children long enough any more.
They are involved in too many grown up things now for my liking.
Parents seem to make the mistake in thinking they should be their little friends rather than their children,
when we were kids we were never involved in grown up problems and certainly were dressed as children not little grown ups.
Cookie, I don't know who'd give you flak for saying that, you're so right! Have you seen the t-shirts on markets that say "If you think I'm a b***h, you should meet my mum! Or the little girls dressed as tiny adults, fully accesorised with handbag etc? Tragic. I was proper dirty knees little girl and that's what I want for my girls too. They are so happy in their wellies and riding bikes and being little. childhood is gone so quickly anyway, I don't know why people want to hurry it along. Little lad in the park today is in my 7 year olds class. Called his mum on his mobile phone! :'(