Why Tag Size Matters
Clothing Sizing Affects Some Women Negatively
It is interesting that women have no control over how clothes are cut by the manufacturer, yet they allow the size on the tag affect them in a positive and in a negative way. Tag size can bring tears or a smile to a woman’s face.
Sizing Affects Attitude
A recent survey by the LookSmart alteration chain found that two-thirds of the customers own a variety of sizes. Half of those surveyed said that they felt “frustrated, depressed – or fat” because of the size variations in an article by Eloise Gibson in “Size Does Matter…But Fit is the Best Guide, Retailers Tell Confused Shoppers” on the website NZHelrad.
Sizing is Inconsistent
Tag size is so important to women, but there is no consistency in sizing. Gibson reported an expert in women’s clothing from LookSmart agrees that that there is not a standard of sizing among countries. China’s clothes tend to be made smaller and different sizing systems are used in Australia, Europe, Britain and the United States. In addition, different brands in the same country don’t even use the same sizing system.
In the United States, sizing is based on data from 1942, when women were on average 5 feet 2 inches and weighed 129 pounds. Today, the average woman is 5 feet 4 inches and weighs 142 pounds reports Anderson’s research group in the report “Understanding Fitting Preferences of Female Consumers: Development an Expert System to Enhance Accurate Sizing Selection” [October 29, 2008]. Even though the guidelines are very dated, clothes that are mass-produced generally still use the guidelines.
Poor Fit Makes Women Feel Poorly
Anderson’s group also reports that when there is sizing inconsistencies and clothing doesn’t fit right, shoppers feel inadequate and negative towards their bodies instead of blaming the poor fitting clothes.
Body cathexis and body image affect consumer dissatisfaction. Sigmund Freud developed the term body cathexis. It is the process of investment of mental and emotional energy in a person, object, or idea that. Factors that play into this dissatisfaction are society’s message of the ideal body, the fashion industry’s ideal figure and industry sizing. Anderson’s group’s study also “found that clothing attitude and importance of meeting the ideal body image were moderators for the relationship between body cathexis and clothing benefits sought/clothing behavior.”
Women shop and want to be able to try on clothes in their size and have them fit. When the clothes don't fit, women blame themselves and sometimes become upset. It is important to remember that clothing sizes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. And, sometimes the same manufacturer will have variations within the clothing line. Don't allow clothing to affect mood. Remember, it is not always the cookie that was eaten to force a person into a larger size. It is usually inconsistency in sizing. Most importantly, don’t allow the size of your pants ruin your day.
Clothing Affect Attitude
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