Warden vests. Sign in. Ways to earn. Ways to redeem. Established in , the standard was based on data from a study of women conducted by underwear manufacturer Berlei and some US Department of Commerce Standards. After , several revisions were made to the standard for women using data provided by the Australian Women's Weekly, when 11, female readers measured themselves and posted in the results, the last revision taking place in Almost 40 years later it's not surprising to learn those measurements are no longer considered relevant.
It's no secret that Australians today are bigger than they used to be. And research from the US reveals that the sedentary Western body may be changing shape, with waists getting thicker in both sexes. Thanks to multiculturalism, there's also a wider range of body shapes than back in the s. Despite these studies and abundant anecdotal evidence, there is still no definitive data to show just what kind of shape we are in today.
It's a different story overseas, where government and sectors of the clothing industry have conducted large-scale body-shape surveys in the UK, Spain, France, China, Japan, the US and Germany. This data has been used to help clothing manufacturers improve fit and identify new markets.
It's also been used to develop better-fitting uniforms and safety wear, and improve ergonomics in products ranging from cars to seating on public transport. In any woman's wardrobe it's not unusual to find an assortment of sizes, ranging from 10 to For others, the size range of clothes available in stores might not fit them at all. A study conducted by the University of South Australia and SHARP Dummies in found that about half the people surveyed said they couldn't buy "regular"-sized clothing as it didn't fit their body shape, and it seems things haven't improved since.
The problem goes right back to the source. Alana Clifton-Cunningham, lecturer in fashion design at the University of Technology, Sydney, says the lack of a national sizing standard means the university has had to develop its own rough standard for students to use as a guide, and admits it seems more generous than what's found in mainstream stores.
She also says it can take time to get students to understand the difference between the design and look of the garment and the actual wearability of the clothes.
Apart from the lack of standardised sizes, there are a few other reasons why there is such a difference between brands.
Part of the problem is our country's growing waistline, which has changed from the tapered and leaner pear shape of the s to the more generous-sized woman today. Rather than keeping sizes consistent, retailers sensitive to the delicate issues around weight and self-image have simply snuck a few centimetres into their sizing. Nicknamed "vanity sizing", the rationale is that the customer will feel so good about suddenly fitting into a size 10 they will snap it up immediately.
Some years ago, department store Myer inflated the measurements of its sizes 8, 10, 12 and 14 by several centimetres, to represent what it said was a better fit for customers. Country Road is legendary for making the average size customer miraculously fit a size Youth fashion chain store Sportsgirl recently acknowledged the heavier population, announcing it would be adding some size garments to its collection because of market demand.
The other, more sinister end of the scale is impossibly small sizing that controls who can wear what. With catwalk models averaging size , as well as new tiny sizing categories in the US such as sizes 00 and 0 sizes 4 and 6 in Australia , the battle for body image extends across the shopping malls throughout the country. Use a tape measure to get accurate bust, waist and hip measurements at home.
This varies from brand to brand and by country. Some stores will consider a medium to be a size 10, while others a size As an average, a Medium is likely to be a around a size An Extra Small is likely to be a size 6, with an Extra Large likely to be a size It absolutely depends on the retailers, but a lot of plus size-specific retailers will stock from a size 14 or Get updates on our latest products, greatest deals, coupon codes and exclusive sales direct to your inbox.
Navigating the minefield that is our clothing size system usually requires taking three different sizes into the changeroom, or buying them online and returning the duds.
The problem is that there is no official sizing system. The reason why you might be one size in Country Road, two sizes smaller in Sportsgirl and one bigger in Cue, is because each fashion brand creates its own size system around their different target markets. While there are exceptions to every fashion rule, women who shop at Sportsgirl or Bardot are usually different to those who shop at Scanlan Theodore or Carla Zampatti.
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