fuller figure shop mannequins

Faith

meeeeh wrote: »

Hour glass is when breast and hips are about the same and waist is smaller. I used to be hourglass although my breasts were C or B cup. Hourglass doesn't necessary mean bigger boobs but bust in proportion to hips and smaller waist. I had no problems finding clothes, except trousers sometimes.

Your waist has to be significantly smaller than your bust and hips - a minimum of 9 inches.

I have to say, I agree with Larianne completely. I'm 5'5, a size 12 and a fairly broad build and I'm a good stone overweight. If I put on another 7lbs, I'd go up to a size 14. I say overweight in that my BMI currently stands at about 26. If a woman wears a size 14 upwards on average (and not just in specific items or in specific shops), with the exception of large boobs making smaller sizes not fit, I'm be quite surprised if they were at an ideal BMI. Obviously it happens, but that's the minority rather than the majority IMO.

I also agree that the mannequins aren't representative of normal size. My thighs would be slimmer than the mannequin on the right, but my stomach is much more rotund!!

coffee_cake

When I was a stone lighter I was still mostly size 14 and definitely normal BMI
I'm above it now which I am working on, but if I did ever go to a 12 it would be the absolute limit

Catari Jaguar

Don't just make the mannequins wider, throw a few rolls of fat on the belly like little spare tyres. Would make me feel much better about myself.

gagiteebo

Faith wrote: »

Your waist has to be significantly smaller than your bust and hips - a minimum of 9 inches.

I have to say, I agree with Larianne completely. I'm 5'5, a size 12 and a fairly broad build and I'm a good stone overweight. If I put on another 7lbs, I'd go up to a size 14. I say overweight in that my BMI currently stands at about 26. If a woman wears a size 14 upwards on average (and not just in specific items or in specific shops), with the exception of large boobs making smaller sizes not fit, I'm be quite surprised if they were at an ideal BMI. Obviously it happens, but that's the minority rather than the majority IMO.

I also agree that the mannequins aren't representative of normal size. My thighs would be slimmer than the mannequin on the right, but my stomach is much more rotund!!

Not meaning to be pedantic but is it really the minority rather than the majority? This is something I've fought with and against for a long time. I'm heavily into kickboxing and I'm physically quite strong and have always been and will always be a size 14 no matter what I do or how much I weigh. It's just how I'm built. So this notion of a size 14 being overweight or unhealthy really irritates me. Where is the evidence of this? I don't believe I'm in the minority either.

It's like if I said the majority of size 6 and 8 starve themselves to keep it at that and are unhealthy and underweight. Untrue, misguided and offensive.

meeeeh

Everybody is getting offended these days. Ireland is above average for Europe in the number of overweight women. Unless you are very tall and broad size 14 will probably mean you are overweight. The same goes for BMI measurements. There are always exceptions but for most people those measurements are correct. Btw I'm 5'5", broad built, usually size 12 and my bmi is 25 and I feel overweight at the moment. Most people being general size 14 are overweight. I feel even fatter when I go to my home country because the averages are lower there. I'm not trying to insult the whole nation of women, I just think that higher average kinda skewes our perception of what is healthy weight.

coffee_cake

You and faith are 5'5, I'm 5'8 and gagiteebo is probably taller than 5'5 as well. Varies with height

meeeeh

I know that. But on average most people who are size 14 are overweight. I'm not saying there are no exceptions but they are just that, exceptions.

Just for illustration. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/9789264183896-en/02/07/index.html;jsessionid=97t37ei8gnkj.x-oecd-live-02?contentType=&itemId=/content/chapter/9789264183896-26-en&containerItemId=/content/serial/23056088&accessItemIds=/content/book/9789264183896-en&mimeType=text/html

Edit: I can't post link properly on my phone. I'll try to sort it out later.

KamiKazeKitten

meeeeh wrote: »

I know that. But on average most people who are size 14 are overweight. I'm not saying there are no exceptions but they are just that, exceptions.

Just for illustration. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/9789264183896-en/02/07/index.html;jsessionid=97t37ei8gnkj.x-oecd-live-02?contentType=&itemId=/content/chapter/9789264183896-26-en&containerItemId=/content/serial/23056088&accessItemIds=/content/book/9789264183896-en&mimeType=text/html

Edit: I can't post link properly on my phone. I'll try to sort it out later.

All that says is the overweight and obesity rates have gone up Doesn't mean a size 14 is overweight at all.

You can't really tar all most size 14s with just that statement, it depends a lot on your height and build. I'd be an 8 on my boobs/hips, and then a 4 on my waist, which if we're going by stereotypes, would mean I'm starving myself, right? - but it doesn't mean I'm anorexic, just very petite and oddly built. :pac: For example my wristbones are tiny, they look very strange and I'd be about 5'3.

