Posts Tagged: size

Confused by online size charts? Start with your measurements

May
2

One of the hardest parts of shopping is figuring out what size(s) to look at, since they often vary from label to label, store to store.

It’s an even bigger challenge when you’re shopping online, since you don’t have the option to quickly try something on.

To help solve this dilemma, most sites provide size charts that equate their size numbers (or the even more generic options of S, M and L) to body measurements.

So that’s where you should start, too.

Try this: Get out the measuring tape and jot down your numbers, then keep them someplace handy so you can refer back to them. (I have mine in a notes file on my phone. Low tech, but it works.)

Fab mamas: What are your tips for negotiating online size charts?

Learn how to take your measurements–and how to use them to identify the clothes that flatter your body best–in Step 2 of “No More Yoga Pants: How to Dress Better, Shop Smarter and Reclaim Your Style.” It’s a friendly, easy-to-follow system that will guide you through the steps from “nothing to wear” to Fab Mom. Sign up to get special access to the sneak preview (and a discount code!).

Does your partner know your style?

Feb
14

By Heidi IN Advice, Style

Last season on Project Runway, one of the designer challenges was to create a garment for a male client’s girlfriend or wife–based entirely on input from the man.

It was up to him to tell the designers what the woman in his life was like, and not only her aesthetic preferences, but her shape and size.

I’m sure you can guess what the results were!

Even if you’re not the subject of a TV design challenge, there will be times in your life (like Valentine’s Day, perhaps?) when your honey will go shopping for you.

Why not make it easier on him or her?

Help your partner know your style with this little cheat sheet about you:

My favorite designer(s):
My favorite clothing label(s)
Places I like to shop:
My favorite thing to wear:
I would never wear a:
My favorite colors to wear:
I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing these colors:
I’ve always dreamed of wearing this garment:
My style icon is:
I would describe my style as: __ classic __ chic __ trendy __ rocker __ bohemian __ retro
My measurements: shoulders __ bust __ waist __ hips __ (Don’t know? Here’s how to measure yourself.)
My sizes: shirts __ jeans/pants __ dresses __ bra __ panties __ swimsuit __ ring (left) __ ring (right) __

If your partner is less of a stylista than you are, he or she may not always know what some of this information means. But that’s OK–bringing this sheet with him will help your hubby when he walks, bewildered, into your favorite boutique (which you wrote down on line #3, right?).

And guess what? Now you know a little more about your style, too!

Your turn

What would you add to this cheat sheet?
Can you answer all of these questions?

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(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)

[Photo credit: Shawn Campbell, Flickr]

What sizes are you?

Oct
11

By Heidi IN Advice, Fashion, Style

I have a fantasy. Maybe you have it, too.

In this fantasy, I know what size I wear. I can go into any store, or shop at any clothing website and buy clothes in that size. And they will always fit.

This is how you know it’s a fantasy.

The reality, of course, is that there’s no such thing as one size that always fits. Here’s why–and what you can do about it.

There are inconsistencies in sizing between brands and labels. As the New York Times famously reported earlier this year in “One Size Fits Nobody,” there are no consistent standards in sizing between various clothing manufacturers. One designer’s 6 is another’s 10.

There are inconsistencies in sizing within labels. Have you ever thought you you’d figured out what size you wore at, say, the Gap–only to order an item in that size and have it not fit? Me too.

Your body isn’t one size all over, anyway. Well, unless you’re very lucky and have a perfectly proportioned silhouette. In which case, we’re all jealous of you.

Most of the rest of us are some combination of sizes, whether larger on top and smaller on the bottom or vice versa.

(Like me. I’m usually an 8 on bottom, but I have skinny jeans from Uniqlo that are a 10 and pants from LOFT that are a 6. Meanwhile, I’m very narrow on the top, as well as small busted, so I have blouses as small as a 4–and one blazer that’s even a 2 (!). That’s 5 different sizes right there.)

And I’m not even going to discuss the fact that clothing sizes have changed over time. It’s complicated enough already, isn’t it?

Knowing all of this, I hope you’re convinced of the absolute unimportance of attaching an emotional value to your clothing size.

Maybe a little? It’s a start.

What’s a Fab Mama to do?

