Vanity Sizing

At the heart of the body positivity movement has always been the phrase, ‘Marylin Monroe was considered the most beautiful woman and she’s a size 12’. Though she isn’t really; in today’s sizing she would be a 4. So it of course begs the question of why there has been a sudden universal change in clothing sizes. This is completely due to vanity sizing put in place by clothing businesses. 

This size inconsistency across brands goes as far back as the 1930s. A dress labeled 14 in 1937 would be an 8 in 1967 and finally a size 0 in 2007. The change isn’t linear, but rather has followed the trend of ‘popular’ body types in each period. In the 1950s, when curves were favoured, sizes stayed around the same, while we saw rapid decrease in the 1960s when a skinny body type became ‘in’ again. The infamous size 0, followed by 00 and 000, wasn’t created until the 2000s. 

A simple explanation is that if one brand fits in size 2, while the other fits in size 4, the consumer is more likely to select the size 2 item. It makes them feel good about their bodies. They feel as though they fit into a smaller beauty standard and this produces a release of endorphins.  As a response, the second brand makes their item a size 2 as well, so the consumer will return to their store. This cycle has continued as size numbers slowly get smaller and smaller. 

Due to the fact that selling clothing centers around making the shopper feel like their personhood is impacted by the clothes they wear, the marketing works exceptionally. This is exactly why sizes have gotten significantly smaller over the last 100 years. So next time you're shopping look at the measurements instead of the vague number description. Just about everyone’s closet is filled with a huge variety of different sized clothing.

XOXO, The Fashion Stock Market