why don't clothes fit???? 

The interesting thing to me is that society does revere the "hourglass" figure, but I've found that modern clothes don't actually fit this standard. Most modern pants in my experience have almost the same hip size as they do waist size, which also doesn't work for many people. So even if your body fits the idealistic hourglass standard, your clothes still probably won't fit.

Let’s also not forget that when it comes to looking “fashionable” or even just “put together” plus sized people are held to much higher standards than those that are conventionally attractive. When a thin person wears an old t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers they look relaxed and fashionable, but when a fat person wears the same outfit they’re outdated slobs.

When I was a teen my mum encouraged me to get clothes that were just a liiiittle bit too small so it would incentivise me to lose weight. And then she wondered why I've had self esteem issues for most of my life, that I'm only now getting over at the age of 29.

As someone who has the privilege of learning to sew, I found so much power in the careful tailoring, and the lack of sizing makes me not feel the need to 'just squeeze in'. After recovering from an ED this really helps me, and I honestly think standard sizes were a huge factor in my ED

The second she started talking about clothing waste I got a shein add

I would just like to thank you for using the word "fat" Mina. As a fat person it means a lot to hear smaller people using the word without being scared of the stigma. Fat positivity all around. 💕💖

"I slept on it. and now I'm back with different words." What a delightful sentence. Really takes you to the core of emotional vulnerability and sincerity.

I went to an inpatient ED treatment facility when I was in middle school. It was pretty intense, but sometimes on the weekends we went on outings like to the mall or the book store if we had a good week. We were not allowed, under any circumstances, to step foot in Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister. They even made our parents sign an agreement stating that they would not take us to these stores. This was back in 2010 and those brands were all the rage. I didn’t understand at the time until Mr. Jeffries (🤡) made all those comments and it all finally clicked. I actually did my senior thesis on how the fashion industry breeds eating disorders in impressionable young people. 12 years later and I still haven’t stepped into these stores. And yes, I’ve heard about their rebrand and no, I don’t care.

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch talking about "exciting people" is so funny to me because I don't know of anyone who would be excited by freaking Abercrombie & Fitch.

Loving this red hair era. I know you were unsure about it, but I think it really suits you!

As a plus size woman, this is why I've learned how to sew and make my own clothing. I'm no expert in having a perfectly tailored garment, but I can make something that it unique to my body and literally no one else has one like it.

I used to watch "What Not to Wear" and one of the lessons that often stuck with me is "always dress the body you have now." I know many people find fashion stupid but finding your style that fits and looks amazing no matter your size is a huge confidence boost.

i’m in fashion school and our pattern blocks are “size 10” but they’re more like a modern 6 lmao it’s fucked

I feel like standardized sizing also enforces brand loyalty. Like if you know that you're a size 10 at one store, and that their clothes will always fit then you're more likely to buy from them especially while online shopping.

Fashion designer here ! One thing I hate about some standard sizing is when brands say they are making for women but they use teen or junior sizing . It drives me up a wall. I have a small body, but I am curvy with most of my shape in my butt and hips. And juniors sizing is always cut straight, a lot of time brands do this to save money because cutting straight takes up less fabric than curves. I think juniors sizes is silly because people who have gone through puberty can be curvy or straight at any age. To me it doesn’t even make sense as a category. Bodies even slim bodies are not straight lines and juniors is always cut like a square which fit no one other than prepubescent people and if they’re prepubescent it should be considered children’s wear. And it’s frustrating when brands that market to grown women are using juniors cutting. And it’s all about the whole slim girl bias. In college when I was studying for a fashion design degree our professors would make us use the junior model to do our flat sketches because they looked less wide.

It’s a shame that growing up we have all had the message of “smaller=prettier” drilled into our minds without even realising from young ages and only seeing thin white women on childhood tv shows resulting in unrealistic beauty standards. This like you said leads to us feeling unworthy if we don’t fit into our usual clothing size and makes us feel superior if we fit into the smallest size possible. Hopefully with more diverse models and sizing starting to appear the stigma around clothing sizes will begin to change.

oh, my good old enemy: standarized sizing

I'm not the only pear-shaped human, and I really just want jeans that don't have a gap in the back big enough to carry a miniature pony. 😭

My mother still has clothes in her closet from the 80s when she was a teenager/young adult, years before she had children and she keeps these clothes because she wants to fit into them again. We've moved nearly 15 times since I was born and these clothes which are ten, twelve sizes out of date now continue to travel with us because diet culture has my mother so convinced that she needs to look barely pubescent in her mid 50s.

I’m a plus sized person and personally, I hate inconsistent clothing sizes. For shirts i’ll fit in any L-XL. But pants..? I can range anywhere from an XL-3XL. Which makes me really glad for size charts.

What frustrates me so much as a side issue is that we have so many ways to build semi-elastic waistbands for pants and skirts that work for a range of sizes and styles, because your body changes over the day anyway. And they can look so neat! (I just picked up a vintage skirt with elastic on only the sides of the waist as a style decision and it's adorable.) And yet we're all expected to... wear one static band size? All the time? No! Elastic and comfort and accessibility for all!