Know your size(s). Be aware of the range of sizes you typically wear. Then pull those sizes when you go shopping. Clearly you’ll need to try everything on!
Make it work. Find a good tailor. As we talked about in how to find an amazing blazer, the key to making any garment fit you like couture is to fit it to the largest or widest part of your body and get the rest altered to fit.
Think fit, not number. Does it look fantastic on you? Did you have it tailored to fit you? Then the size number is irrelevant. (See above.)

Now does anybody out there have a brilliant idea for how to make the clothing industry use consistent sizing?

Your Turn

What size(s) are you?
If you don’t want to get that confessional–how many different sizes do you wear that all fit you?
What are your techniques for finding clothes that fit?

[Photo credit: Flickr user Jamiesrabbits.]

Get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff: Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping.

Why an ideal body shape is a myth

Jul
19

By Heidi IN Advice

Katharine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly: 3 women, 3 ideal shapes, all different

Katharine, Audrey and Grace: All 3 were different, but each was ideal just as she was.

All too often when we step in front of the mirror, we’re seeing what is “wrong” with our bodies: too big, too small, too much of this, not enough of that. Where is that internal critic coming from? How do we know what “right” is in order to compare ourselves against it and come up “wrong”?

We’ve absorbed some internal idea of an ideal body shape, we’re using it as our template, and we’re judging any part of ourselves that doesn’t match. Now, you and I both know that the problem with comparing your body to some other ideal is that those ideals aren’t always attainable. This way lies body issues, and all the negative psychological and physical implications of them.

But comparing yourself to some impossible ideal is only half of the problem. The other half is that they’re a myth in the first place.

Because what is the ideal body shape anyway? Which ideal are we talking about?

Lean and lithe Audrey Hepburn?
Boyish, athletic Katharine Hepburn?
Curvy Marilyn Monroe or Christina Hendricks?
Amazon Cindy Crawford?
Waifish Kate Moss?
Skinny but buxom Victoria’s Secret models?
Muscular, no-body-fat Olympic swimmers?

Audrey Hepburn was no less beautiful because she wasn’t the same shape as Marilyn Monroe.

You’re no less beautiful for not being the same shape as some imaginary ideal.

(You know what men’s ideal body shape is for a woman? Female. No really–they just don’t care the way we think they do. Sure, they’d love it if Giselle Bundchen decided to leave Tom Brady for them, but they’re hardly saving themselves for her in the meantime, are they?)

Dress and love the body you have. Flatter your silhouette; don’t try to change it or wish it away.

The only ideal body shape is your own.

What do you think?

Do you compare yourself against an ideal?
Why or why not?
Do you think ideals are harmful or useful goals?

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Thanks for reading. Did you like this post? Please leave a comment or share it with someone else; just use the handy sharing widget below.

(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)

Why you need to know your clothing sizes

Jun
21

By Heidi IN Advice

Calvin Klein fit + flare dress

Yes, sizes–plural. Let me explain …

Calvin Klein is one of my favorite designers, so when Rue La La recently had an event featuring the label, I ordered 5 different dresses, hoping one of them would fit. The big box arrived on Friday and I tried all of them on, eagerly.

None of them fit.

See this Calvin Klein dress? I bought it at the Calvin Klein outlet store on Saturday. It fits perfectly.

The difference? Two sizes. Two.

It turns out that the size I wear in Calvin Klein pants is not the size I wear in his dresses. Such is the lot of the not-perfectly-proportioned woman (otherwise known as the “pear”).

So not only may we wear different sizes in different designers–one line’s 6 is another line’s 10–but we may wear different sizes within the same line.

The moral of the story (as I recounted that day on Tumblr): Don’t just know your size in your favorite designer–know your size in each type of garment.

Have you had this problem before?
How many different sizes do you wear? (I think I now have things in 5 different sizes!)

P.S. Looks like there’s a sale on at the Calvin Klein site through Thursday (6.23)–40% off everything! Woo hoo!

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Thanks for reading. Did you like this post? Please leave a comment or share it with someone else; just use the handy sharing widget below.

(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox!)

There’s nothing wrong with your body

Jun
15

By Heidi IN Advice

Your body is a set of shapes that form a unique silhouette

I have something to tell you that you probably won’t believe. In fact, I know you won’t believe it. Because (unless you are Heidi Klum), you don’t believe it.

This is what I want to tell you: There is nothing wrong with your body.

