According to http://www.vintageswank.com/sizing.html I'm a vintage (pre-1970s) size 10/12.  This is a couture size 2/4 today.  I'm OK with this; I don't care what size the tag says as long as that's as far as it goes and I can buy reasonably priced clothes that fit.

However, vanity sizing has gone so far that I cannot always do that.  The most extreme example of how far vanity sizing has gone is QVC's size chart.  QVC's 00 is a vintage size 14/16.

A vintage size 10/12 is what people used to think of as average and is not an unreasonably small size.  But, regular retailers have seemed to have given up on that end of the rack forcing slender women to spend big bucks on clothing lines that have not caved to vanity sizing to such an extent that an old fashioned 10/12 is now a non-existent 000 or 0000.

Anyone else frustrated by this?

 The rule I always went by:  cheap clothes run small, quality brands run big, or true to size.

If you want to feel skinny, try LLBean stuff, everything seems to run big!

 

I'm a size 10/12 in old fashioned sizing.  In cheap clothes I can't find clothes small enough to fit me at all.  In expensive, designer clothes I'm a "modern" 4.

Where do you find cheap clothes that run small, Robin?

ETA:  Vintage 10 = modern expensive 4 = modern cheap nothing.  

I can't wear ANY clothes from L.L. Bean; they are all too big.  And, my point is not how small I am, it's that AS AN OLD FASHIONED (1960s) SIZE 10/12 I SHOULD BE ABLE TO BUY CLOTHES EVERYWHERE, but retailers like L. L. Bean make it impossible.

Maybe things have changed, but I always found that I had to go 1 or 2 sizes up, if I got jeans at Walmart, Target, those kind of places.  I rarely go there anyway, cause cheap stuff is flimsy and doesn't last long,  plus they have those horrid bright colors!

But at Lord & Taylor type stores I was often the size I expected to be,  LLBean stuff tends to run a little big, but comfortable and well made imo. 

 

I'm finding the exact opposite.  And, the size charts go along with my Experience.  QVC's size 00 is a 26" waist, what used to correlate to a size 14!!!

On Newbury, a 4 fits me great (and 2, 0, and 00 are too small like they should be).   At L.L. Bean (and other big chains) I'm hiking up a 4 or bunching up the waist in a belt.  And, if that's their smallest size I'm SOL.

I feel like this is off in the pucker brush.  If an old fashioned size 10 is 2 whole sizes smaller than what some companies are now calling a 00 or XS, is there not a real problem going on with sizing?!

I have a friend who shops at Chicos because she can be a size 0 there.

She's really a size 12-14.

I find size charts aren't always accurate.

Go to a place like Marshalls, find a style you like, grab it in 3 sizes and head to the dressing room!

That's what I would do, or check out the sales rack at the nice places, like Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom etc.

 Some people have their jeans tailored to fit just right, dry clean only, etc. 

ETA: I guess I misunderstood the question...

You mean I'm NOT a perfect size 4?   The Horror! 

 

I was hoping to have a discussion about how an old size 10 is now too small for regular retailers to bother with.  People used to "diet to an 8" back then so I can't be THAT small.

Chicos sizes are unique - a 0 isn't really even a modern 0 - like your friend found, it's a modern 12.  I'm a modern 4 (couture).  So, at chicos I'd be a...?  Bueller?  Bueller?

Yes, I can get clothes made or go to Newbury and be done lickity split for thousands of dollars.  

My point, though, is that I'm a size (by tape measure) that used to be average, not a freak of nature.  I should, therefore, be able to walk into ANY store and buy whatever I want.  Don't you think?

I guess I should have had the OP say, "I'm what was considered an average size in 1960, but now the smallest sizes big chain stores carry are too big for me.  What gives?"  

Can anyone answer that more succint question and does anyone else have a problem with the bulk of the clothing industry making what used to be an XL a Medium and pushing XS off the chart?

Had an offline friend with my measurements tell me to go to Nordstrom.  Checked out their size charts and, yes, they carry sizes that not only are small enough for me, but sizes too small for me, too...I'm not at the very edge there, and prices aren't as high as I feared.

just bought a vintage Lilly Pulitzer sweater today at an antique shop that fits perfectly.  It's not an XXS.  It's a regular old small.