As someone with a large bust, I’d say it’s less about the stigma and more about the lack of affordable bras that are the actual size you need. I have never been able to find a bra that actually is my size in band and cup and it is honestly so frustrating!

I remember when I was a kid there were these elastic bands with buttons that were strung through the inside of the waistbands of a lot of my jeans that you could adjust! it was probably because your body is EXPECTED to grow and change when you're a child.even though we all know adult bodies change I think its that they're not "expected" to in our current culture. I wish we could change that expectation and also bring these back!!

Also! As soon as you get far enough away from the "average" sizes, you essentially stop being able to get clothes. My mom is a 5-6x. There was one shop within a 200 mile radius of where we live that carried her size. Their clothes were cheaply made but expensive to buy and they just weren't her style, but she put up with it because she had no other option. That store closed during the pandemic, so now we're frantically trying to find somewhere online for her to get clothes. Most stores that do carry her size are small designer businesses, and while it's great that they made the effort to carry inclusive sizes, they are absolutely impossible to afford for my working class mom. If we come across any oasis stores that are inexpensive enough to be feasible, online shopping provides its unique set of issues with a lot of waste, time, and effort trying different garments only to find out that they dont fit or are uncomfortable, and needing to return them. It's a huge struggle, and it's really sad to see my mom not feel good about how she dresses, all of her clothes are either so old that they're visibly tattered or she just doesnt like them. SO MANY PEOPLE are in the same boat. If there is a affordable fat fashion brand, you can't even buy from them typically because the need for those clothes is so high that they're constantly sold out (not to mention sleazy brands saying they carry inclusive fashion but never stocking the higher sizes). There is a high demand for fat fashion! High enough that people almost can't meet the bare minimum of having any clothes to wear at all! If you're a smaller or average sized person and have the free time, I challenge you to find a full outfit in 5x+, affordable enough that a working class person could feasibly buy it, and in a specific or cute style. It feels nearly impossible a lot of the time. I think that if someone put the effort into making a fat fashion brand that was *affordable, accessible, and good looking,* they would absolutely make a fortune. Theres a need for these clothes, even if brands don't like the way fat people look! Anyways ty for listening to my rant, I'm very passionate about this. Great video as always, I love to see people actually talking about this :D

ever since i was around 10, i was larger than the average girls in my class. i was so ashamed and embarassed that larger sizes fit me that whenever someone would ask me my size i would lie. i told everyone not to buy me clothes as gifts because i was worried they'd make fun of me for fitting into Ls and XLs. it has taken years of unlearning and working on myself to finally be somewhat comfortable in my size. so even though standardised sizes are helpful, we as a society need to learn to not view those with larger sizes as inferior.

As someone with an hourglass figure i can comfortably say that clothes are not "made for our body tipe". Not stretchy garments are always loose around my waist or tight around my chest/hip

i’m especially frustrated when brands use vanity sizing in sizing that is supposed to be just the measurement (like i’ve found that 27’ waist jeans aren’t actually 27’)

as a fat goth guy, clothes are so wildly complex a topic that sometimes i don't even know where to start. i adore fashion, and i love my body - i got to this point after deciding i didn't want to hate myself anymore, but man was it a struggle. having had a mother that was a super involved goth in the 80's growing up (who has moved onto being sort of a hippie now, but she's still a goth at heart lol) i definitely got quite a lot of the spirit from her that used to be the main part of the subculture. she talks a lot about old friends digging through dumpsters to find good ripped clothes for free, or how so many of the popular goth boots weren't expensive because no one wanted to wear them. people standing in your bathroom helping you dye your hair in makeshift ways, helping your friend do their makeup with stuff you stole from your mom's makeup bag, or getting that one friend of a friend who knew how to sew to alter something for you. we compare things a lot these days, but even the photographs of back then are glamourized. people want to take pictures of the coolest, wildest outfits - not the three dozen other regular people behind the camera that all don't look super wildly tradgoth. they loved the music, they were openly counterculture and even if they didn't have the fanciest of outfits, in a lot of ways they still rejected (then) modern fashion trends. but capitalism loves to take advantage on making a profit. deviance from the norm will be acceptable so long as it is profitable. and so you have big brands making expensive clothes that fit only a fraction of people. i try not to be a gatekeeper, people can enjoy dressing however they like and so long as they aren't harming anyone i try not to care, and i especially try not to get all in a huff about some 16 year old kid who doesn't fit the goth scene perfectly, because that would be really stupid to do. (...but at the same time, the next time someone says taylor swift is 'goth music' is going to make me wither away slowly) and that's reflected in the fashion, really. people are obsessed with trying to look super wild and out there and have these elaborate perfect expensive outfits that make them look perfect. and i will admit, i like to be fancy myself. i'm poor as hell, but i like looking like a misplaced dracula film extra who might be a genuine vampire, y'know? but there is next to nothing for fat people on all these popular websites/in stores. capitalism and society's fatphobia has made options for fat goths nigh nonexistent. i joke that i'm playing my fashion life on some merciless difficulty setting, because i'm a fat jewish transgender goth man with a very specific style. my one true benefit is that i still love dressing in any sort of clothing, be it womens or mens, because clothing is clothing and i don't care, i love also dressing ambiguously. clothing has no gender, it's fabric! life is short! i'll wear a skirt or a frilly blouse if it makes me happy. yet even clothing websites that do marginally pander to us provide us with a fraction of the clothes, inconsistent sizing and very complex sizing guides, more expensive costs etc. thrifting is hard in comparison because i live in a conservative city. i'm a great thrifter and will pour intensely over every section to find that one needle in the haystack, and even buy stuff much smaller than me to use the fabric of so i can enhance a piece that does. but it's taken me years to even build up the tiny wardrobe that i have. the contrast between me and my other goth friend is insane. they're super tiny and skinny, and every week it seems - new purchase, new find, cool thing that looks super goth and looks great. the sheer multitude of clothes accessible to them sometimes astounds me. i would love to be able to reflect how i want to dress. i would love to be able to look up a boutique shop that sells custom made pieces, see a cool thing, get it, have it arrive and it looks and fits great. but i'm poor and fat, and the capitalistic centric fashion industry is overly hostile to those of us who are.