One of my mates is a size 14/16 I think, and she could outrun me any day of the week! Much healthier than I'll ever manage :pac:

meeeeh

KamiKazeKitten wrote: »

All that says is the overweight and obesity rates have gone up Doesn't mean a size 14 is overweight at all.

You can't really tar all most size 14s with just that statement, it depends a lot on your height and build. I'd be an 8 on my boobs/hips, and then a 4 on my waist, which if we're going by stereotypes, would mean I'm starving myself, right? - but it doesn't mean I'm anorexic, just very petite and oddly built. :pac: For example my wristbones are tiny, they look very strange and I'd be about 5'3.

One of my mates is a size 14/16 I think, and she could outrun me any day of the week! Much healthier than I'll ever manage :pac:

My point is that we normalised being bigger but if you want... Over half of adults in EU are overweight, Ireland is above average and as far as I know average size in Ireland is 14... It's a very crude logic and there are other factors but the thing is everybody has a friend who is size 14 or 16 and in excellent shape but they also have 5 who are not. A year ago everybody had a friend who had waist bigger than 32" (or whatever was the number) and was not overweight. But for majority of people those numbers are correct.

Of course different size mannequins should be used and clothes that suit bigger people should be made. There is no point making us feel even more uncorfotable but I'll be happy when the nonsense about 'real' people stops and especially people getting insulted or defensive every time someone mentiones their size might not be ideal size.

pwurple

It's crude logic alright. Especially as it's easy enough to figure out if you are overweight or not by your BMI. Why muddy the waters and insult a lot of not-overweight people?

Also, the sizes are not even consistant across shops, so it's ridiculous to even use it as a guide to anything. High street shop Monsoon has very large sizing, I am often an 8 in there (normally a 10/12... ).

I think we all know people who are overweight and damaging their health, and we all know people who are underweight and damaging their health. Happy medium is happy medium. Let's use the easy accepted measurement available to us, and stop faffing about with guesswork and judgements on arbitrary shops sizing.

CathyMoran

The sizing can be so variable - I had to get a size 10 in a dress even though I would take a size 6 in their trousers as my chest is bigger and I could be up to a size 14 in some dresses.

gagiteebo

meeeeh wrote: »

My point is that we normalised being bigger but if you want... Over half of adults in EU are overweight, Ireland is above average and as far as I know average size in Ireland is 14... It's a very crude logic and there are other factors but the thing is everybody has a friend who is size 14 or 16 and in excellent shape but they also have 5 who are not. A year ago everybody had a friend who had waist bigger than 32" (or whatever was the number) and was not overweight. But for majority of people those numbers are correct.

Of course different size mannequins should be used and clothes that suit bigger people should be made. There is no point making us feel even more uncorfotable but I'll be happy when the nonsense about 'real' people stops and especially people getting insulted or defensive every time someone mentiones their size might not be ideal size.

Nobody is getting defensive. No need to get annoyed. Simply arguing that a size 14 doesn't necessarily mean overweight. How you deem this to be nonsense puzzles me. You're a size smaller than me but with a higher bmi. There are a lot more factors than just the number on the label. And what makes people uncomfortable is the nonsense about 'ideal size'. There isn't one. Every situation and every woman differs.

meeeeh

gagiteebo wrote: »

Nobody is getting defensive. No need to get annoyed. Simply arguing that a size 14 doesn't necessarily mean overweight. How you deem this to be nonsense puzzles me. You're a size smaller than me but with a higher bmi. There are a lot more factors than just the number on the label. And what makes people uncomfortable is the nonsense about 'ideal size'. There isn't one. Every situation and every woman differs.

And where did I say that size 14 always means overweight. Just one sentence. And I didn't get annoyed either.

gagiteebo

meeeeh wrote: »

And where did I say that size 14 always means overweight. Just one sentence. And I didn't get annoyed either.

You said unless you're very tall and broad and size 14 usually means you're overweight. Did I say always? I don't think I did.

You said you will be happy when all this nonsense stops about 'real women' and people stop getting insulted and defensive. Apologies for mistaking that as an annoyed tone.

Not here to get into back and forth about you said I said. I think I've made my point pretty clear regarding the majority of size 14 women being overweight which is why I posted in the first place.

I don't believe this to be true and have yet to see any facts that prove otherwise.

Vojera

I like the bigger mannequins, but not because I think they're more representative or anything, but just because one of my pet hates is seeing clothes pinned on the back of mannequins. Why have mannequins smaller than the clothes you sell? If your smallest size is a 4 or 6 and you're still having to pinch the clothes in at the back to stop it being baggy, what sort of message does that send out? There'll never be a mannequin to represent all sizes and body shapes, but some of the mannequins I see are just ridiculous. They don't represent anyone I know.

