Women's Issues of Clothing Size

Clothing, Sizing and Manufacturing

Nov 9, 2008 Kellie Hayden

Clothing manufacturers and "vanity sizing" - this may help sell clothes.

Manufacturers want to sell clothes, and women want to look good in them. Also, women want to feel good in the clothes. Vanity sizing may make women feel good about clothing and then buy the garment.

Women Want to Wear Smaller Sizes

In today's world, women's magazines show size 0 models flaunting skinny legs and well, skinny everything. However, in the real world, women come in all shapes and sizes. Today, the average woman is around 5 feet 4 inches and weighs a little over 140 pounds reports Anderson's research group in the report "Understanding Fitting Preferences of Female Consumers: Development an Expert System to Enhance Accurate Sizing Selection [November 1999]. This is not a size 0 -- not even close.

Women prefer to wear a smaller size than clothes that fit properly reports Talia Mana in the article "Clothing Maketh the Woman" on the Centre for Emotional Well Being website [August 8, 2008]. Many women have body issues. How a women looks and how others perceive how the woman looks is crucial to her self-esteem. Going smaller in size can change a woman's outlook for the better. But, if the size goes up, a woman can become dissatisfied with her body and begin binge eating or starting another crash diet.

Manufacturers Make Clothing Using Vanity Sizing

Manufacturers have figured out the fact that sizing is very important to a woman. This is especially important when she is standing in front of the 360 degree mirror and trying to figure out if the pants "make her butt look too big." Even if the clothes do make her backside look a little larger, the woman may indeed buy the pants if they happen to be a size smaller than the size that she usually wears.

Manufacturers understand the importance of clothing. Many manufacturers produce clothes that have relaxed fits and increase measurements in clothing. In New Zeeland, experts think that today's sizes for clothing are about two inches larger than the same tag size 20 years ago, reports Mana. "Vanity sizing" is a phenomenon where sizing is not at all consistent. The garment can be two times the size that the label reads reports Anderson's research group.

Finding a pair of pants that happen to be a size smaller than what a woman usually wears can sometimes make a woman feel good. This may lead her to buy them.

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