“Do you need a larger size?” the sales lady at the prom dress store asked me. After her comment I was thinking to myself, why couldn’t I fit into my normal size? In the previous store I had been to, all my clothes fit fine and they were all in my normal size. All of the sudden, her comments and these thoughts pulled at my self-esteem. Bigger than just my feelings, women in general are starting to feel an immense amount of pressure to fit into a certain size. With varying brand sizes and different body types for each individual, this unrealistic notion needs to be put to rest before many women start to doubt their self worth.
Women’s clothing sizes vary from brand to brand, making it difficult for women to know what their actual clothing size is. Unlike the men’s sizing chart that is sized by inches in the waist and length, women’s sizes go from a double zero to a 24. Each number may have a measurement, but they have shown themselves to be inaccurate due to each brand having different sizes. I have personally experienced this sizing confusion many times. One of the times was while I was shopping for prom dresses. I went to one store in Georgia where every dress I put on was a much larger size than I would usually wear but somehow fit. I just assumed that formal wear sizing might just run larger. Then the following weekend I went to a different store in south Florida where all the dresses I tried on were my usual size. There was a six-size difference between the dresses I tried on in Georgia versus the dresses I tried on when I went to south Florida. With a sizing system that has no exact size measurements, it makes it nearly impossible for women to know what their true size is. Every clothing store has a different size for each brand of clothing, and sometimes sizes can run too small or too big. Regardless of the different sizes, it’s important for women to note that one certain size does not define them or their body.
Not everyone’s healthy body weight is going to be the same, as it varies from person to person. Women are pressured to fall into a fixed range of body types, and because of this, young girls and women think they need the perfect body. Unfortunately, this leads to eating disorders, negative body image and lower self-confidence. According to healthline, body weight fluctuates between people, it has to do with body frame, fat distribution and height. Women in our society today are pressured to look a certain way and to the ideal size that is honestly an unrealistic notion. According to the BFA Mercury 10% of the world population has either had an eating disorder or will have one at some point during their life. That is almost 29 million Americans and most will go undiagnosed. Due to societal pressures, girls, throughout the United States, are struggling to find peace with their bodies because of the pressure to maintain the perfect figure. This false concept can cause problems physically and mentally and truly damage a girl’s image of themselves. Women should not feel the need to fit a certain size just because of society’s standards.
While it can be hard to not fall into society’s normalities to try to maintain the ideal body type, it is important for individuals to understand that everyone has a different body type. Everyone was made a certain way and while easier said than done, it is important for people to confidently know that. Comparing yourself to a sizing chart is an unhealthy and inaccurate way of measuring beauty. Everyone must stay confident in themselves, and not fall under the pressure to fit a specific size. In reality, there is no such thing as the “perfect size” and it should stay that way.
