Did you ever go clothes shopping and find something that you really love? Its perfect, makes everything look fabulous and is a bargain at 50% off. Amazing!
But, your usual size doesn’t fit, and rather than buy the next size up, you leave it behind, because you just won’t go there. Some of us even have certain shops that we won’t go in, because we know nothing our usual size will fit us in there.
Lucy Horsely has called high street stores out for crazy sizing after she found her new pair of size 18 jeans from River Island were smaller than another pair of size 14 jeans from New Look.
According to Lucy, the two pairs were the same style- high waisted with a skinny leg and super stretchy fabric – and she couldn’t understand how the pair that were supposed to be smaller in size were in fact larger. She couldn’t find a pair anywhere that she could get into, and eventually bought a size 18 in River Island. A bit p’d off with having to buy 2 sizes up, it was only when she got home that she discovered the difference. She says “I know people say it doesn’t matter what it says on the label, but to a lot of women it does and I feel I can speak on behalf of the majority of women, that sizing does matter and has a huge influence on your confidence and self-esteem.”
Which brings us to our next point. As girls, we need to stop deciding how we feel about ourselves based on our size, and whether we’ve gained or lost a few pounds. There are health concerns with being bigger, but there are also many health concerns with being too small. Lets also consider mental health. There are bigger women out there who adore their bodies, are brimming with confidence, and who put nothing but positivity into the world. There are also smaller women who are miserable, lack self-esteem and are consumed with the unattainable desire to be ‘perfect’.
Kelli Jean Drinkwater is an activist and an artist. She has some amazing insights into how bigger women are treated, saying “Living outside what the mainstream considers normal can be a frustrating and isolating place”. She goes on to explain how “reclaiming yourself can be one of the most gorgeous acts of self love and can look like a million things.”
