Are women’s clothing sizes getting smaller? – A Trip to TJMaxx

It's never going to happen, and I know that...Image via Wikipedia

Shopping for clothes is a constant reminder that my body isn’t what it used to be:  small, capable of wearing anything and looking fabulous, flat stomach, no stretch marks, fewer wobbly bits…

I have resigned myself to a size large, and it fits me comfortably.  I don’t like that big “L” on my clothes. I prefer the “M”…I was comfortable as a medium.

But I’m not going to grab a medium just because that’s what I think I ought to be.   I can’t will myself into a medium sized top.  I have to work-out to get there.  So I decided to try on some new fitness clothes – something cute, but in my size, that I would be excited to wear and would motivate me to go to the gym again.

I grabbed up every “L” sized fitness top with control panels to slim my flabby waistline down while I work out and comfortable cotton capris of various colors and variations.

Now, I know I haven’t gotten any bigger. In fact, I’ve lost weight since the last time I went shopping.  But seriously, putting those work-out tops on was a work-out in and of itself!  If you’ve ever tried to squeeze yourself into anything that no longer fits, you know what I mean.  Trying to get those damn tops past my breasts gave my arms a work-out I won’t soon forget.

Once they were on, I saw something else – evidence that every single top is sized too damn large.  The regular large tops fit perfectly, but all the work-out tops (various brand names, by the way) were all too small, pinched in all the wrong places, were too tight just about everywhere and accentuated every single flabby roll I have.

My response to this:  ” Come on, people! I already know that I need to lose weight. I’m trying on fitness clothes. You don’t need to convince me that I need to work-out!”

My friend I was shopping with chuckled in the next dressing room stall.  She agreed with me, and she was having the same problem as I was.

It was only the fitness clothes, and only the tops.  We had both tried on large dressy tops and t-shirts that fit perfectly, but those damn fitness tops were tight and made us look absolutely disgusting.  It wasn’t a very good motivator to get fit and lose weight. All I wanted after that was a damn ice cream sandwich and some lazy time on the couch for a woe-is-me session of “When did I get so fat?!”

All I wanted was some comfortable work-out clothes that didn’t make me look pregnant while I was working out.  Well, I got my wish.  Instead of looking pregnant, I looked disgustingly fat.  Thank you, fitness clothing industry.  You suck!

I did manage to buy one pair of cotton capris that I can wear while working out and for just everyday use, and a comfortable, flattering Calvin Klein t-shirt designed for work-outs.  The shopping trip wasn’t a total waste, and I have a new fitness outfit, which is great.   I’m not sure that I’m at all motivated to go back to the gym. All I want is a mocha frappe and an episode of “Army Wives” to drown my sorrows.

Do you think that clothing sizes are getting smaller? – Meaning, are larges smaller than they used to be?

Related articles

• Buy Smaller-Sized Clothes For Weight Loss Motivation? (fitsugar.com)
• Are you stuck in the notion of “Size”? (kendraporter.wordpress.com)
• Size Matters Why you’re a 10 in one store and a 6 in another (theinsider.retailmenot.com)