Dress Size Deflation

kw: opinion, beauty, health, fashion

I recently went clothes shopping with my wife. She's petite, a size 8...or that used to be petite. Now it is a "women's size." So is 7. Guess I haven't been to the women's department in a while (a few years? decades??). I sidled over to the other end of the rack. It topped out at 12, and there were few items larger than a size 10.

I remember that "women's" sizes were 12-16. I remember 5-7-9 shops, for the skinniest of girls. Now I've been told, by a high school girl we know, that many, many teenage girls (later teens: 15-19) are sizes 2, 1, and Zero! What's going on?

Two things are going on. One is, today's 8 is 1980's size 9 or 10 (or even 12, depending on manufacturer). That size Zero is really about a 3, in 1980 terms. A "real" Zero would have a 15-inch waist. Dressmakers label their stuff to sell, not to satisfy a mathematician. Little sizes sell.

But the other thing: Many, many young women really are starving themselves down to sticklike, scrawny caricatures. They all want to have a waist under 20 inches. Whatever happened to 36-24-36 as an ideal?

My size 8 wife is about the smallest woman of normal height (she's 5'-3") I can hold, and not feel I'm grasping a 4x4. I prefer seeing women who resemble the beauties in paintings by Rubens or Titian.

A bit of upholstery indicates good health and a good appetite. In 1865, Manet first showed Olympia. It was greeted with disdain. She was a real woman, not some idealized historical figure. And besides, she was too skinny. Folks today think she's a bit chubby, albeit a very pretty chubby.

Girls of all ages, I have a bit of advice. Do you know what's really attractive? Good health. A strong constitution. A cheerful, happy disposition. Cleanliness and neatness. Get out and walk more...and not just in the mall! Spend more time walking than you do watching TV. Wash off the cosmetics so your skin will be healthy. Eat healthy, enjoyable food, but stay away from fast foods. Don't get on a scale more than once a week—monthly or less is even better. Seek out friends who don't betray you, friends who are smart, curious, and upbeat. Drop anybody who gossips too much. Gossip reshapes your face, and not in a good way. Wear clothes that feel good, and you'll look good.