size tagIf there's one thing I hate about shopping (which is kind of impossible 'cause what's not to love about clothes!?), it's the dressing room. It's like a civilized torture chamber, what with the two feet of space, the cheap wooden bench that no one ever uses, and that forsaken mirror -- and uh, sometimes there's more than one mirror. I've learned that dreams go to dressing rooms to die. And die they do.

Take for instance the other day, I made myself try on a shirt prior to buying it. It was a cute shirt, the appropriate size and length, but still, I wanted to be sure. In the fitting room, my worst fears were confirmed: Seems like every time I try something on in the right size, it's always too small, too clingy, too tight.

Ever feel like dressing for your body only leaves you feeling fat?

I don't know if it's just me, but I've got to assume that this is happening to women (and guys, too) all over. It's like every time I go to pick up my size, I have to be skeptical. The numbers on the size tag rarely match up to how the fit will be. And dang, is it frustrating. It's upsetting that trying on my size -- and not fitting into it -- has such an effect on how I feel about my body. Wouldn't you be put off too if your size doesn't fit you?

We can all sit here and say, "No, it doesn't bother me," but on some level, it does. You want to fit into the size you know reflects your shape. There is nothing wrong with wanting that. So how frustrating it must be to try on YOUR size and feel like it's too small, too tight, too not right.

Speaking from personal experience, I know I am not in denial about my size. If I'm a true medium, then I am a true medium. No complaints there. I expect that a medium, regardless of where I'm shopping, should fit like a medium. As a consumer, a shopper, and a lover of fashion, I expect that from the places I shop. I usually end up buying clothes a size up. I find the fit is more comfortable, more flattering. It's a backwards system, though. Is it too much to say that stores cater to women's body image issues? I don't think it is.

I understand that stores base their sizing on their fit models, but let's break that down for a second. A fit model is still a freakin' model. What if stores did something really revolutionary, like use real women to structure their sizes? How hard would it be to give women what they're looking for?

Doesn't seem too impossible.

Do you have a hard time with clothes sizes? 

 

Image via sporkist/Flickr