Dress Sizes Shrinking As Waistlines Expand

(CBS)  American waistlines have been growing for decades. Bulging bellies now seem as if they're the rule, not the exception.

But, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace, that doesn't necessarily show in the sizes of clothing, particularly women's wear.

Amid all the controversy surrounding models and whether they're too thin, celebrities are showing up on red carpets wearing size zeroes, even double-zeroes.

"Double-zero works for James Bond, but seems insane for us as females!" chuckled Kate White, Cosmopolitan magazine's editor in chief.

Why are the numbers we see on clothes tags shrinking, while Americans are expanding?

Wallace compared two pair of Gap khakis, one from 1996, the other from this year. Both are a size two. But the waistline on the more recent pair was two inches wider.

A CBS News producer still wears a size four Jill Stuart skirt from 10 years ago, but when she shops today, she's a zero.

It's called "vanity sizing," and White says retailers are doing it because it works.

"As a woman," White said, "if you feel like you can shimmy into a size four with one designer, you're not necessarily going to want the size eight with somebody else, so it forces everybody to play the game."

Pam Klein of Parsons the New School for Design showed us two skirts sold now in different stores, both with the same size on the tag. But one's an inch-and-a-half larger.

The vanity sizing, she said, enables women to lie to themselves: "You can say, 'I can eat that chocolate and I can be a size six.' "

Klein suggested that things might be changing, pointing, for instance, to the Dove ads showcasing women in all different shapes and sizes. But, she says, until women get more comfortable with the size they actually are, retailers will embrace vanity sizing.

"It feels good," Klein observed. "I'd rather be a size 10 then a size 14, and I know that it's the same thing, but when I open the closet in the morning, I'm getting ready and I look at that tag and I'm like, 'Yes. I'm a size 10!' "

Designer Stephanie Hirsch, founder of "Inca," said she hasn't down-sized any of her products. A small is still a small. But her customers demanded an extra-small, and she complied.

"And that's become a really big seller for us," Hirsch said, "as opposed to a medium, (which) was always the biggest seller, and now it's extra-small and small."

Wallace wondered whether we'll ever get back to reality, the day when, in most stores, the tag matches the actual size of the dress?

"I think," White said, "it's gonna be a long time."

Wallace suggested that to find the right fit women should "suspend your vanity if you can. Try on several different sizes, and objectively decide what looks best."

[BayAreaBiker]

The British Standards Institute has drafted a brilliant solution to this problem. The new labels, described under BS-EN13402, have a pictogram with actual measurements in centimeters. Work began in 1996, and was ready for publication in 2003. It looks like a no-brainer, use a pictogram to deal with the multitude of languages, use a measuring unit that 95% of the world's population uses, problem solved. A few obstacles: Although the USA has only 5% of the world's population, it has a lot of clout, with many third-world countries looking to the USA for ideas for economic growth. According to a recent unnamed survey, 60% of women do not know their own body measurements. Could it be denial? Are their measurements too scary, even in inches? The new labels will work best in countries where there is little if any pressure to be thin, where triple-digit sizes are not scary, and people want the measurements spelled out plainly.

[shanev137]

This is pretty freaken sad.

No wonder woman have gotten fatter.

[simpsonman19]

I know that there is a lot of phychological things with woman and size do almost entirly by the presentation of women in the media. Why do we let that happen? It's crazy. Women's clothes should be like mens. For a man, if you're a 34 waist you wear 34/36 pants (and also inseam). Simple! It would make things so much easier for women too, that way they could zero in on the clothes they know are the right size, and not adjusted for vanity.

[michellem99-2009]

I am not the same size I was as a teen/young lady. Because us ladies are built differently no 2 are alike. Shoes.jeans,tops etc. I don't go by size if it fits right for my body then I buy it. I would rather wear clothes that cover me right. I have always felt the body should be covered neck to the knee.I do feel the ladies who wear so little IS unbecoming and needs to cover up more. I am aware of my age. Young ladies can look pretty without showing so much skin. That is just as inportant as size.Too tight don't look right. I think we have be happy with the bodies we have in the real world.I hope the young girls don't get the wrong message by trying to be so thin that look/are sick and dying. Do the right thing.