I was taking some clothes out of the dryer today and I noticed a tag on one of my shirts that said it was a size XL. It kind of alarmed me because I didn’t recall buying an extra large shirt recently. Maybe alarmed isn’t the right word, but I knew what shirt it was and I thought I had bought a medium.
Well, as it turns out, I did buy a medium…in the US. In Japan, my shirt is considered an XL. Not a large, but an extra large. Two full sizes bigger. 
A few months ago I bought some shorts at Costco. I normally wear a size 8, but if it’s a slimmer fit, I might wear a size 10. I held the size 8 up and thought they looked a little big, but figured they would fit. I got them home and I could pull them on and off without even unbuttoning them.
Some women would rejoice at buying a size 6. I was pissed! I am not a size 6. I know I’m not a size 6 and I am 100% fine, secure and happy with that fact. Tommy Hilfiger, in what I imagine, in some attempt to attract a vain customer, drastically undersized their clothes. Out of principle, I returned the size 8 shorts and refused to buy a size 6. Or maybe a more likely story is that I thought the 6 would be too small and I didn’t want to have to make another trip to the Costco returns counter.
The medium shirt that I bought is actually a workout shirt. It fits me perfectly. I know that the sizes have changed quite a bit for women in the last 20 to 30 years and a size 8 today was probably closer to a 12 in 1970. I don’t really care that much about that, but I like being able to walk into a store and grab a medium or a size 8 and walk out with quite a bit of confidence that it’s going to fit.
I do wonder what happens to the size 0 or size 2 ladies. Are they in the negative sizes now? Do they have to buy girl’s clothes? Or do the clothes designers figure there most likely isn’t any sense in playing into a potential body insecurity issue with someone who is that small so they just keep them true to size?
10:02 
Okay, is this gonna turn into a “does my butt look big in this” blog…? Cos if it does… well… let’s just say I fear for my life.
Are you calling me fat? HAHAHA
Ummmm… *edges toward door*
…is there any way I can get out of this alive???
If I were someone that actually cared about that stuff…probably not. You got lucky this time.
Luck? *psh* I don’t believe in luck… 😛
100% with you. I think it’s a global trend…sometimes I’m a 36, or it could be 38. I have a pair of pants 34 that I wear regularly, even if every other pair are probably closer to 40 these days (middle age spread creeping in!) Clothes sizing is a huge P.I.A.
Now that we’ve started, why can’t we have the same numbers all over the world… Let’s ditch the letters and stick with numbers (that mean something). I just realised that will never work while some are on centimetres and others measure in inches 😉
We can live in hope that clothing marketers will develop a conscience!
Agree on all fronts! I have no idea what I wear in a European size, but it does seem that the sizes are at least based on a measurement of some kind. An 8 or 10 in the US doesn’t really mean anything – there is no reference to a measurement that I know of.
Some research needed here to overthrow the fashion overlords! I just remembered that bras here use centimetres as their standard… Really confusing the first time I tried to buy underwear… I had no idea I was a 75A… Scary stuff 😉
HAHA! There are so many people obsessed with size here, I can’t even imagine if they changed the sizing of underwear to numbers in the 70’s!
True, could be too much of a reality check!
Poor Richard! best to say smile and say nothing.. Perhaps 😉