Clothing sizes are absolutely massive nowadays.

I don't think it has anything to do with America or being fat first off, I believe it's the maker itself...As to places like Ross or Burlington those are places that clothing size are a bit abnormal then the regular sizes or the clothing that just didn't make it to the larger stores or items that didn't sell in the mall stores or name brand stores. I can wear a Polo Medium and wear a Lascoste Small...Same type of shirt style just different brand...

In the Marine Corps, 215 is over the weight requirements for most men. I'm surprised you were ever able to fit into a small. My husband is 175 and he wears at least a medium - and has so for the past 10+ years and he is 5-10. I know everyone holds weight differently though. You aren't one of those guys at the club who try to impress women with tight-@ss black shirts, are you? lol Anyway back to what you're talking about, yes, even for women the sizes have been shifting over the years but there is no conformity. And at some stores, an XS is now the old small and even vice versa so we can fit anywhere from an XS to a M depending on the label. That's why it is hard to buy online. As far as men's shirts my husband said he hasn't had a problem.

Lots of Americans are obese, and that is having an impact on the clothing sector. It really influences the sizes. What used to be considered "large" some years back is now "small". It's a weight problem.

We are all very vain. You are not old enough to remember, but when I was in my teens, they resized all sewing patterns. They became smaller, even though the numbers were large. It is not just Americans,I saw a show about sizing on the Discovery channel that talked about the sizes of uniforms for various women's navies around the world. The conclusion was the average size of a woman in the navy, any navy, was size 10. Even though, for instance, the Russian women were larger dimensions, the mannequins, and patterns were labelled size 10. Your size issue does sound weird, and frustrating. I thought things were getting to be closer fit now than they were two or three years agp. It shows how much I go clothes shopping.I am a large woman, but I am too large for "misses" and women's sizes are too large for me. I need to go back to sewing. Not an option for you, I bet.

Ive noticed that too. I think its because the kids were wearing their cloths baggie. and do I hate that look. And because of that its carried over to the adult sizes. Which sucks.

I find that stores like Hollister, Abercrombie, American Eagle, etc. typically run small (for women anyway), while stores like Old Navy and department stores tend to run larger. I think it's mostly because people in America are definitely getting larger, and stores are trying to keep up and make sales. It's strange though that you're finding that men's size are SO large.

The Cathy comic strip ran some stuff about that a few weeks ago. It was hysterical to see these women in the comic who are always worrying about their weight suddenly buying size 2 and size zero even. I don't have that much experience with it because I haven't bought that many clothes lately, but it wouldn't surprise me to see that kind of size escalation to make people feel better about their fat selves (and therefore buy more clothes). For a decent polo shirt, have you tried Target? We get shirts for my husband there and they seem to hold up pretty well.

People are bigger and it has a lot to do with the hormones injected in the meats of beef, pork and chicken we consume. Plus people overeat and eat unhealthy foods. Carbohydrates contibute greatly toward this. A high protein diet with lots of veggies and fruits is better and fresh veggies and fruit more than cooked or canned.

its not just America , ive noticed in the uk too. I have a theory that there has been a lot of complaints from some fat women that they cant find clothing to fit them and dont like the size label attatched to their clothes. In order to make these obese people feel better and sell more clothes some manufacturers and retailers have started re sizing their labels, so what was a large is now a medium or even a small. Its all part of selling the illusion, if people steadfastly refuse to stop eating too much, what choice do they have ?

You're right. But it's not just in the US. For a couple of years now, I especially have trouble finding pants that don't have gigantic waists, I always have to get them altered. I'm the same size as I was before, as my older pants still fit me, so it's definitely the sizes that are increasing.

i have noticed the same problem with hollister, i also can barely fit into an XL and im only 165 lbs. with about 3% body fat, thats insane i should be wearing a M in any other store, who the hell are they marketing to that is that small, even their models are just a little smaller than i am and they can easily fit into them, also dont ever sweat in those types of clothes because when u wash them it will look like someone spread bleach all over your shirt, and i dont want to have to buy a new shirt every time i get a little hot

Being 98 lbs and petite myself, I can never find pants to fit me. No matter how small size 3, 1's even are too big most of the time. It didnt use to be like that so I got to thinking about this one day and figured out what they are up to. They are making the small sizes bigger so the bigger girls can fit into a smaller size and feel good about themselves which makes them go and buy more clothes. It's a mind game they are playing with the people. Crazy stuff!!!!

I don't think America is the only country with this problem. I went from a size 8 and I am 5' 9" and 138lbs to a size 6 and have not lost a pound. I am fairly slim hipped and every pair of pant I try on looks like I have a pair of empty saddle bags on the side. SOOOOO attractive I might add. The only brand that fits are the Wrangler slim fit jeans. Other wise I seem to me at the tailors or taking in things my self. It is very annoying,

I think so, with the trend of fastfoods, lack of nutrition, hectic lifestyle, and lack of exercise, i think americans wil certainly hav this prob.

the style is baggy nowadays. my husband hates that baggy style. he likes his to fit his body close. he usually wears a medium.

Designers seem to think differently about how clothing should fit. I am to the point that I will be making my own clothing. They will fit better and I can choose the fiber content of the material.

Where I live is the opposite. Everything goes smaller. And from a brand to another they don't have the same size. For example I wear jeans size 13. Sometimes they don,t even fit and I have to take 14. But for levis I wear a size 12. There is a place I goI always have to go 1-2 size larger because it doesn fit. It,s becoming hard for me to buy close. I'M sure a girl who wear small that goes there have to wear medium.

I guess I had never noticed this because it sounds like it is a feature of men's clothing. It seems like women's clothing just keeps getting smaller and smaller, and you have to go to a so called 'big and tall' store if you really want to get something to fit nicely at a larger size. I find that sad, as well. Although I have lost some weight in these past couple of years, I still feel big, and I've had a weight problem my entire life, so I can really sympathize with women in America who have problems finding clothing big enough for them. I did not realize that the opposite problem was happening for men with certain types of shirts.

its bcoz every brand has its own size.let me explain each and every brand follows different size in inches.so if your waist is 30 some brands may be lilbit loose or tight.so american brands have their own size nd fitting.maybe dat doesnt fits u well.

It is a fact that America is one of the most fat countries; we have the most obesity here. I went to the mall yesterday, and I'm usually a petite size, so you have no idea how hard it is to find clothes for me too. We should all start clothing companies =D