General Chat

Daughter and I were puzzling over the fact that if you are a size 18 you are expected to have longer arms than a size 16.

And I like M&S Classic range, I also like elasticated trousers to wear round the house/shopping etc. But why do they stitch the crease in, I hate stitching down the front of trousers it looks so cheap.

Another thing when you are short is that it is impossible to get a dress the right length and if it has a nice border pattern around the bottom, you can't shorten it anyway without losing the border.

With shorter legs, boots are usually too high in the leg and dig in behind your knee.........that's before you try to get them around your calf !!

Now shoes are another of my big grouches. I have wide feet (or a high instep another person told me). Once upon a time shoes came in 4 widths: A, B, C, D. The most commonly stocked ones were B and C. I always had trouble getting anything to fit, even in the D width if the shop stocked them.
There was one manufacturer who made more widths and I went to one of their stores and came home with a G width. Size 4, where in ordinary shoes I usually had a size 6 or 7, which had plenty of spare length in the toes. Shoes these days dont come in different widths. I went into a shop to try on a pair of nice-looking summer shoes and when I couldnt get my toes into them she brought a bigger size which was obviously too long so I asked for a wider fitting in the first size. She looked at me as if I came from some distant planet as she told me they only came in one width. I have now found that their is another brand which does come in a few widths. Unfortunately they are expensive, but the sandals I bought are the most comfy I have ever had.
I have had shoes in sizes ranging from 4 to 12, not to mention the ones that are size 42 (or some such).
Oh, that my gt grandfather was still alive. He was a shoemaker.

Huia.

I am Sooo glad it isnt only me!

I bought a suit in Debenhams for work and had to get a size 10 in the jacket and a size 20 in the skirt. 5 whole sizes difference and yet I was a size 14. How do they work that one out I wonder?

Dianne xx

Oh, Karen, I'd have given her a mouthful! I'm 24 and I used to like M&S clothes but now I often go in and can't see a thing I want to buy - even the lingerie doesn't look as good as it used to. I love the fact that she said they had to be competitively priced - personally I'd rather have something £5 more that was of a decent quality!

I would love to tell M&S that actually, some of us DO want to spend £35 on a decent pair of jeans rather than be faced with endless rows of feeble-looking "denim" for £15 a pair that looks as though it'll shred if I fall over on concrete when I'm wearing them.

I've started getting my jeans from Debenhams now, but their size 10 doesn't fit me as well as M&S.

Well, I'm another who wants to gripe about this problem!!

The number on clothing labels doesn't mean a thing these days.
If I like the look of something I pick up the one I think would fit me, rather than go by the size label inside. Then I often choose the size up or the size down and take the 2 into the fitting room to try on, because you just can't tell any more.
It's the only solution!
At the moment I am wearing clothing which varies from 10 to 12 to 14 depending on where I bought it. How ridiculous!!
Also, don't they realise there must be as many women who are size 9, 11, 13 etc?


As for M&S, i took some bikinis in to try on. The sizes varied SO much I was convinced the wrong size labels had been sewn into them, so I thought I'd better tell the sales assistant. She looked closely at the labels and said - well that's because they were made in different places (one in Taiwan or something, and the other made in E Europe).
I told her what a mockery that makes of the sizing system, and asked whatever happened to M&S wonderful quality control system that they were so well know for? She said, well, to maintain THAT standard of quality control would cost a fortune. And people want inexpensive clothing, so to be able to do that M&S has to keep their costs down as low as possible.


K

I like the M&S elasticated waist trousers, because I don't always have time to be bother with zips etc. But my beef is the fact that they are not pressed with a crease down front and back. Apart from this being sloven workmanship, and obviously done or not done in this case to save costs, however, because this is what they do these days, you cannot properly judge the width of the legs, particularly around the ankle. Just had to press some creases into a new pair of their trousers, cost £29, and I am sure my feet will not be visible. And why oh why do manufacturers think that just because you need a bigish size, you must have fat top of the legs. I could make myself a skirt out of the surplus.
Julia in Derbyshire

I have that trouble with stockings and pop socks. The feet are never quite big enough. I was looking at some light weight cardigans in Peacocks today, and they seemed to meet for the first button somewhere below the navel.

Huia did you see that item on Campbell Live (current event show here in NZ) the other week about requesting the clothing manufacturing of NZ and Aus to use regulated sizing charts and all the manufacturers saying that it just wasn't possible for them to do that.

In the programme they had a reporter trying on clothes in several shops in the Auckland CBD and who would blame her for buying the skirt from the shop where she was a size 12 even though it was a little more expensive than the other shops where she was size 14-16.

Just to let you all know Asda now do jeans in 11, 13, 15 etc.

Another thing, manufacturers seem to think that because you are well endowed in the chest that you must have broad shoulders, therefore the sleeves start half way down to the elbows, if you know what I mean.

I once tried on a blouse which should have been the right size for me. I think the body part fitted but the sleeves were so tight I had to ask another customer to peel the blouse off my arms, having struggled for some time trying to take it off myself. I dont know if somebody in the factory used the wrong sleeves. They would have been too tight on Twiggy.

At least when I make my own clothes I cant complain too much about the fit.

Huia.

I have problems only 5ft size 20=22 short arms and legs jumpers are always to long can get pants 25 to short 27 to long . my daughter has problems with sleeves she is a size 26 they are always to tight also larger size always seam to be for older poeple not younger ones

That's interesting, Liz - the trousers-on-the-hips thing drives me mad, but for the opposite reason! I have a couple of pairs of jeans and several lots of trousers that sit on my hips but whenever I wear them I always feel like I've lost half a stone without noticing! (Which is not good because I could really do with being a few pounds heavier as it is!)

As I put on weight and needed to go up in sizes, from my 12-14 size I stayed at for several years, I found that when I bought larger sizes to fit my boobs and belly ( I have become apples shaped) the clothes seemed to be much longer in the sleeve or leg and I am 5' 6" so not really short! Why do manufacturers think because you have put on weight your arms and legs are longer than the average person?

So annoying. Oh and I hate the fashion where trousers etc don't fit to the waist but somewhere between hip and waist, so I always want to pull them up.
Lizx

Daughter has the opposite problem with children's clothes!
My grand daughter is a very slim, tall 7 year old.
Children's trousers tend to be on the wide, short side, and they now have the button & elastic that was on my maternity trousers!

Result? My poor grand daughter has twice the amount of material around her waist than she needs!

My mum being a dressmaker has always said tops that are fitted always come up smaller.I have often wondered why that nice little top is not so little time i have changed it lol Annie

You just reminded me, Ann - the three-quarter length dress problem I have. I always like to browse online before I go clothes shopping, (then I know what I'm looking for!) and I've seen a few nice dresses that I wanted to buy but when I've gone into the shop I realise that the mannequin is about five feet eight so what looks like it should be knee-length is ankle length and what should be calf-length is floor length. (Which drowns me!)

It's no fun being tiny sometimes!

I agree sizes in different shops vary so much. I also find short trousers are too long (5 foot one and a half). Cropped trousers are often full length on me. Sleeves are always too long, so I can't buy any long sleeve knitteds as they are difficult to shorten. It is very limiting what you can buy and put straight on without getting the sewing machine out. Low tops!! It's a case of having your bra down by your waist if you don't want any of it to show!! lol

i too hate too lower top but as im short they always fall too low at front anyway,
i end up either pulling up at top and down at back all time
or sticking husbands tie pin in the front to close the front across
hate having t)*& hanging out