Media & Fashion "PLUS SIZE"???

Well, what's "normal" in America is UNHEALTHY. (I don't know if you're unhealthy, or not. I'm really not referring to you personally in my answer.) I hope I don't get hate mail for this...but...a size 12-14 is SUPPOSED to be plus sized. (For an average height, not model height.) I'm not saying anything bad about it, I don't care what people weigh. What I'm saying, is people are getting bigger and bigger. Compared to what our country looks like, of course a size 12 does not seem plus sized. That doesn't change the fact, that it is. Now I'm not suggesting a an almost 6 foot tall woman being a size 0, is healthy. I'm suggesting that MOST of America is over weight, and MOST of America is not almost 6 feet tall. If people in America were HEALTHY, this probably wouldn't be a question. A size twelve WOULD be plus sized, if people where a healthy weight.

A size 12 on a nearly 6 foot tall frame, is not plus sized. A size 12 on a typical American woman, really should be. And, no...I'm not equating plus sized with fat or unattractive.

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I am a size 12. Before I had children, sure, I could get a size 3 in juniors...but now I am a 12 in women's.

Know what's funny? My husband loves THIS body SO MUCH MORE that he really (secretly...HE thinks) does not want me to lose any weight. Nor do I necessarily need to...I am just very curvy...big boobs, wide hips, padding on the butt. Turns out, a lot of men actually prefer that. :)

I don't feel plus sized. Sure, I'd love to trim a bit of...well, everywhere...but that's only because of just what you complain...I look at these models and actresses, etc, who have HAD children and yet still look so sleek and flat. We need to remind ourselves that the probably pay hundreds or thousands of dollars a week for private training and expensive diets.

Also, Julie, I think you either need to get off your skinny high horse or open your eyes. I am a size 12 and I am CERTAINLY not obese. If you mean that because you are 4 ft. 2 you'd be OBESE at size 12, maybe you ought to phrase it that way...but that's really rather insulting.

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I would say that a 12 is plus sized. The smallest I have been in my adult life is a 10, and even at that I was still bigger than most of the girls at my university.

Lane Bryant's sizes start at a 12/14, if I am not mistaken from my thinner days.

I am currently an 18/20, and that doesn't make me just plus sized--it makes me obese, despite my 5'10" frame. For me, a size 12 is the high end of the healthy range. A 10 would be my ideal.

ETA: Over time our sizing system has changed. What was a 12 in the 1960s and 70s is more like an 8 today--it is called "vanity sizing." My mom's bridesmaid's dresses from the '70s were all size 16, but they fit me perfectly when I was younger and was a 10 or 12.

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I can't believe these people are saying a 12 is plus size. Plus Size is 18 and UP. Yes, gasp, there are some VERY large women out there, me being one of them. You are NOT plus size if you can shop at a typical store in the normal "womens" section, which, I believe a size 12 falls into that catagory. You are also not "plus size" if you typically wear a 0-2 and then gain a ton of weight and oh no, now wear a 12. You may personally *feel* like you are plus size but you are not. You are an average size woman at size 12. Good gravy, this irks me.

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A size 10 or 12 looks healthy on me, I'm 5'7", so not really tall but taller than many women. A size 8 makes my boobs disappear. And it matters what your body type is, too. What's sad is that when we hear these things from our own culture, it makes us question our self worth. Models are clothes hangers, they aren't meant to represent mature women's bodies.

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I'm with Bug.

If you want a true reality check of how much clothing manufacturers are distorting sizes (cutting a 12 much more ample than in the past), take your measurements and then compare them to the back of a pattern... Holy Cow!! You'll be picking yourself up off the floor and swearing you'll spend hours a day on the treadmill.

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Post baby, I'm a 14. Pre baby#3, I was a size 10. I do not consider 12 or 14 to be plus size. When i went through my divorce i was a size 4 or 6...i considered that small, not normal. I loved it, but its not where my body is naturally and it was next to impossible to stay there. I met my husband and didn't have the time to focus on working out so much and i gained a little and was a size 8. I noticed my husband was more attracted to me at an 8 then a 4 or 6. Then i became normal worked out when i could, still eat healthy and settled into a 10 where i quit fluctuating. I again noticed my husband was even more attracted my curves that i don't have skinny. So I'm sorry Lola, i for one wouldn't choose to be a size 4 or 6 and I'm sure there are many women happy where they are that doesn't happen to be a 4 or 6. You being a size 0 obviously have a way different body shape tben mine, im mean seriously a small frame would never hold up my non-nursing 36EE's.....there's so much more than just size. So C., I, like you do not consider 12 to be plus sized. I also hate the wafer half dead look like they need a sandwich model look and what its doing to our teen girls. My 15 year old thinks she fat because her hip bones dont stick out.

