a99kitten's Musings

I ordered this dress a few weeks ago and finally tried it on. It looks SOOOO cute on!!! It will be perfect for a wedding I have to go to in 2 weeks. Would be even more perfect with some cool heels but I think I’ll still be in my boot so I will wear 1 cute-ish yet shorter heel….hopefully the cute will counteract the Frankenstein…

I’m glad I ordered it as soon as I saw it – they are already out of my size!

I accidentally ordered a couple other things from there today. 30% off using the code BRKING30 – it’s for being a “King or Queen for a day”. Leave it to American retail to try and cash in on the royal wedding somehow ;)

Ordered another cute dress, a light tweed jacket and a couple tank tops. Great spring casual-ish wear! BR is tuff with their sizing though. Sometimes even their XS are waaay too big. But then sometimes, they cut them weird so it’s tight in some places, roomy in others.. And sometimes their S is just right. I love their continuity….

The email I received this AM was titled “In The Pink”. Pretty sure that email campaign was directed right at ME (=sucker for cute pink stuff!) SO of course I clicked on it. This whole spending a lot of time in front of my computer is bad for my wallet!

I found this coat at Banana Republic TOTALLY BY ACCIDENT (I swear I was not looking!) while returning something :) It was the only 1 one there, in an XS and they were offering 30% off the sale price making the coat $65.00 which is basically free for a nice, warm, cute coat! And bonus – NOT made in China – yay!!! SOLD!

I have been wanting a shorter jacket/coat for a while but the ones I found and loved were always sold out in my size or color. I did just get a red peacoat (every girl needs a red coat) but still wanted a shorter, waist-length jacket/coat that was warmer than blazers but dressier than my North Face stuff. So I snapped it up :)

And let me just say – I look WAY cuter in it than this model :) My hair color looks way better against it ;)

Now…I still want a short coat in black too but that’s another story…

So according to both recent articles that I’ve read, and real-life experience, vanity sizing is alive and well.   This annoys me for several reasons…

How the heck can I buy anything online if the size doesn’t really correspond to anything in real life?  And those size or measurements charts you (the e-tailers) offer are a load of crap.  And even if I am 1 size in one of your pair of pants/skirts/sweaters/dresses, I might not be in another style.  Who the hell does this and why?? Not good business!!

Look – if I’m a size 2 or 0 or 18 based on actual real-life measurements that I can take and that will apply across all brands, or at least all items within 1 brand for cryin’ out loud, fine.  But no…that would be too easy.

And premium denim (you know who you are Rock & Republic, True Religion and Seven) don’t even get me started on your washes and material contents. I can wear 4 different sizes – IN THE SAME BRAND?!?!

Today’s 0 is not a 0 from several years ago.  The designers and brands have fattened them up pretty well. I guess this is because you want someone to feel good about themselves and buy from you when they can magically fit into your size 6 but everyone else’s size 8 (or 10)?? Think I’m off? Marilyn Monroe was a size 10 or 12 back in her day. According to her measurements, she would be a size 4 today. That’s insane.

Oh, and, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kim Kardashian publicly swearing they are a size 2. No dears – you are not.  Not to say you don’t look good whatever size you actually are – but it’s not a size 2. And *maybe* you can fit into a size 25 or 26 jeans – IF they have a heck of a lot of stretch in them. And really – BIG IF here.  No way rigid 100% cotton. Again – I don’t care what size you actually are but just say what it is (or don’t talk about it all..but don’t lie.) Big damn deal – you are both gorgeous girls.

I’m sick of not being able to know if I’m a 0 or 2 or an XS or S in J Crew, Banana Republic, whatever.  And forget designer clothes. I tried on some dresses in Vegas and the size SOOO varied by designer. Not a single dress that I tried on had the same number on it’s size tag. Yet when you looked at the dresses – they were all the same. ANNOYING! Girls do NOT like this! At least no girl I know – and I know some gooood shoppers (myself excluded of course!)

But I think I am most irritated by the fact that I work out all the time (every single day), I watch what I eat for the part and make sure I do not get to a size that I am unhappy with. So do not just F with the sizes to make people who don’t work as hard feel better about themselves. Make them realize, yes I am a size 4, 8, 10, whatever. If they are OK with that and like how they look – great! If not – then they need to deal with it with diet and exercise. But stop EFFING with the size of the clothes for their vanity (and my insanity!)  Please keep it uniform. I do not think it is too much to ask that a single brand has the same sizing WITHIN it’s own brand?!?!?! (J Crew I am talking directly to you…)