Rachel Fowler finds the Australian fashion industry doesn’t always quite fit to size.
The sales girl glared at me. “You’re only allowed five items in the change room at a time!” she said bossily, snatching away the extra seven garments I had in my arms. But I wasn’t attempting to smuggle extras into the change room. There were only four styles in total — I just needed to take in three different sizes of each garment.
Shopping is supposed to be enjoyable, but trying to find a pair of jeans that even come close to fitting can quickly turn a relaxing experience into total hell. While the number on the tag may differ between stores, items may in actual fact be the same size. Welcome to the nightmare of the average Australian shopper.
It may surprise you to know that today’s official Australian sizing standards are actually over 80 years old, based on a survey conducted by lingerie company Berlei. In 2005, Andre Haermeyer (then Minister for Manufacturing and Exporting) reported that Australian standards on clothing sizes desperately needed updating, since demographics and lifestyle factors had resulted in the average size of people changing since the early 1900s. At that time, a Victorian Government project to define new sizing standards was in the planning stages, with the potential to revolutionise the fashion industry in Australia. Two years on, however, and a lack of federal government funding has halted the project’s progress — just as the clamour for standardised sizing grows louder.
Without a national standard, many designers devise their own sizing system which leaves women feeling frustrated, says Melbourne designer and retailer Lisa Barron. “Customers may fit into a size 10 in one label and are then a size 12 or 14 down the road — it’s enough to make them feel insecure,” she says. “I think some of the older labels do tend to add a bit onto their sizes to make women feel better, and the younger labels take a bit off to get all the skinny girls in.” I decided to road test this theory myself. Although I had come across this before, I was still shocked at the difference in sizes between stores.
The clothes in Supré and Valley Girl were so small I needed a top three sizes larger than normal. The manager at Supré refused to comment on the actual size of the clothes compared to the tagged size. The sales assistant at Valley Girl told me that some of the material used for their clothes was of lower quality to make them less expensive, and therefore more prone to shrinking in the wash. Nice try, but these clothes were brand new and still looked like they were custom-made for Barbie.
On the flip side, stores such as Witchery, Sussan, and Sportsgirl all sell larger sized clothing. In Sussan I managed to fit into my first size 6 since I was twelve years old. This business of tagging larger clothes with smaller sizes (dubbed ‘vanity sizing’) allows women to fit into sizes smaller than usual and hence boosts their confidence; the bonus for retailers being that it also convinces women to purchase the garment that has made them feel so good. The introduction of vanity sizing has redefined clothing sizes both locally, nationally and internationally. Brisbane resident Sarah Pinkerton admits that while she often varies from an 8 to a 12, she always selects the garment labelled size 8 or 10. “It makes me feel better about myself when I fit into smaller sizes”, she says.
Australia needs standardised clothing and leaders in the fashion industry need to work together to make clothes that consumers will fit into and feel comfortable wearing. This would ultimately benefit everyone, with shoppers spending less time in changing rooms and more time buying quality clothing – that fits!