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Plus size models tend to be a size 12 or even a 10, just like models for a size 6 item tend to be a 0 or 2. The less body, the better the item hangs. Models are clothes hangers. Even the models that are sizes 14/16/18+ tend to be in good shape, with toned muscles. They have curves, but not bulges.

In any case, I'd dearly love women's clothing to be sized by measurement. I would like to be able to buy jeans with my waist and inseam like my husband does, instead of fooling around trying on jeans that have no consistant sizing. I have pants in different brands with tag sizes of 4, 6 and 8 - they are are all the *same* measurement size!

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Hi C., good morning to you!

This made me laugh, frankly, because I used to be a model. I am 6'0 and weighed around 135 when I did, and was a size 5. It was to say the least, very unhealthy. It's disgusting how they viewed me back then. I remember going to meet with an agency and they told me that I needed to lose 10 pounds. For the mere reason that my cheeks were to puffy. My mother said, their was no way around that, and we left. I quit when I was 21 years old. I had enough.

Now, I am a size 12. I know if I were still modeling I would be considered "plus size", even though I am at a healthy, normal weight for my body.

In the media and fashion industry their is no such thing as normalcy..It doesn't exist.

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Designers use models who show their clothing in the most positive light.
And the camera adds pounds, too.

So....Size 0 models model for regular sizes (2-12) and size 12 or 14 models model for Plus Size (12 and up).

Size 12 is, after all, only a Big Mac away from the Plus Department! LOL But who cares?

I don't get hung up on numbers.

Have you ever known someone (I have a coworker like this) who thinks that because she REFUSES buy a bigger size, she's fooling everyone? She just looks like a sausage. It makes her look worse to squeeze into size 12 pants. I couldn't stand skintight clothes like that.

Better to buy what fits well, regardless of the size on the tag, that is always a more flattering fit.

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Of course not. I are one. Sort of.

Clothing size has nothing to do with objective reality. It's the fashion industry that declares who is plus and who is not. It has nothing to do with us, our body types, or whether we're healthy. It's a matter of selling clothes! And we fall for it, worrying ourselves that we're not acceptable.

I've watched those little numbers zoom all over the place. Admittedly, I went to elementary school with the dinosaurs, but I recall that size 12 was the size of choice for grown women in those days! Size 10 meant you were on the almost-too-skinny side. Marilyn Monroe had a top measurement that might have bumped her up to a 14 (I've heard 16 also), but the cameras still liked her, right? It was just that those *numbers* were used differently then.

Not really very long ago "plus" began at size 18. Then it became 16, and 14, and now 12. Size 10 should be relegated to the plus bin any time now.

Likewise, sizes on the other end have been marked with lower and lower numbers. There hasn't always been a size zero. What will come next? Size minus four? Here's a thought: will women really *buy* size minus four? Or will they laugh?

Even one size isn't treated the same by the manufacturers. I can wear a 10 in some brands, and have to look for 14s in others. A friend told me once that the size labels in the really high-end stores (the ones I can't afford to breathe the air in) are totally different, so that what would be, say, a size 8 most everywhere else might be a size 4 in that shop.

We real people need to buy clothing that fits us and makes us look good, and laugh those size tags to scorn. We shouldn't give them permission to tell us who we are.

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Size is just a number. If I were a 12, I would be huge. I'm 5'1" and 100 lbs and yes, a size 0. I HATE skinny jokes. I am naturally thin and being called a twig or stick or toothpick hurts just as much as calling someone fat.
As long as you are comfortable in your own skin, you're good.

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i think the size standard is off.. i mean im only 5foot tall .. if i was the same size as someone who was 6foot tall, either im fat or theyre way to skinny .. but as far as the modeling industry goes.. yeah thats considered plus size -shitty, but true. i remember seeing something a while back on one of the entertainment channels, i cant remember who the celebrity was but it was someone who was not overly fat maybe just a little chunky and had a reporter say something to her like about being plus sized.. she lost weight and did an interview with someone and was like i had no idea i was considered plus sized until that reporter said something to me... so i guess its not just us regular people that are confused on the issue

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I nearly started crying when she said that she was a size 12...and they kept calling her plus size.

I'm a size 12. I've had issues with my weight all my life. I say I've had issues and I don't mean I've been overweight my whole life. I've been anorexic, and when my parents would force me to eat...I became bulimic. I tried to get healthy and not worry about my weight...and I got huge. At my smallest I was 98 lbs. At my biggest I was 218 lbs.

These days I try to focus on being healthy. So when she came out and said she was 6'+ and was a size 12/plus sized model, I just wanted to throw something at her. When you look at women's clothing, if you go to the "plus size" section, it starts at size 18.

Oh, and what was up with her (or maybe it the interviewer) saying that she looked like most women. All the size 12 women I see are not that tall and hold their weight that well!

UGH! I'm off to exercise...