"Clothes are not meant to fit us, but we are meant to fit into the clothes" - This is EXACTLY what is currently wrong with clothing!! Having fluctuated between both ends of the "standardised sizing" spectrum (and briefly dipped in the plus-sizing area), I have never felt in any moment of my adult life that clothing has ever properly fit ME. There is ALWAYS some area or detail that does not not fit me no matter where I shop or look for clothing (usually, the sleeves/arms, bust, waist VS hip sizing, or length of the garment are the biggest offenders & don't even get me started on pockets). I have looked into getting my clothing altered at a tailor or garment alteration store, only to be told the cost of the alterations would be more than what the garment is even worth. It's as if they've taken the silhouette of a prepubescent child and simply scaled up the measurements in strange predetermined increments to create women's clothing standard sizing. There is so little room for busts, hips or stomachs, and so much extra length added to pants/skirts, yet the average Australian woman is a size 14-16 (US 10-12) and 172.53cm tall (5 feet 7.92 inches)??. How any clothing retailer is managing to turn a profit when virtually none of their clothing fits real people is beyond me.

As someone who is more curvy that most girls my age, it really hard to find clothes that fit! I literally wear sweatpants and sweatshirts because of the lack of options for curvy people

Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I really struggled to find pants that fit. It was the era of the low-ride, and I was chubby [still am] with wide and high-set hips. If I wanted to wear mid-rise, they'd be awkwardly cutting across the widest part of my body. In my late teens-early 20s, high waisted pants came back in style and my god, what a difference. Then curvy fit came along and really changed my life - now I can wear jeans that fit me at the waist without also feeling like my pelvis is about to get folded like a lawn chair. Having access to clothes that fit the shape of your body really does make all the difference.

19:57 A recocurring response from my peers when this statement was released: "Dude, you have no room to criticize appearances when you're that ugly!" It was honestly kinda heart-warming to watch middle-schoolers recognize how bull***t capitalist fashion philosophy can be, albeit in a very middle-schooler way. Personally, I always thought A&F clothes were pretty bland but this solidified my stance to never buy from them ever.

I used to manage a bridal store for a few years. Especially with first-time shoppers, I'd explain that bridal sizing was different than street sizing; aka, that if they were "normally" a size 10, they'd likely be a size 14 in bridal, partially because street wear uses more vanity sizing, and partly because most designers offer everything from a 0 to a 32, so with 16 sizes instead of 6, "sizes" are going to get skewed. I'd also give them the disclaimer that one designer's size 6 is another's size 8, and that these gowns are designed for what the company deemed the "ideal body ratios." I always encouraged my brides to focus on how they *felt* in a gown, and not their size, because at the end of the day, no one knew what size they were wearing. I would recommend to order a size that fit them *now* (with exception of pending surgery or current pregnancy) rather than the size they *hoped* to be by the wedding day, because dresses can be taken in, not let out, and isn't it better to have a dress that fits than one they can't zip up? I would share size charts with my clients, too, and it always made them feel better seeing actual numbers correlating to a size, and not some black magic. Anyway, random number sizing is bullshit and I wish sizes could be listed as "bust/waist/hip" measurements than a "desirable number." Buy what you love and what makes you feel confident, regardless of what the number says. No one knows what "size" you wear but you.

You just blew my mind.

I think, for me, what I’ve found the hardest is that clothes that are in my size and price range are clearly designed for much older women. Even in high school, I was dressing like my teachers did just because there were so rarely affordable clothes that fit me. And that goes for every type of clothing- fun tops, formal dresses, cute bras, hell even shoes! And that lack of choices forces us into this box of what a plus sized woman has to look like, even if we don’t want to dress like that. And don’t even get me started on how jeans can’t withstand my thighs!

