I suspect like many as a YO-YO Dieter, I had a variety of "smaller" clothes which I had (briefly) fitted into over the past 10 years lurking in my wardrobe.

Before I lost 70 pounds, I was buying US size 20, UK Size 22 and European Size 50.( tight squeeze true and I

was probably 1 size bigger of each but I always bought the flare dress and the comfort trousers to keep up the illusion).

So all those clothes look ridiculous now. It's not just that they are baggy but without the stomach and the

boobs to drape , they are 4 inches longer which as I am under 5ft is a lot...

And I have worked through my "smaller" purchases so that they too are looking very big too so my ( very fashionable 20 year old )daughter had one of those "Mum - you have got to get some new clothes" severe chat with me.

What to buy..? The cheaper option is probably the internet since I do not live in either the UK or USA , and

these are not my "final" clothes after all.

So onto M&S ,wearing my tailored trousers ( M&S size 20) with the crotch now hanging mid thigh .

What size to buy?

I get out my tape measure and look at their size chart - apparently I should now buy a 24-26 (UK Size) What !!

What size was I before??

My daughter who thinks I am old = idiot, tells me I must be wrong and goes onto a generic site - which tells methat I need a size 30(UK), size 32( USA) OR size 56 (Europe).

Anyone else lost pounds and gained dress sizes??

What I don't get is people who say the are down to 180 pounds and are a size 6 US. When I was my healthiest adult weight in the mid 1980's. I weighed 135 and wore a size 12 US. So what gives? This problem makes it even harder to know what size I am as I go through this shape-shifting process. Before my sleeve, I was an apple. Now I am a pencil with a donut for a belly. That is an improvement I guess, because my belly has gone from 54" to 42" so far.

When I was an anorexic teenager during the hippie years (late 1960's) I my highest weight was 108 with a 23" waist, and I wore a size 8 US. Clearly sizing has changed. As a larger person, I did almost all of clothes shopping online from plus-sizw stores. I guess now I should actually go IN a store and try stuff on.

Too True

From my young Skinny days I have some UK size 8s and 10s which I really loved and kept as

aspirational "I will fit in these again".

My daughter, a current UK Size 10, can't squeeze into them at all.

Sizes have indeed changed drastically when it comes to women's clothing. It seems each store, designer, outlet etc, has it's own sizing chart. Then add to that (at least in the U.S) they also have Women's sizes meaning there is a size 16 and also a size 16W, which according to an associate at one store I was in the equivalent to a size 16w is a size 14, really, so why have the W? I see so many outfits on line but truly hesitate to order anything due to the nature of the drastic differences among stores / retailer's sizing, and I hate returning things via mail, ugh. We ladies really need a set size standard.

The W is made to give u more rm around hips an waist. .I know. I have just hit the regular 18 ..I was wearing the 22/24 w...an yrs ago in my teens. .I would b 109 lbs an the smallest size in pants I ever wore was a 9..could not squeeze into anything any smaller. I don't understand how the ones in the 180 range getting in these low dbl an single sizes either..blows me away!

@ Miss Mac, clothing sizes have evolved with times. A 6 from today is not the same as a 6 from the 80s, which was accurate. People in general are just bigger and the industry knows it and accomodates for it. To the OP, maybe just get some cute stretchy dresses. Something that can be dressed up with jewely and accessories to make it look more professional for work. Stretchy stuff would work great, but you may need to wear a shaper like Spanx or something. I would avoid trousers. Hanging crotches are not cute!! Lol!!

Btw, congratulations on having lost enough weight to have a hanging crotch in pants!! That is great!

For once I am happy that I wear scrubs to work. Doesn't matter if they are a little baggy and they can be taken in easily. I go back to work tomorrow and my scrubs were baggy before I left for surgery. I should have tried them on an altered them before I went back but just didn't have the energy. But maybe next week. Lol. If I get some energy back. At home I just wear leggings or Yoga pants I don't have anywhere special to go and I can get them for 10.00. So that is my plan until I reach goal or go on vacation in December then I will buy me some new clothes?

Edited September 7, 201411 yr by tbahm

Ok, this can probably be researched somewhere on the Internet, but I'll try to explain it the way it was explained to me a few years ago. Clothing manufactures, started making clothing bigger, but leaving the same size on the label. Example, that W16 is really a W18. Apparently this is being done to get us to feel better about ourselves and of course shop more. I have been the same weight for 27 years. Over the last few years I went from wearing a size W20 to W18 and many W16. What the hell? But if I buy designer clothing, I'm right back in a W20.

I recently bought a pair of pants at Macy's on the clearance rack for $16. They were a size 20. According to the website for the brand (Jones New York) the measurements for the waist is 40 inches. My waist is not 40 inches yet, It is above that. Yet, when I tried the pants on they fit just fine, are actually a bit loose. So the sizing is off. You really need to go to a store and try things on. It's a pain butt, you have to do it. I like to hit places like Ross or TJ Maxx (not sure if you have them overseas, but I am sure there is some kind of discount shop like that somewhere). Better to get a pair of pants for super cheap than to buy something nice you are only going to slide out of in a few weeks.

Also, here in the US we love to vanity size the crap out of things. J Crew and New York & Company size generously and are a bit notorious for it. I have a friend who is a size 6 and has always been a 6. She went in there and tried on a 6 and was swimming in those pants. She said to me, I am absolutely not a size 4. But apparently people want vanity sizes. Which is why someone had to create a 00/XXS