We seem to live in a very size obsessed society, but the question is, does size really matter? For those fashionistas out there like me, you know that sizes vary from designer to designer and even from one garment to the next. So my answer to that question is simply NO!

Let me interject this caveat, I am not saying women shouldn’t care about the body underneath their clothing, I am simply saying if you are comfortable with your body size, the size of your clothing is insignificant. You need to fit the body you have now.

The very most important factor in clothing is FIT not SIZE. Sure, most women would rather have the “2″ than the “4″ or the “10″ rather than the “12″ but in the end it’s all about how it looks on your body. After all, who is looking in your clothing at your size anyway? Nobody, I assure you.
Let’s just say you can “fit” in a smaller size, the question to ask yourself is “does this look GREAT?”. Examine the garment on your body, is it too big some places or too small in others? The key to fit is accommodating the largest part of your body. You can have garments taken in. So if the dress you have on is pulling across the hips, try on the next larger size. Does it look better? Probably! Don’t try and stuff yourself in a piece of clothing that is too small for you. It only makes you look BIGGER. I see this most often in pants, as they are the hardest garment to fit.

Now that you hopefully understand that the size doesn’t matter, let me clarify that point further by explaining to you how varied a size can be. Some manufacturers run small, others large, and some even true to size. Very rarely can women wear the same size across the board in 10 different designers or manufacturers. It is conceivable that with the inconsistency in the sizing throughout the garment industry, you could have anywhere from 3-5 different sizes in your closet right now that all fit you perfectly.  Then you get into the cut of each individual garment within the same brand and you will still find variations. Sometimes it’s simply they are cut too small or too large and other times it can be that the cut or style of a particular garment will fit your body differently than another.

So next time you are out looking for the perfect outfit, remember, it’s FIT not SIZE.  If you are really concerned about size, take your measurements on a regular basis and use that as your guide post, not some random garment manufacturers number or letter.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Tips From The Stylist, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.