You don’t believe it, do you? I can practically hear you rolling your eyes. You’re already dialing up the mental list you carry around with you of your faults and flaws, the myriad ways you don’t live up to your perceived idea of perfection. Your hips are too (wide/narrow). Your hair is too (curly/straight). Your bust is too (big/small). You need to lose (5/15/25) pounds.

If you could only wave your magic wand and make these changes, then your body would be perfect and then you would be beautiful and then your clothes would look good on you.

Perfect doesn’t exist (and it’s not required anyway)

My (possibly) radical message is this: there is nothing wrong with your body as it is. You don’t need a perfect body to look good in clothes. You only need to select clothes that flatter the body that you have.

It almost sounds too simple, doesn’t it? But your body is nothing more than a series of shapes–think how obvious it is to say that we come “in all shapes and sizes.” Dressing to flatter your body means selecting clothes that work with your particular silhouette and your particular proportions, whatever they may be.

You’re not trying to cover up your shape or change your shape; your goal is to work in harmony with it.

Your silhouette, yourself

Think of it this way: when you go to choose makeup, you look for shades that work best with your skin tone or eye color, right? If you have green eyes, you choose flattering and complementary colors. You don’t spend a lot of time wishing your eyes were blue or brown or gray.

So it is with clothing. If you have wide shoulders, you can wish they were narrower and complain about having such a flaw–or you can choose tops that look better on wide shoulders.

The first step is to take a step back. Be clear-eyed and honest with yourself. Don’t judge. It doesn’t matter whether you could lose weight, or you’ve always wished you had longer legs, or you have Aunt Betty’s hips. You are who you are right now, the way you are right now, and it’s OK.

So what is that shape? Do you have a long torso or short? Wider on top or wider on the bottom? Tall? Petite? Big busted or small chested? Marilyn curvaceous or Twiggy narrow? Note the unique aspects of your figure; these are the building blocks of your silhouette that will guide the clothing choices you make. [This book will help you get started.]

(Slipping into the negative anyway? Pause for a moment and note all of your best features. What nice things would your best friend say about you?]

I know it’s not easy

It’s amazing how difficult this can be. I won’t pretend it’s easy. I won’t pretend I’m successful at it all the time, myself.

I have slender legs, but I focus on the little broken veins that have come with age. I am small around the torso, but I wish I had a bigger bust. I have spent far too much time obsessing over the soft belly that is a proven badge of motherhood.

So I look for shorts that are a little longer to cover the imperfections, yet also show off my calves. I look for detailing in my tops, but take pride in wearing belts to highlight where I’m narrowest. And I’m perfectly happy in the realization that I will not be sporting a bikini at the beach.

Look, I’m not a self-help guru. I can’t change your body image in a single post. (And if you’re really, truly overweight, then your health is far more important than what you look like, and your guidance should come from health professionals, not style bloggers.)

But I can want for you what I want for myself: to honor the body we have, to flatter it with appropriate clothing, and enjoy who we are, where we are now in all our beautiful imperfection.

[Photo credit: Misteraitch, Flickr Creative Commons]

It’s the fit, not the size

Apr
1

By Heidi IN Advice, Style

The fabulous Tim Gunn dispenses many pearls of fashion wisdom in his Guide to Quality, Taste and Style. One of the best is this: snip out the size tags in your clothes.

Tim Gunn's Guide to Quality, Taste and Style

Sounds a bit extreme? Perhaps it is. But his larger point is about focusing on the way your clothes fit you, not the number on the tag inside the waistband or collar.

After all, women’s clothing sizes are notoriously inconsistent across brands and stores. One label flatters you that you’re a 6. Another tells you you’re suddenly wearing a size 10. Meanwhile, most of your pants are an 8. Except for the junior sizes, where you might be a 7, or even a 9.

And no matter what the number on the tag, you’re going to have to try them on anyway, aren’t you?

So don’t let the scale be your guide; pay attention to the full-length mirror. Fit is about more than weight, after all. It’s about clothing in proportion to your body, just the way it is.

Is the waistband pulling apart at the buttonhole? Does the seat of your pants fit smoothly or are you straining at the seams? Do your shoulder seams fit at the shoulders, or do they hang off?

And if you find that perfect garment but it doesn’t fit quite right, consider the services of a talented tailor. He or she cannot make a too-small item larger, but your tailor can make most every item fit better.

Posts Tagged: size

Confused by online size charts? Start with your measurements