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i fluctuate between 0 and 2. i am sorry C., but i do think a size 12 is a plus size, though i don't see anything wrong with being a 0 or a 14 or a 16. it's what floats your boat. the weight of many people depend on their genes, health, medical issues etc, but also eating habits. i fall under, not great eating habits, but some medical issues, a lot of gene influence.
why do i think size 12 falls under plus size? easy, over the years people (especially in this country) are forced to eat 'unhealthy' foods, fast foods, frozen foods etc because many families are made out of two working parents. there just isn't any time to cook in between with all the things busy life throws at people. thus, waists have gone larger. i bet if it were up to you, you wouldn't choose to be a size 12 just as i wouldn't choose to be a size 0 or 2. my happy medium would be a 4, or even a 6. but i am not, and you are not so we embrace who we are.

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The most popular size bought across the country is size 14. I'm a 16 right now but am usually a 14.

And I feel skinny when I"m wearing a size 12.

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I know -- I just watched that and while I'm happy she's a model that's not anorexic, calling her plus sized undoes any good she has achieved! Seriously, she is over 6 feet tall -- I think she didn't want to share her weight because if anyone did the bmi, she's not actually in the overweight zone at all. 12 is plus sized if you're 5'1", not if you're 6'2"!

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Yes, I see 12 as a plus size. Normal would be somewhere between 4-10 depending on the person. There are some natural zeros (I have a friend that is a zero), but healthy weight for most of us is somewhere between 4-10.

I'm a size 5 (fluctuating between 4-6), and I am a healthy weight. I would be giant if I wore a size 12. I would be considered obese! So yes, it would be a plus size for me.

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lol'as answer made M. laugh.
I'm 6 foot tall and when i was anorexic and going to doctors often when i was a pre teen and teen I was a size 7 that was 99llbs and 6 foot tall. Tall people are not generally able to fit into 0's
Now I am 6 foot and 145-150ish (i should be 5-10 tinier but i eat whatever i want whenever i want and dont exercise=( need to change that) and fit into anywhere between a siz 6-12 depending on the clothes...sometimes 12's are even too tight. I have hips and curves, what woman all have (aside from the slim percent that are naturally very tiny and can not gain weight and unhealthy people)

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I think technically it is... Unless a woman is 6' tall or more, a size 12 likely means she's overweight by definition. It may be average bc as Bug says, this country is overweight on average- maybe even pushign obese on average. But that doesn't mean it's what people SHOULD weigh to be healthy. And it's terminology. I crack up a bit at a size 14 Petite. How is that Petite? Isn't just for a shorter person at that point?... I'm 5'9" and a size 6. I'm a bit too thin but I'm also 97% for height for women - very tall. So if I was a bit heavier, which would still make me plenty healthy I think, maybe I'd be a size 8 or 10. To be a 12 I'd have to be overweight or plus -sized... And I'm taller than 97% of women. And even a 6' woman who isn't overweight and therefore probably does wear a 10 or 12 is plus sized jsut like a 5'1" woman who is a healthy weight is a "petite" woman. "Large" versus "small" person. I think petite is just a flattering sounding designation vs plus sized isn't.

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I think it's right on the border of plus size. That said, I would give anything to be a size 12 right now, LOL. I was at Lane bryant the other day and the lowest size they have is 14. I think most big girl stores start at 14. Did you know Marilyn Monroe was a size 12? The sizes have changed though.

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I agree completely! I had the same "Say, WHAT?" reaction! I'm also happy that, when asked her weight, she said it doesn't matter. She's a size 12 and that's it. Good for her! A lot of models are speaking out about the too-thin culture, the eating disorders, the airbrushing, and the intense pressure of high fashion. Tyra Banks started this protest some years ago, and I'm glad Ralph Lauren and hopefully other designers will incorporate women who can actually buy their clothing. Now, if they can just lose the "plus size" label, that would be awesome.

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A 'plus' sized model who's a size 12?
The poor little twig must have put on a few pounds!
In my mind, plus size is size 16 and over.
There are sizes 22 and 24 out there and there are plenty of men and women around where I live that wear that size and higher.
There IS an obesity crisis going on.
The fashion industry is SO out of touch.

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They call 12 a plus sized model because they don't believe that even plus sized women would find themselves sexy. 12 is enough that you get a few extra curves, as apposed to a stick which is the regular model, so they call it plus sized.

Think about it this way, a skinny woman, is she really a size zero? When I was skinny, fit, I was a size four. What did I look like at five ft eight, size four, in relation to six ft size zero? I guess I am saying 12 is as stupid a representation of plus size as 0 is for skinny.

I guess if they ever come up with morbid obese clothes that would be represented with a size 18?

