Personal Shoppers obey the laws of physics

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A 38DD chest is a size 6?

And to think she first ordered a size 4!

[Barefootgirl]

Indeed. i personally would love to see these dresses that are tailored for women with size 6 bottoms and size 18 tops. Are they just lycra (the dresses, not the women - I assume the women are mostly silicon from the knees up)? Are there any online that I can see?

[Buglady]

I used to work in a fabric store and I saw "But I'M NOT a 12!!" meltdowns all the time. Pattern companies still use the old standard sizes, which means they are nowhere near the vanity-sized off the rack clothes. Some people just couldn't deal with that fact; apparently sewing a size 12 skirt (which in Simplicty patterns is a 34" hip, 26" waist) would cause a scarlet letter to be emblazoned on their forehead for all to see. Or something like that. I mean jeez, if you sew it, why can't you put a tag in that says whatever you want if it's that important?

As a demonstration, I once took my mother to the mall and tried on pants in every size from 2 to 12. They ALL FIT. My mother still refused to buy a jacket that fit her and looked terrific, because it said "size 14" on the label. I officially gave up at that point.

They're random numbers! Why do people freak out?

[Barefootgirl]

Dead right, buglady. If you get your clothes made by a dressmaker, there are no size labels in them anyway (hooray for cheapo HK tailors and Mr Daswani !).

The label is on the INSIDE, people !

[Kiwi]

A size 6.5 fat?!?!?!

When I was 16 years old, 5 7" and 50 kgs (110.5lbs )

I was an American size 10!!!!!!

I to like Marilyn am lucky enough to be naturally endowed with a generous curves. I had a bubble butt and boobs even at that tiny weight.

But then most people/ guys I know always preferred Nigella over Kate Moss and whats with this size bias, I own 4 pairs of jeans, and they all are fitting and they are ALL different sizes from a 30 -36. I gave up on sizes long ago.

I always love it when people get owned by their own self rightousness! Good on you for standing up for your staff!

[cewfa]

Personally, I would rather have a size 12 woman than a size 6, but thats my taste.

[Arachne]

Okay, here's what I don't get. Men, I'm not sure if you know this, but the '38' part of '38DD' refers to the measurement around the ribs below the breasts. It doesn't take the actual breasts into account at all. (The cup size is arrived at by checking the difference between the measurement around the ribs and the measurement around the fullest part of the breast.)

Now, my size varies pretty widely, as with most people. Most places, I shop, which encompasses cheap-o places like Target, as well as the occasional large department store like Nordstroms, I'm a size 6 - 8. When I sometimes visit the really super-trendy boutiques, I'm up to a size 10. Recently, I discovered that Banana Republic has set the bar even bigger because I'm a 4 there, now.

The numerical measurement on my bras is a 34. And there's a pretty big difference between 34 and 36 -- I know because I tried a 36 on once and was stunned by how loose it was. I'd be swimming in a 38 anything.

What I want to know is: How is this woman with a ribcage much larger than mine (and breasts much larger than mine) wearing the same size clothes as me? I admit that it's been a while since I last shopped for clothes outside of Goodwill, so should I be preparing to fit into size 2 dresses at Target?

Funny aside about the whole bra size thing, BTW. A long time ago, back when I hung out on internet chat rooms a lot, I heard tell of an infamous idiot kid who came in claiming to be a hawt woman. He was claiming that he had something like 96ZZZ breasts. And was 5 feet tall. So basically, round with breasts that dragged on the floor.

[draftermatt]

Most men want women with some curves to them. And as far as sizes go, I could give a rat's ass. If you look good who cares? Seems to be a vanity/competition thing there.

I'm a large man, I would break a stick figure woman in half if I ever got with one.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I remember seeing some thing on TV once where this girl had implants to make her like a EE cup or something. Ridiculously huge. And she was a small woman so looked even more ridiculous. (And yes, I believe she was a stripper.)

Is there something wrong with me that I'm a 34A and have never had the desire to have surgery to make them bigger? The only time I've ever wished for a bigger chest is the occasional shopping trip where I find a top I really like but just don't fill out quite right. When that happens, I pout a moment, hang it back up and look for something else.

[iradney]

Is there something wrong with me that I'm a 34A and have never had the desire to have surgery to make them bigger?

No. More than a handful is a waste. Conversely, I'm a 36DD/E and I would KILL for a B cup. I really would *sigh*

[cewfa]

As long as your happy with yourself then thats all that matters.

I can relate to the guy who said that he was a large man. I too would break the stick figure of a woman in half.

[Daskinor]

What I want to know is: How is this woman with a ribcage much larger than mine (and breasts much larger than mine) wearing the same size clothes as me? I admit that it's been a while since I last shopped for clothes outside of Goodwill, so should I be preparing to fit into size 2 dresses at Target?

Be honest I don't know much about dress sizing other then we use these odd conversion charts for sizing. So I went and asked. The 3 numbers where size 6.5. Desired dress length, in this case 38 inches. From her shoulders to somewhere past her but. And a cup size of DD. I thought she was referring to a bust size, because of her overly huge ones. Now I learned somthing today.

[MadMike]

Is there something wrong with me that I'm a 34A and have never had the desire to have surgery to make them bigger?

Not at all. I was never obsessed with really big ones myself. I like pretty much any size, as long as they're real -- big, small, or anything in between. What I don't like is fake ones, especially ridiculously huge fake ones.

[Buglady]

Back on topic, it does surprise me when guys think that the number infront of the cup size equates to the boob size. I mean, you can be a 44 and still be an A. This was something I had to explain to my boyfriend when we first met.

Heck, I had to explain that to a lingerie saleswoman once. I wear a really oddball size since I have a fairly broad back - that means that my band size has to be quite a bit bigger than you'd expect, and since cup size is proportional to the band, rather than being an absolute measure, the cup size I take IS smaller than it would appear. (Either that or my chest is an optical illusion )

Then of course you get the fun with vanity BRA sizing where band sizes have migrated over time. My actual rib cage measures 32, but I have to buy a 36 or 38 band if I want to breathe (La Senza is really bad for this).

[BookstoreEscapee]

Not at all. I was never obsessed with really big ones myself. I like pretty much any size, as long as they're real -- big, small, or anything in between. What I don't like is fake ones, especially ridiculously huge fake ones.

I was really being sarcastic; I've never thought there was anything wrong with me. But the validation is nice I am definitely all real and barring a tragic accident or illness, I plan to stay that way. One of my college roommates had a reduction over our Junior year winter break, from a DD to a C. She could never lay on her stomach without a pillow or 2 under her. Another of my friends had a reduction a couple years after we graduated. So I got a first hand lesson in what I wasn't missing!