This is exactly why I appreciate plus size and petite size specific stores. I'm a petite woman, and every store I go to that has all sizes, I can never find anything that fits because of vanity sizing. I usually have to settle for an ill-fitted S (that should really be considered a M at the absolute least) or an XS if they even have it (or maybe even the fabled XXS which is what actually fits). Having petite (and plus size) specific stores is great, but the cost is clothes are considerably more expensive. A new-in-stock dress at a petite store I frequent usually runs $60-$80 depending on the style (I look at clearance usually, but that's still not very affordable for a lot people). A couple solutions I can think of: 1. Have petite and plus sections, and have XXS, XS, S, M, L, XL etc. based on those proportions separate from each other. 2. Have employee(s) in the store dedicated to altering clothing. 3. Similar to 2, except have local tailors partner up with mainstream stores. The tailoring company could have their own section in the store, but then people could also go to the tailor's main business for more expensive/extravagant clothing. 4. Like how the X in XL can continually increase (ie XXL, XXXL, etc.), making a limited quantity of XXS and XXXS would also be useful. It would allow people who need those sizes to find something that will actually fit, while keeping vanity sizes (yes, needing to go up a size because of weight gain can destroy self esteem, but needing to go to the *children's* section to find something at reasonable price can also be soul crushing. This isn't a contest to see which side has it worse, we all need clothes that fit, plain and simple). 5. Make thrifting more socially acceptable via having thrifted/recycled clothing sections in mainline stores (Ragstock does this, and the stuff I've found there is astonishing). Those are just the ideas off the top of my head, but anyone feel free to chime in with their own ideas or how these ones could be improved.

"which is NOT a bad thing by the way , THAT IS NOT A BAD THING" god please yell at me more that weight gain isn't bad these are the affirmations i need

What I'd really like to see is the return of the alterations department -- even just a couple of decades ago, mid-range department stores would employ seamstresses and tailors to adjust clothing to fit the individual buyer. Sometimes this was included in the purchase price, and sometimes it was a small additional fee. Either way, it was seen as an essential service to offer. But as the garment industry shifted production overseas to exploit lower labor costs, in-house alteration departments were seen as unnecessary expenses damaging the bottom line and slowly started to disappear. Now you really only see them in upscale department stores or fancy boutiques.

(mention of weight and problems surrounding that so tread lightly 💗) i'm someone who is severely underweight but relatively average/tall in height, and standard sizing is my worst nightmare. thanks to vanity sizing, even size s and xs hang off of my frame and not one single item of clothing that i've ever bought has fit me (even just passably) without me tailoring it myself. thankfully i learnt to sew so i could make my own clothes fit, but it's so frustrating! sewing is such an important skill though and something i think everyone should try and learn (since standard sizing fits essentially no one) also, i know plus size women struggle with sizing issues a lot more, but the opposite problem of the same kind can be so annoying too. in conclusion - sizes suck

And *THIS* is why I had to learn to sew my own clothes as I grew into a tall curvy bod. The difference to body image and confidence that comes from clothes that fit you properly cannot be overstated. Shopping is so depressing since ready wear always makes me feel like my body is commiting a crime by walking into the store.

Commenting again for the interaction I just wanted to say it's funny that the CEO of Abercrombie thinks he can judge people on their looks when he literally looks like someone's big toe.

Can we talk about how size inclusivity needs to also include sizing that actually adds length without adding width? Being tall and actually being a medium but having to get an xl just so it is long enough is frustrating as heck. And sometimes even then the clothing item is not long enough, and ends up just swallowing me whole.

As a bigger girl and have been having many troubles finding clothes that fit me my whole life, hearing you said "there is no reason larger women can't look just as fabulous as all other women" touched me a lot and made me cry...

As a person on the street fashion side... This issue only can be addressed by taking the means of production in your hands. Learning how to sew and repair clothing gives you a whole new perspective in the way the clothes should look on you and what's better to buy. On my current group we're collecting data so everyone can have 1 or 2 whole outfits well fitted for them.

I feel like plus size fashion isn’t talked enough about in the conversation around SHEIN. They have a huge plus size collection! I hate the ethics around SHEIN, but shopping on their website is the first time in a long time I felt normal. I finally feel like a have options and not just the 20 or so awkwardly long and boxy shaped ones.

I think the bra thing actually has less to do with not wanting to claim a larger cup size, and more to do with the fact that larger cup and band sizes are not catered too. Bra’s are expensive, and up until this year (I’ve been wearing bra’s for a little over a decade) I’ve never had a bra that fit me. I’ve been large busted and fat for most of my life, and finding a bra that comes in both band and cup size under a certain price range is nonexistent. I couldn’t afford the $150 bra I wear now, and so I wore a 42 DDD knowing it wasn’t the correct size. I also just hated the beige cone shaped bra’s that I occasionally did find in larger sizes. I went to a plus size friendly lingerie boutique I’d been following on Instagram this summer, and it was only then I found out I am a 42 G! The girl who runs the shop told me that they actually don’t stock any basics, her clientele doesn’t really want them. I didn’t want them either. I’ve been force fed bland uninspired clothing by corporations who hate fat bodies most of my life. If I was spending this kind of money on a bra I wanted to adore it.

