'I am NOT a OSFA!'

https://time.com/how-to-fix-vanity-sizing/

 A friend of mine sent me this article, above, after a conversation we had about how unfair the labels are on clothes.  There are NO consistencies in sizing, there is no magic fit, there seems to be a conspiracy among many manufacturers to make the entire experience of buying clothes one of embarrassment and trauma.  (Thankfully this isn’t ALL manufacturers, and I have now found some who are realistic)

 I hate trying on clothes, knowing that my ‘Rubenesque’ figure is unlikely to complement many of the styles I love.  I get especially disheartened when I see ‘one size fits all’ (OSFA) but clothing that are sized can also be depressing in their fit. 

 It would seem many of the women I have met, over the last two years in retail, have a similar experience when buying clothes.  I often hear exclamations from the change-room like:

• I have a really broad back and no boobs, so summer dresses never fit right
• I hate how my stomach sticks out
• I just want to cover/hide the rolls
• Women my size shouldn’t wear bikinis
• Big women shouldn’t wear bright colours
• I am just a funny shape, nothing ever fits
• My bum is too big
• I am just not right
• Oh, how embarrassing that I have let myself go this bad
• I am too short
• I am too skinny
• I am too tall
• My arms are too big
• I don’t look good in any clothes….

Ladies, we are not alone in these thoughts, it seems many of us have the similar belief that we are not quite ‘there’ yet… wherever there is.

One of my intentions for Barefoot Beach Boutique is to create a space where size doesn’t matter; the fit matters, how we feel in what we are wearing matters.

 When you come into Barefoot Beach Boutique, we have labelled the size of our clothes according to the label and are here to help you find the size that fits you most comfortably and complimentary, regardless of the label.  We will even cut the label off for you, if you like.

 Do not be disheartened if it doesn’t fit - One size fits small!   And many times a size 18 fits a knuckle dragging voluptuous non-existent creature.

 After two years in the fashion business, I can no longer honestly answer the question “What size are you?”  when I am asked.  In my shop, I fit into clothes ranging from size 12 to 20 or M to XXXL.  What size I fit complimentarily and comfortably into depends on the brand, make, style, fabric and manufacturer. 

 As we shoppers have gotten bigger over the years, sizing standards have changed to make us think we are ‘thinner’; a women’s size 12 in 1958 is now a size 6.    The modern obscurity of sizing clothes adds even more confusion, depending on the brand, a size 12 pair of jeans can vary in waist size by 22cm.  How are we supposed to reconcile what size we actually fit?   

 The changed sizing may be intended to help me think I am a skinny size 16-18, the average Australian woman’s size in 2023 according to Refinery29, but many styles and brands do not carry my new size.  Most of the brands you see through Fashion Week, on billboards or even in stores do not make clothes beyond size 14, hence, there are styles I stock that will not fit the average Australian woman.   I am sorry about this, I am constantly looking for new designs and manufacturers that accommodate most women.

 Continuing the frustration with size insanity, when ordering fashionable styles, the pack or size runs are skewed to the smallest sizes; I get two pairs of size 8, 10 & 12 jeans and only 1 pair of size 14 in a pack.  At the end of the day, I am left with many clothes that fit very few Australian women and few styles to fit me.

 When I am ordering clothes, anything beyond size 14 is referred to as either ‘curvy’ or ‘over-size’ and I search out specialist wholesalers to source clothes.  Increasingly there are more fashion houses in the world catering for the average and larger sizes, but many of them are still yet to size according to stature. 

 What I mean is, too often a size 18 top is just an oddly expanded version of a size 10 top; there is no allowance for realistic changes in a larger body.  Just because I am now a size 18, this doesn’t mean my arms are now 7” longer than when I was size 14!  Or my shoulders have now developed into a version of ‘The Rocks’ torso!

 In some styles, I am a size 12 in my arms, a size 18 around the boobs and a size 16 at the hips.  If the clothing article had been thoughtfully developed for a curvaceous woman, the creator would take the average measurements of a reasonably sized test group of women and then build an outfit that could fit most.

 Another of my intentions for Barefoot Beach Boutique is to create a space where “What size you are” is not as important as “How would you like to feel in that outfit?”   In asking this, I want ALL women of ALL sizes to enjoy trying on clothes, enjoy looking in the mirror and to feel ‘perfect just as they are’.

 My challenge is ongoing.