If you are paying more money for clothes, you are far more likely to run into vanity sizing - people want to be told they are smaller than they are, and they are willing to pay a premium for that. Which makes ZERO sense since no one sees the size tag but the person who put it on.  Large is the new normal, and manufacturers take that into account. If you do not have a muffin top and/or are not large, you are going to have a hard time buying things off the rack that do not hang and/or have excess fabric. 

I am a thin woman with small bones and have the exact same issues. I do not enjoy shopping to begin with and it is maddening that I can't find things in my size.  I have to buy petites in tops b/c the regulars have way too much material around the waist.  I am 5'7" so this is rather annoying.  I just live w/ 'bracelet length' tops that aren't really meant to be that short in the arm.  But the XS in regular is way too big.  I have had to have size 0 suits from Ann Taylor taken in at the waist b/c they are too big. That is just wrong.  I am not emaciated.  I have C cups so it's not like I'm a bonerack.  It is completely maddening to have to hunt around and then have stuff taken in.

Get used to buying at full price and then having to pay a tailor to take it in.  I can't remember the last time I was able to buy anything in my size on sale.  But the best stores for smaller women are Nordstrom, JCrew, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor. You may have to hit up their petites for tops.  Bottoms you'll likely have to have altered - the rise on petite pants is wrong if you are regular or tall.  Skirts may be too short in petite unless you have them let down.

Just wanted to let you know you are not crazy. Vanity sizing is very annoying. And completely unnecessary since no one but you sees the darn tag!

For casual summer tops, like tanks, Target is the way to go.  Their ribbed tanks are around $8 each and fit wonderfully - they are long enough that you don't have tummy exposed.  :-)  HTH!

Thanks, ALF - nice to know I'm not losing my mind.  Being smaller than average doesn't (well, shouldn't) automatically make me an XXS.  I had great luck in Natick at lucy and Athleta - I mostly need casual clothes that are comfortable yet well made, and they had just what I was looking for.  Not the cheapest options, but hopefully they will last a long time.

My biggest frustration is that in the same store the same pants in the same style and the same size don't fit the same. 

In response to allreadymarried's comment:

 

My biggest frustration is that in the same store the same pants in the same style and the same size don't fit the same. (end quote)

Yes, I have had that happen, even with my LLBean jeans, 2 exact pairs, and one of them is definitely snugger.

But, LLBean has an excellent return policy.

I don't care if they look like "mom jeans"

If you're in good shape, you'll look great no matter what you wear!

ETA:  After a certain age, even if you maintain the same weight and fit into the same size clothes, things change,  weight redistributes itself differently, no matter what you do.

Take a look around, if you don't believe me!

Clothing styles and sizes have to be reevaluated every couple of years.

Nordstrom also has a fabulous return policy. And many stylish choices that are not in the "mom jeans" category.  If you are willing to spend the $$, check out Not Your Daughter's Jeans.  They have support in all the right places. I don't need them yet, but know where to go if things do redistribute.   

Yes, different colors of the same things fit differently very often.  So, you have to try every piece on instead of assuming which is time consuming and annoying!

as for redistributing, lol, a good bra and shape wear can help. I love my new Wacoal bras, and I wear (sometimes) Yummie Tummie briefs when I feel the need to be helped out.

I'm a Nordstrom convert - thanks, ALF!!

Deleted after failing at posting a photo.

Another thing I'm loving about Nordstrom is that they put the model's measurements and the size she's wearing in the catalog photo.  It's very easy to figure out my size from that.  For instance, the Bagley Mishka (approximate spelling, lol) bathing suit I was oogling this morning from Haute (a Nordstrom subsidiary) was on a model with a 22" waist and 31" bust and she was wearing a 4.  That means that while my average size is a 0, I'd be an 8 in that item if you assume an inch per size.  If they hadn't put her measurements and size with the photo I'd guess the wrong size for myself by far!  

That's truly an old fashioned size 8, to harken back to my original post.  I'm not buying one; it's too expensive...just sayin' I wish all stores would deal more with inches than meaningless sizes.  The tape measure is unambiguous, and size charts regardless of the fact they are based on "inches" aren't right, usually.  A model's stats, on the other hand are real.