As a woman with a large chest, who is also below average height at 5'0, I have the hardest time finding clothes. Especailly when it comes to sports bras. the XL-XXL size almost never fits right. The band is always too big the cup portion is always too small. And when it comes to "regular" clothes, I find myself just wearing t-shirts and leggings because everything else off the rack doesn't fit comfortably at all. Finding this community has really inspired me to bring out my sewing machine and start looking into how to make my own clothes.

This was an incredibly validating video. As an international student (moved to the U.K. from Southern Africa) I have struggled with finding clothes that fit especially since gaining weight. I fit the stereotypical curvy black woman shape but people don’t realise how depressing it is not being able to wear jeans you like because your butt is too big. Or even dealing with chub rub between your thighs in the summer when wearing dresses, flowy dresses never actually being flowy because your hips are wide. Don’t even get me started with the struggle for big boobs! It’s honestly a nightmare and I don’t enjoy shopping at all. Jeans are literally so straight and tops are getting too tiny or there’s so many cut outs in them that you’re left wondering how will my breasts even fit in that ? I know in some lights having a so called hourglass figure is desirable but people don’t realise it’s a specific type of hourglass. As long as you’ve got perky breasts, a tiny waist and not too wide hips, you’re the standard. Anything outside of these margins will become very apparent when you’re shopping because you have to compensate by buying body tape or boob for example. Hate it

I could never really wrap my head around the fact that the measurements for bottoms in men's sizing has all these different options for waist/inseam/length sizes, but for women's sizing more often than not we're just stuck with one number. I'd kill for big clothing companies to start offering more options for petite sizing available especially in store rather than just online! AND for the stigma of "well if you're petite, that means you're thin" bs, because a majority of women are not the standard size 2, 5'5, thin frame with long slender legs.

I have uneven breasts, and the modern excuse for bras are only meant to fit department store mannequins. The only bras that are ever comfortable are sports bras. I go comfort over looks everytime, even though I love the older fashions of previous eras.

Every time I watch your videos, I feel the waistline of my brain increasing immensely with knowledge and wisdom (it still fits in my head due to vanity sizing ofc)

‼️I live in an apartment complex and this girl next to me my neighbor she recently got married and she comes from wealthy family so she has a lot of designer clothes. Well she gained weight after having her two kids and could no longer fit into her pre-mom clothes. She put them in trash bags and put them in the dumpster. There is a thrift store two blocks away. And I'm talking designer clothes never worn with the $200 tags on them still. I noticed some clothes peeking out of the trash bag when I was throwing my trash away and I got them out and they all fit me perfectly. And I think she saw me wearing one of her clothes because next time she took her clothes and threw them in the far away furniture only dumpster so that way I couldn't find them and wear them. But I did find them. I just took all the bags of her clothes into my house kept and washed what I wanted and donated the rest. This girl would rather throw away her nice clothes so no one else could wear them then donate them to someone who could need them. If she couldn't fit in these clothes and couldn't wear them anymore she didn't want anyone else to wear them either. She was just a really selfish insecure person. And she basically threw her entire wardrobe away over the course of 3 weeks because it was all too small for her.

The Marilyn Monroe myth annoys me cause it's so pointless, even by looking at her photos you could tell she wasn't plus size lol she had a BMI of 19.5 on her ID when she was super famous in 1954 and went to visit soldiers in Korea in those famous photos and videos and even at her heaviest when she was pregnant her waist was 28 inches, her clothes couldn't even zip on a modern size 4 mannequin (in part because she was often sewed into her clothing and bought too small a size but still). During her time in Manhattan she went to shop with a friend at an Italian store and asked for three sweaters in EU/Italian sizes 38 to wear at home, 36 for dinners and 34 for public appearances and her friend told her to stop being silly and just get a 38, that's an American size 6 at most

I had to buy pants in a larger size today and I def felt that shame of "I need to change and be my smaller size." This video made me feel a little better, thanks Mina!

This has added a new level to my rage for clothing sizing because even thought my measurements mean i’m have an “hourglass” figure,, because i’m a very short and overall small person shopping feeling impossible because their small sizing feels built for someone without any kind of curve so some garments without give simply don’t fit

Being Taiwanese and having an easy access to Japanese brand such as Uniqlo, GU, and Muji, its honestly soooo anxious for me to shop in these stores because Japanese sizes are usually smaller than usual, which always makes me question my weight. There's this time when I bought a XL dress from uniqlo and it's literally the same size as a S size dress from H&M lmao

I have cried going out clothes shopping especially if it’s with a friend who happens to have a body that works within the sizing format that is used now a days. As someone with an apple body, no matter how large I go up in size nothing will ever fit me because my waist is bigger than my chest and hips which is the opposite of what sizing charts expect. It hurts because I love fashion a lot, I’ve considered just leaning to sew. I want to be more positive in my life outlook but I thought I’d share my personal struggles within standardized sizing.

