fashion industry – sophie counts clouds

Hello!

I work in a clothing store – it’s a lovely job, I love what I do – but I was looking at our sizing charts the other day and noticed something that made me angry and sad in equal measure.

Looking at women’s sizing and girl’s sizing, a women’s size 8 and size 10 are smaller in their chest/bust measurements than a girls size 13.

They’re expecting women who are a size 8 or 10 to be smaller than an average 13 year old girl.

This just blew my mind – in a world where people are trying to promote body positivity and help women feel empowered and strong in what they do and how they look, the industry is still making clothes that allow 13 year old girls to be bigger than the smallest sized women?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t make clothes for smaller women, but I just don’t think these sizes reflect what size children and woman are!

Looking at the boys and mens sizes – a 13 year old boys top has a 36″ chest, while a size Small has a 36-38″ chest. There’s a progression from one to the other rather than the ridiculous overlap in the women’s clothing sizes.

As soon as a 14 or 15 year old girl moves from kids clothing to adult clothing, they’re going to be trying on a 12 or a 14 and wondering why they’re not a smaller size and they don’t need that – this might be one of the reasons for girls developing insecurities about their size and weight so early on, not just skinny, photoshopped celebrities in magazines.

Comparing the boys and girls sizings, it’s clear that the industry is only targeting women – it’s a really clear reflection of what’s going on and how they want women to feel. Not even women – girls who are just moving out of kids clothes into a brand new part of their lives. They’re about to experience a huge variety of new shops and new styles and it’s a chance for girls to really find they’re style and experiment with who they are and who they want to be and the fact they’re already going in thinking they’re ‘fat’ and ‘oversized’ and just implying they’re not skinny or good enough is the worst thing for them and their mental health.

When seeing these numbers are work, my colleague and I picked up a size 8 hoodie and a size 13 hoodie. The considerable difference genuinely baffles me and it makes me sad for women’s clothing and girls getting into this new section of their life.

But what do you think? Do you think this has a severe impact on how girls grow up? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading,

Sophie xx