"Robert Klute" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 01:24:09 GMT, Cindy Fuller
> > wrote:
>
>
> >You didn't read Jane Brody's column a week or two ago. The trend is
> >actually the opposite of what you describe. A women's size 8 today is
> >what used to be a size 12 20 years ago. The higher end clothing
> >manufacturers have initiated "vanity sizing", to satisfy women who want
> >to claim they're still a size 8 despite the middle aged spread.
>
> Amazing. Perhaps it is regional. Out on the left coast I have found
> the opposite. When I wear exact measure clothing (16-1/2 x 34 shirts
> for example), or the M shirts I purchased 25-30 years ago (yes, I still
> have some that were packed away and brought back out recently) the
> clothes fit. Yet, went I try on new relatively sized shirts the M tends
> to be tight and I need to but L.
>

I agree! I used to be a weightlifter and because of that my shoulders have
always been larger than the average woman's. I could still always fit into
either a L or XL woman's shirt. Because of finance issues and my last
profession, I didn't go to a clothing store to shop in close to 10 years (I
know it's hard to believe, but it's true). Last spring, I got a new job and
needed some *nice* clothes for work. Wow! NOTHING fit me! For my
shoulders and breasts, I needed a woman's plus sized shirt but then it
completely bagged and flowed around my waist. The only way I solved that
problem was to go in the men's department and purchase men's large or
X-large button down shirts. These fit me so that's what I wear now. I
would love to be able to fit into flowery, sleeveless dresses, but until I
learn how to make my own, it's pants, shorts, and polo-type shirts for me.

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