everything you said is why i want to go into clothing design particularly for queer, fat, disabled folks. i used to be very thin and have gained a lot of weight &it’s been a difficult journey of just finding clothes that fit, are flattering, and are my style. i hope that ican create some kind of alternative to fast fashion &big corporations that refuse to size properly

I have always struggled with an "out of proportion" body. I recently got a breast reduction (I had an Australian K cup, for comparison I have NEVER met ANYONE larger than a G cup, and that G cup was a single woman. Literally I had no idea bra sizes even went up to K) The issue was that I had a size 14 band, I DARE you to find a size 14K. I had a single website that would make bras for women with larger boob jobs, and it goes without saying they were default expensive as hell. I went for a reduction mainly for my health, as I was struggling to breath and I could no longer lay on my front as I would hurt my back from it being angled up so sharply, or lay on my back because the weight would collapse my lungs and I was entirely unable to breathe. The second issue was the stigma. Since I started puberty, I was always the big chested one. It was humiliating to know that no shirt or dress that was store bought would fit me. I had to get XXXL shirts just to cover my breasts, and the rest of my body was so small. I was wearing size 12 pants, and size 28 shirts. It was completely dehumanizing. I stopped trying to look nice. I gave up on trying to do anything to make me stand out more than I already did, I couldn't wear tight fitting clothes, and I ended up just trying to dress like I was extremely overweight, because it was better than having strangers stare at me or worse, try to hit on me and in some occasions try their luck at feeling me up. I went in for my operation last year in November at the age of 18. It was expensive, it was painful, I have scars that will never fade and I had complications that will ensure I never get a "normal" breast. Am I devastated? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I could not bear the burden, it was bad enough having the shame from myself, but it was so much worse having the shame pounded in by clothing labels that all my friends could enjoy. Sure I might be lop sided and have a misshaped right side now, but I would always take it over being restrained everyday for the rest of my life.

One thing that thrifting has helped me with is knowing my measurements and in turn being more aware before I buy an item if it's going to fit or not (definitely not perfect when I'm trying to measure jeans in the thrift store or using poshmark/depop), but I'd say I've had more successes than fails. Whereas with shopping on normal big brand websites, I'm always so confused when they don't have all of the measurements of the item especially with jeans because my idea of what a high rise measurement is can be very different than what say Agolde/Levi's/BDG/etc classifies as "high rise". I just wish I would have been more aware of my measurements in the past when I did shop fast fashion because I did a lot of online shopping and returning mainly from the fit of the items. Although I also know for some people knowing their measurements can be triggering so I can understand it's not always a positive thing.

One of the things I wanted to call out too, is height variability. A lot of men's pants sell by waist size and inseam length, and while I understand the waist measurements could be off, the inseam being a listed measurements means that clothing companies understand that men have varied needs in terms of leg length. Generally speaking, this is not the case for woman. Pants, shorts, trousers, and jeans are still sold in the 1 unit measurement vanity sizing. Occasionally there are "tall" "long" "petite" and "short" options, but these are outliers. Body weight over the course of a persons life can fluctuate, but most people don't change in height after puberty, so inseam length is a pretty steadfast unit of measure for everyone. Yet, it's disregarded for women, as though we're all the same height. The stores that do try to account for height difference also tend to miss the mark in other body differences. You can be "tall" and "curvy", but it unlikely that a store catering to taller bodies will account for shape differences within that. I've always thought that if 3 units of measurement for tops and bottoms were given (shoulder, bust, waist for tops and waist, hip, inseam for bottoms), more people would be able to find better fitting clothing (given that certain sizes aren't neglected) and companies would still be able to mass produce. It may decrease the volume at which they can pump things out, but that's probably good for the environment. It's amazing to me that something hasn't been done about this yet. I've seen the a trend in more companies offering made to measure casual garments, but those prices are not feasible for everyone.

I’m so glad I learned to sew my own clothes, especially as I’ve gotten older and I’ve gone from slender and easy to fit to ‘normal weight’ but with a different shape, much of it caused by childbirth and change in metabolism due to age. Fabric is expensive and good fabric even more so, so clothing becomes and an investment and I tend to stick to making pieces that have a classic style and can be worn for years. Though I still suffer from the ‘but I was 115lbs or less most of my life and now I’m 135-140, omg!’ anxiety at times, I feel more comfortable with it than I would have at a younger age. The clothes I do purchase ready-made tend to be from companies like Gudrun Sjöden, which emphasises an eco-sustainable methodology and has lots of mix and match basics that, while higher priced, have a longevity that can stand the test of time and in the end save money because they need not be replaced often if ever. That said, I understand that the ability to do this is a privilege and I do not fault those who rely on fast fashion because their ability to have a larger initial outlay in order to have a long term benefit just isn’t feasible. Anyway, very interesting video; I may be older but I still find the younger generation’s opinions and reflections very informative and sometimes quite eye-opening!