IvyTheTerrible

Vojera wrote: »

I like the bigger mannequins, but not because I think they're more representative or anything, but just because one of my pet hates is seeing clothes pinned on the back of mannequins. Why have mannequins smaller than the clothes you sell? If your smallest size is a 4 or 6 and you're still having to pinch the clothes in at the back to stop it being baggy, what sort of message does that send out? There'll never be a mannequin to represent all sizes and body shapes, but some of the mannequins I see are just ridiculous. They don't represent anyone I know.

I don't think the clothes are pinned necessarily because the mannequins are too small, but because the clothes are really badly cut.

eviltwin

meeeeh wrote: »

My point is that we normalised being bigger but if you want... Over half of adults in EU are overweight, Ireland is above average and as far as I know average size in Ireland is 14... It's a very crude logic and there are other factors but the thing is everybody has a friend who is size 14 or 16 and in excellent shape but they also have 5 who are not. A year ago everybody had a friend who had waist bigger than 32" (or whatever was the number) and was not overweight. But for majority of people those numbers are correct.

Of course different size mannequins should be used and clothes that suit bigger people should be made. There is no point making us feel even more uncorfotable but I'll be happy when the nonsense about 'real' people stops and especially people getting insulted or defensive every time someone mentiones their size might not be ideal size.

I agree we need to do something about obesity but I don't like the way you seem fixated on a certain size. That's a dangerous road to go down imo.

Larianne

gagiteebo wrote: »

Not meaning to be pedantic but is it really the minority rather than the majority? This is something I've fought with and against for a long time. I'm heavily into kickboxing and I'm physically quite strong and have always been and will always be a size 14 no matter what I do or how much I weigh. It's just how I'm built. So this notion of a size 14 being overweight or unhealthy really irritates me. Where is the evidence of this? I don't believe I'm in the minority either.

It's like if I said the majority of size 6 and 8 starve themselves to keep it at that and are unhealthy and underweight. Untrue, misguided and offensive.

So you would have more muscle than fat, making you a larger size? So just like a rugby player who's BMI is an overweight or obsese level, it's because of muscle, not fat. These are the exceptions.

rannerap

I was in topshop yesterday with my sister and was genuinely shocked at the size of a cropped vest I picked up. I held it up to me and it was literally half the width of me, and Im not exactly huge! I would be about a size ten and similar enough to the model on the right in the photo. I looked up and the model beside me was about the same size as the vest! I personally dont know anyone that size, except children!

Lollipops23

I used to work in retail and the mannequins tended to be a size 6 (we only stocked 8s up as far as I remember) and we would always have to pin the clothes on to them to make then fit.

The most disturbing thing about our dummies was their ridiculously pointy nipples though :eek: Seriously, you could see them through wooly jumpers and everything!

vitani

There's so many markers that try to judge whether you're an ideal weight or not. By my dress size, I'm fine (I'm 5'6 and a size 12) and by my BMI, I'm fine (I'm smack bang in the middle of the range). So I was trundling along until quite recently, telling myself I was fine and healthy.

Out of interest last month, after coming across something on the Health & Fitness forum, I decided to measure my waist and check my waist to hip ratio. I was shocked by the results - it turns out I'm not fine. Something I'd been ignoring because I was in the acceptable range elsewhere.

I'm not even sure what my point is here... I guess it's that arbitrary markers are great for estimates but awful when applied to individuals.

FWIW, I see where Larianne's coming from. I'm average height, verging on tall, and size 14 for me does put me in the overweight range, as it would for other people of similar build to me. But I can't extract from my experience that everyone in a bigger dress size than me is overweight. I've had people both shorter and built smaller than me express horror at the idea of being a size 12, but I can see that for them, it would be overweight. For me, it's not.

Malari

Sarannewrap wrote: »

I was in topshop yesterday with my sister and was genuinely shocked at the size of a cropped vest I picked up. I held it up to me and it was literally half the width of me, and Im not exactly huge! I would be about a size ten and similar enough to the model on the right in the photo. I looked up and the model beside me was about the same size as the vest! I personally dont know anyone that size, except children!

You are probably on to something there. I think females who have their own disposable income for clothes purchasing are getting younger, so many high street boutiques that cater to young women (eg, I've noticed it especially in River Island and Top Shop) are stocking smaller sizes for the 13-16 year old market who are often tiny!

gagiteebo

Larianne wrote: »

So you would have more muscle than fat, making you a larger size? So just like a rugby player who's BMI is an overweight or obsese level, it's because of muscle, not fat. These are the exceptions.

