Clothing Vanity Sizing Is Out Of Control

Sure, it makes some people feel better, but vanity sizing is everywhere. And the insanity of the wildly diverging sizes offered by different brands gets the once-over in the NY Times, which has a crazy graphic showing just how extreme the range of sizes can be: For instance, a size 8 at H&M would be an actual 34.5" bust, but a size 8 at Chico's would be a 38" bust. And the Gap's "size 2" hip equivalent to a "size 8" at sister company Banana Republic. Naturally, this means entrepreneurs are trying to save shoppers headaches.

One company, MyBestFit, will scan someone and create a shopping guide that "lists styles that fit your exact body shape," which can be filtered by brand, style, price or retailer. The service is free to shoppers but retailers pay a fee if they are shown in the results (they can't pay to be in the results) and, according to the Times, returns due to sizing variations are 8% of the $194 billion fashion industry. So far, the only scanner location is at the King of Prussia mall, but there are plans for more on the East Coast.

One designer who studies costume history told the Times that, based on Vogue ads, "A woman with a 32-inch bust would have worn a Size 14 in Sears’s 1937 catalog. By 1967, she would have worn an 8, [Alaina] Zulli found. Today, she would wear a zero." Of course, sizing has changed because, well, we've all gotten fatter.