Okay after reading Lola's response I would have to wonder how tall is she. Most models are around six feet tall. Sure zero is perfectly fine for someone who is short, heck I know short women who buy from the girls department. What we are talking about is tall women who size 0 is skin and bones.

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I'm a size 10 and don't like the weight I'm at because it feels crappy, but I've never thought of a 12 as "plus size." Yikes!

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I have a SIL that is downright beautiful. She is plus size, anywhere from 12-18. I wish she would have went into modeling.

I'm at my biggest since having 4 kids, hitting 40, uterine surgery, meds that made me gain weight and a bad back. I'm a size 6 now, but because I'm only 5'1, I look chubby.

I really don't think it should be about the number. It should be about being healthy, having a good diet, energy levels and most of all not comparing yourself.

I really wish the standards would change for models, it's very unnatural, unhealthy and I hate that my girls already talk about their weight at ages 5, & 7.

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I pushed the wrong button and my response vanished. Some people have a set size by genetics and others have size by choice. I have been a size 14 for the last 50 years with fluctuations from 7/8 (activity) to 16. Of course at the low end I weighed less than the upper end. I returned to a size 10 about five years back after a lengthy illness and am now my 12.

Life makes changes to the body. So that the same clothes fit differently during your life (baby weight, stress, health).

Find the styles that you like in whatever size because the "size" is only a number. If it looks great buy it. If it doesn't look great don't buy it. Make fashion your own and own it. Plus size is still size 18 and above. How can you equate the woman who has the EE or more chest and she wears at 14 and looks good?

Manufacturers are out to sell their product. They have "created" the myth that women should look and act a certain way which many have fallen into.

I had to learn to sew so that I could get pants to fit. Hour glass figures are rough on the waist to hip ratio. You have to buy for the hips and adjust for the waist or your won't wear them.

Just be you and be happy.

The other S.

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I think in the fashion and media world the sizes are not accurate to what we normally get in the stores. Remember when Christy Alley lost all that weight and claimed to be a size 4? She really wasn’t that small it’s just the way designers size their clothes (the size is bigger than the norm I think to make the actor feel smaller or think they are smaller).

When I go clothes shopping the plus sizes start at 16 or XXL, 1 at all the stores. Size 12 is still in with the regular woman’s sizes or is a XL. I also think people wear things differently, since we are all shaped differently. I buy plus size shirts because my boobs have gotten so big, I don’t feel comfortable with a skin tight shirt.

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honey , just because someone tells you, "oh, i wear a size such and such", doesnt mean they are telling you the TRUTH
K. h.

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I am a 2. I would LOVE to have curves but when I gain weight it goes straight to my stomach and face.

Not cute!

I went to a consult for a tummy tuck, and they said I *could* lipo my flanks (love handles) if I wanted to, but it wasnt necessary. So, pretty much the tiny curve on my body they wanted to get rid of? No.

A lady that worked there showed me her before and after of her getting her flanks done, I know it was completely rude, but I said "Wow, your curves really looked amazing!" Looked being past tense, because now they are gone! What a shame!

Oh well.

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They are called that cause they are PLUS everything to love!!!

if 12 is plus, I am MULTIPLE TIMES 4, or call me PI, baby...

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This is one of the things that irks me about trying to shop plus sizes on-line. Talbots has a wonderul Talbot's Woman section (complete with petite sizes which I need for my short waist). They've gotten much better over the years about actually showing "plus size" models in the Woman section on the catalog or on the web site, but I'm always wondering how big the model is. Is she really a 12 and wearing a 14 or 16 so it looks flattering on her and would look lumpy and dumpy on someone who actually is a 16? What I would really love to see for shopping purposes is a variety of models with different builds and sizes so you could pick the one who looks most like you and see what she looks like in an item that you're considering buying. This is obviously not practical for everything, but for a business that's trying to sell $110 pants and $150 dresses on-line or via catalog to women who aren't model thin, it might help drive more business.

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I was watching that as well and I was shocked! If that is what we call plus size than you have to be a skeleton to be normal. That girl was also 6,2. I am 5 ft and am a size 2. I am skinny and so was she. This country has gone nuts and I swear our children are going to have eating disorders if the media keeps sending this message. I just looked at some posts and I do not think people know this model was 6.2. So a size 12 on a 6.2 person looks like a size 2 on a 5ft person. If she was 5.5 then she may be considered plus size. But seriousely I am very vain and fit and I saw this girl and she had an amazing figure.

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I have struggled with my weight all my life. Right now, I'm a 16 and that is the biggest I have ever been. Am I happy about that? No but I guess it doesn't bother me too much because I haven't done much to change it.

I was a size 7 before I had my second child and over the last 20 years, I have steadily gained. I did loose some a couple of years ago when I had my back surgery but they found me and brought friends. =(

12 is NOT plus size and I get tired of the magazines and fashion industry tell me it is. They need to GET A LIFE!!

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