Please re read what I said in previous posts. I have always been a size 14 even before kickboxing so that has nothing to do with it. My size has not changed and my bmi does not show me to overweight at all so therefore I am not the exception. I believe I'm quite normal and I'm interested to know where the idea of the majority of women who are a size 14 are overweight comes from? There are many other factors involved. I actually think it's quite irresponsible to have this idea. ( that is just a general observation and not directed at you)

meeeeh

eviltwin wrote: »

I agree we need to do something about obesity but I don't like the way you seem fixated on a certain size. That's a dangerous road to go down imo.

I'm actually not. For myself I do use sizes as a guideline to know when I'm putting on too much weight. Especially because I discovered that not having weight scales at home helps. I'm a fairly average height and built so it's easy. But I'm very well avare it doesn't work for everybody.

I don't know why I even got into discussion about this because nobody was really suggesting size 14 as measuremen of being overweight on induvidual basis but as a general guideline the fact that 14 is an average size tells you that majority of people are overweight. I guess I just dislike the talk about real women. Every woman is a real woman and I just don't like the impression that those who are smaller have to be doing something unreal or work hard to be smaller. In the same way I don't like how everybody jumps up that size 14 is a healthy size because they or their friend are size 14 and not overweight. That might be perfectly true but for on population basis you can easily deduct that size 14 being an average size is not good news.

SBWife

I know for me (5' 6" small/medium frame large bust) a 14 is well into the overweight category. Given that I'm slightly taller than the national average I'd assume that most people who take a 14 are overweight. That being said there are plenty of exceptions, my sister is 5' 11 3/4" she's certainly not overweight at a size 14.

gagiteebo

SBWife wrote: »

I know for me (5' 6" small/medium frame large bust) a 14 is well into the overweight category. Given that I'm slightly taller than the national average I'd assume that most people who take a 14 are overweight. That being said there are plenty of exceptions, my sister is 5' 11 3/4" she's certainly not overweight at a size 14.

Exactly. There are so many other factors to take into consideration, height being the most important that I am wondering why some people are so fixated on a size 14 being overweight.

meeeeh

gagiteebo wrote: »

Exactly. There are so many other factors to take into consideration, height being the most important that I am wondering why some people are so fixated on a size 14 being overweight.

You are not overweight. Nobody said you are overweight. Happy?

But on population level... ah screw it...

pwurple

SBWife wrote: »

I know for me (5' 6" small/medium frame large bust) a 14 is well into the overweight category. Given that I'm slightly taller than the national average I'd assume that most people who take a 14 are overweight. That being said there are plenty of exceptions, my sister is 5' 11 3/4" she's certainly not overweight at a size 14.

And it's that assumption that is particularly obnoxious.

I'm a 14 on top, and 10/12 bottoms. I'm only average height, and not overweight, but the amount of time I have spent obsessing and worrying that my boobs make me look fat is not funny. I even saved up for a breast reduction. And they are no bother to me in general. My dad's side of the family just all have big boobs. My BMI is 23.8. Not overweight, so it really pisses me off when people in here assume I am because of a stupid clothes size. Reading this kind of junk when I was younger had me very upset, and I was fully prepared to undergo surgery to 'fix' it, when there was nothing actually even wrong with me.


Clothes size is utterly meaningless. Can we please stick to accepted measurements of overweight instead of making up fresh ways to insult eachother?

Neyite

Clothing sizes are utterly meaningless, and vary so much from manufacturer to manufacturer not to mention taking into account the shape of the garment and vanity sizing. I learned that a long time ago when I got into dressmaking, where I tailor the pattern to fit me. I've veered from 8 to 16 while sizing a single pattern to fit me, and I've never exceeded 52kg except when pregnant. I actually veer more towards underweight than overweight, yet some items that fit me are a 12. And I cant argue that I allow for a big bust either, because I'm just about a b-cup.

Now, when I go into a shop, I'll pick up the 8, 10 and 12 to try, and buy the one that makes me feel most comfortable. There is nothing worse to make you look chunkier than you are than squeezing into something simply because "its your size".

gagiteebo

meeeeh wrote: »

You are not overweight. Nobody said you are overweight. Happy?

But on population level... ah screw it...

You can take your sarky tone somewhere else. I'm as entitled to voice my opinion as you are. If not don't agree or want to listen tough. Don't comment on my posts then

Couldn't give a toss if anyone thinks I'm overweight. I know I'm not. I'm not looking for validation from you so you can refrain from referring to me personally.

I'm well aware some size 14 are overweight however it's extremely misguided to say the majority are. So many other factors. Dress size on its own means nothing so if half the population of women were a size 14 it would still mean nothing as dress size on its own is irrelevant. That is my point.