One slightly off topic thing I’ve noticed is that it’s nearly impossible to find outfits for things like figure skating that cater to larger bodies (speaking from experience). Like trying to find tights that are both large and opaque enough is an absolute nightmare

"My beautiful doves" warms my heart every time

Standardize sizing today is just another way for people to feel insecure about their bodies Edit: I want to clarify that the way Standardize sizing is done is dishonest which is why it makes people feel insecure. Nobody should be going to a store a buying jeans that say 26 inches and come to find out that it’s 3 inches bigger.

I’m 5.3” a healthy weight and most companies don’t even make clothes small enough to fit. It makes me feel shame for my size even though I am curvy, muscular, fit and a healthy weight . Bras I have to buy whatever one the happen to have in 28” because I’m small boned and curvy. Most lingerie stores don’t even make bras that fit me.

“I always forget the man’s name.” LoL! I died! That was great!

when i was in 6th or 7th grade i took so much pride in being able to fit "one size fits all" (XXS) and the second i hit puberty and started growing into my body and couldn't fit those sizes it took a HUGE toll on my self-esteem. brands like brandy melville buy into patriarchal values that say all young women stay the same size as actual children.

The crazy part about things being based of an "hourglass" shape is that it's averaged out so much (which, surprise, there is no average woman!) that it doesn't even fit us either! They forget that smaller waists with a large difference in circumferences versus hips mean that you need to actually allow space for larger thighs and busts. My measurements are 41" bust, 31" waist, and 44" hips AND I'm only 5'1". The thighs are ALWAYS the limiting factor, and I have to size up by 2-3 sizes to fit them...which means the waist is always too loose, and the legs are already too long to begin with. Standard sizing fits no one because it tried to work for everyone. I think brands would actually have a better time if they catered to certain shapes consistently, because people would have the chance to become loyal repeat customers. If you find a place that specifically makes clothing for people with wide hips, or people with big stomachs but skinny legs, or people who are very short, or whatever your body type is, wouldn't you keep going back?

Mina, the research you do is so healing! You remind us of the BS behind these factors in our lives and give us space for grace :) . Thank you!

I love love love love love how you just went straight to the topic at the beginning

Sizing is why I’m 24 and feel like I never had a chance to learn how to dress stylishly like everyone else seemed to. I’m too big for “regular” clothes (Free People, H&M, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters), but not the body type considered for Torrid. So I end up having to try an insane amount of clothes until I find one pair of jeans that fit and a nice sweater or tee shirt. Nothing makes you feel more like an idiot than standing next to a cute girl wearing a crochet crop top and mini skirt while I’m in jean shorts and my old Star Wars tee shirt. Torrid and ModCloth’s existing is fantastic for someone bigger like me, but they’re so expensive and I’m still so limited. I love vintage looks, but I can NEVER find nice pieces in thrift or nice inspo pieces. I just wish I could find what styles look nice, but I just end up feeling like my body has automatically timed me out of getting to be in fashion.

*THANK YOU* ! Marylin was definately *not* plus sized. also with Savage, I'm really disappointed; They do not carry a 30H and claim they have a size for " *everybody* " and I emailed them asking i they would be expanding their sizing...they're response was "thank you for your interest but we are not interested in expanding our sizing at this time" I was heartbroken because I'm not even Plus sized...I'm a small to medium, it's just my fuqin boobs that are large and I can't even weight lingerie from a company that claims and touts theirs clothing to be *ALL INCLUSIVE* . It's Victoria's Secret all over again

lovelovelove all the in-depth research you do for your videos, adds so much to them

I really love this video!! I love all your videos, honestly… I appreciate you taking the time to talk about all of the different aspects of toxicity that some, or really ALL, of us have to experience when we try to buy clothes for ourselves. Also, that closing quote from Tim Gunn was lovely. Okay thank you for that positivity

Also, I think this speaks to a bigger issue of how low the minimum wage in this country and how people buy from fast fashion instead of ethical business because they just can't afford it. At the end of the day the system is to blame and not the individual.

the beginning of these videos are so interesting like barely a minute in and i’m already hooked it’s honestly a talent being able to do that well done

Thank you so much for posting this Mina! I really needed to hear these words to realize that not all the clothes I buy have to be size small and that I shouldn't wear clothes that don't completely fit comfortably.

I really liked the new conclusion haha the quote you included resonated. I listened to it a couple times. I'm a *size 12-16* depending on brand and this is a question I've had for YEARS. Thank you for this great video Mina! I loved it and I love you!

as a person who is both skinny and curvy, i have so much trouble with 'standard sizing'! i don't think they even design for the hourglass figure anymore because anything that fits the rest of my body will not fit over my chest and hips. thankfully i really like baggy and oversized clothing, but it's still a pain.

