How Do Clothes Fit?
It's another month of this strangest of years 2020. July has arrived as we slowly return back to some new form of normality and some, namely Leicester, return to lockdown! It is such a time of uncertainty that the simple act of shopping for beautiful clothes should and could be one of the simple pleasures of life at the moment. That, along with a little bit of over indulgence in all things good which could be another reason sizes are a changing....
Simple Pleasures....
We all need some simple pleasures; we can shop from the comfort of our sofa and wait in anticipation for that package to arrive. When the familiar face of the post man walks away from the door after knocking he smiles in a knowing way as it's another little box or bagged package of clothes. Generally at this point I either stuff it away so my husband can't see it and I can introduce him to it at a more suitable time than 7.30am on a Saturday morning or, if the coast is clear, I run upstairs and rip it open. I strip off quickly trying to convince myself that I'll be able to 'just try it on' in between every other more important task such as getting the kids to school on time in my case! Sometimes, I am disheartened from the moment I rip open the plastic wrapper (why is everything double wrapped in plastic these days?)......that's a whole other blog. Anyway, these plastic bags end up reused in my house as bin bags but back to the clothes. Some new long awaited purchases I see for the first time and know immediately this 12 is in fact a size 8 or perhaps even a size 20!
Reaction....
The disappointment is real. Sometimes I have waited for these things, stalked them to get them in my 'size', and this is the only one left in existence it seems other than those that are double the price on ebay so I know already will have to return it.
Another item that may look like it has a chance of fitting is often too tight on the bust (especially Zara dresses!) or just massive on the waist (H&M shorts recently!).
This dress is a size Large and is still too tight on my chest area. It is doing a good job as a push up bra though!
Little gems...
At the moment this really isn't ideal. We wait for these little gems to arrive from the outside world. Like relics from our previous life where we swanned around changing rooms oblivious of things to come. We'd take a selfie (or a chelfie as a changing room selfie is called! I only learnt this recently too). I've even been known to do a little changing room dance; if I could work out how to add a video I'd share it with you! I promise.... This whole changing room experience was truly the highlight of shopping for me. In these strange times when changing rooms are blocked off, we are simply trying to recreate it at home but it never feels the same. It feels even worse when the clothes make you feel like you're bigger than you are!
Highstreet remedies or not?
H&M recently tried to remedy the problem by making their clothes bigger which may explain why my size 12 shorts and size Small dress would fit about three of me in them! Zara, it appears from other peoples Instagram posts and the response to my Instagram post today has gone the other way! They seem to have made all of their clothes smaller. I remember when TopShop was renowned for always being smaller than labelled. It used to have a reputation (amongst my friends who were in their thirties at the time!) as a shop for younger women even girls for a while but now us older ladies (40+) are embracing it and the sizing seems to be a lot better.
Above are two Topshop dresses: the one on the left is a size 10 as I prefer the buffet style a little smaller and the one on the right is a size 12. I feel safer shopping from here knowing that in any style the sizing is truer to size.
Solution...
Alternatively go for smaller independent brands like Kemi Telford who seem be able to cater for everyone's size! Or get one made bespoke to your exact measurements for example from Carini by Carina my Instagram friends new company providing bespoke dresses made to measure https://carinibycarina.com/
The dress on the right above is one size fits all from Kemi Telford! I know it depends on the style of the dress a lot but the dress on the left is from H&M in a Small.....
Anyway, to avoid having to keep trekking back and forth to the post office read the reviews on the products; other customers are often right and if that fails ask a friend or someone you follow on Instagram who is wearing the product. We all need to help each other out with this!
Alternatively I may make a pact to only buy once. If it doesn't fit then it's back and I won't be ordering it again. Get the sizes right the first time please...... I say this now with indignation but I know in my heart if that dress I've been lusting over is available in size 10, 12 and 14 I may just have to buy them all and have a more true experience of the changing rooms at home! This is kind of a dream though as my bank account sadly won't allow this so I'll see you in the queue at the post office my fellow shoppers to see the kind lady who smiles (I'm sure through gritted teeth) as she puts the millionth return item through the till and throws it into the post bag behind. She knows all the shops we shop at. I even go to different post offices sometimes as it gets a little embarrassing. Does anyone else do that? Comments below..... Come on someone else must do it.....
Happy Shopping!