So, my husband likes to listen whenever I watch your new vids. This time, he was like “wait, you guys don’t have number sizes?!” For the first time, I leaned that men’s clothing is literally the actual measurements?! I told him that I have to look up sizes for different stores and his mind was blown away!! 😩

As a trans dude who's shopped and worn women's clothes for most of my life and now shops and wears men's clothes, i am shocked at how much i put up with in terms of sizing and how much easier it is now

Thanks so much for creating this video. It’s so true that body image is a lifelong struggle in our culture. (40 year veteran here - I started being ashamed of my legs in the 3rd grade!) Healing vibes going out to everyone who is hurt by the fashion industry. I’m glad things are changing!!

My biggest pet peeve when online shopping is when the description states something like, "the model is 5'9 and wearing a size Small." Okay, yeah, that's sort of helpful.... but then I see that other item descriptions, with DIFFERENT models who are clearly different sizes/heights, use the same copy-pasted description claiming they're 5'9 wearing size Small. It makes figuring out the sizing somehow even more confusing than if they never mentioned the model's size at all. It truly drives me crazy!

WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN THE SIZE OF OUR CLOTHES. OUR SELF-WORTH AND VALUE DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE NUMBER ON OUR SCALE. In Asia, I'm a size M, L or sometimes XL. This makes me feel really self-conscious as I am often an S or M in America. In Asia, I'm considered "chubby" or even overweight but in the west my size is average, I have always had insecurities around the sizes I buy. I often find myself buying clothes online that didn't quite align with my measurement but I was fearful to get an L because that would cement the fact that I was "fat" (I get called this in Asia all the time). Ughhh this is something I'm still working through so thanks for making these types of videos to break the stigma around the value and self-worth people place on the sizes we wear. If you can relate to my story, know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I am very petite and small and I can only fit into girls sizes because they don’t make clothes small enough. It’s a problem for everyone

you are literally my most favorite RU-vidr right now, I adore your informative fashion history content, it's always so well researched and so well presented. Plus your style makes my brain feel nice.

I'm crying, as someone who's been slipping in and out of my ed for years this just made me feel so much better and understood. Thank you so much Mina

Almost 3 decades on this earth and no one has ever told me it's not my fault that I was never able to buy clothes at regular stores like every other person I know. I'm crying so much.

I loved this! Thank you so much for all this information! I can’t say if I prefer standardized sizing one way or the other but this video really helped me pinpoint and reflect on some body dysmorphia and eating disorder issues that I never realized were intrinsically tied to clothing!

I would love to hear your opinions on things like What Not to Wear and magazines telling you how to dress your body. Love your work!

As some who is mid-size as well as lives in the UK standard sizing is an ABSOLUTE myth. I've gone from a medium to 4XL depending on the shop. It's not that my body has changed dramatically in size it's the lack of reliability from clothing stores

I've gained 15lbs and no longer can fit in my 23 jeans and now I'm a 25, I've been keeping my 23 jeans in my closet because I wanted to be able to fit into them soon. I really appreciate this video for opening my eyes and allowing me to feel better about myself, so therefore I am giving away those jeans!

I love your take and opinion about immediately letting go of clothes that no longer fit and trying to live in the moment

Getting into lolita/egl was beneficial to me because I had to focus on my actual measurements and not a labeled size. I also came to appreciate not buying as much clothing, enjoying what I do have since most of it is custom sized, and being okay with waiting a few months for higher quality clothes. Of course when it comes to my normie work attire I'm struggling buying what little plus size fast fashion I can get. It seems near impossible to find affordable, and well made, plus size clothing. I guess I'm a pear shape (125cm bust, 109 waist, 144 hip) and im 173 cm tall. If the pants fit my legs and thighs it falls off my waist. Tops are either too fitted for my stomach or if they fit there the top is falling down cause I'm not as big chested as the shirt thinks I should be. I love fashion but it can be so frustrating

Vanity sizing is so insidious, both in terms of reinforcing fatphobia and the actual logistics of shopping. I used to work at Old Navy and helping people find their size was so difficult because not only is the sizing way different than other brands, but each item/style varies as well. Someone would ask for help finding a pair of jeans and I would have to give them a stack of 4-5 different sizes because it was such a trial and error process. At the end of the day, it was more frustrating for everyone involved!

As someone who is an honest-to-God hourglass figure of the more "dangerous curves" variety, I can assure you that standard sizes don't fit us either. Anything that fits my bust/hips means my waist is swimming; if I get it to fit my waist, I don't have room for my bust/hips. I also have very muscular shoulders and back, so that adds another layer. These days I either make most of my own clothes or order them custom from eShakti.

I feel especially as a curvy woman in my past that was the most difficult thing to find pants or shirts that fit correctly. I would actually cry about it. The privilege of everything fitting (even if big) is just so fucking weird to get used to now

Other stupid side effect of vanity sizing is that if you're an actual XS literally every item you buy will be too big. Tailoring is an option, but it's an expensive option. Lucky for me I'm in Europe where pretty much every country has their own standard sizing, so one of them is bound to fit your silhouette.

i just wanna say, i've been waiting for someone to talk about this topic in-depth and i love this video.