Size

That was coming from a model. I think 12-16 is a normal size. There is never anything left in those sizes in the sales!

How ridiculous. I am a 14 and considered slim. No wonder young people feel insecure about their looks. There is such a thing as being too skinny!

I read somewhere that the average size for a British woman is a 16. Therefore, I consider myself slim as a 12! Surely, it depends on how tall you are too.

I'm a 10 in most things but I do not consider myself to be particularly slim. I'm shortish though.

Clothes these days are very stretchy...

I'm more comfortable wearing the " old " size 14 in tops/jumpers/jackets and coats but I'm by no means a big fat woman. I'm tall and slim and hovering on 10 stone, having gained only 1/2 a stone over very many years.
Does this sizing make me enormous ? Outsize ? XXL ?
I have size 12 trousers that are so tight I daren't eat anything if I'm out, so in old sizes, a 12 would be the equivalent of an 8/10 in todays sizes.
Years ago I used to have a size 13 in trousers from M&S.

Sizes are all to Hell ! If a size 14's classed as large, then what now represents large ?

Sizing seems to be really inconsistent as well.

Maybe it's become irrelevant.

However it IS true to say that the population has got larger, and that "slim" may not mean quite what it used to.

In my head I’m still slim. Strange, the labels in my clothes are 16-18 nowadays .... I don’t understand it!!

I was very slim before C and now am 16/18/20 depending on make.
Does it bother me?
Not a jot.

Im pretty "curvy" at a 12 so in model terms I suppose it is. It is "substantial" though not technically overweight for everyone depending on their height.

Im overweight by the time I am a 14.

You cannot judge size by "averages" and "normal" any more because so many people are over weight. You can be the slimmesr in your group of friends or family and still be over weight.

I do not mind being called "plus size" and am happy to browse that section for longer loser fits.

The thing that annoys me is that if you are looking for something bright and cheerful usually the largest size it comes in is a 12 or a 14 if you are lucky. If you are looking for clothes to fit someone who actually eats - they are dark and dull. Also sizes vary from shop to shop - it does not make clothes shopping a joyful experience!

It all depends on how tall you are. DDiL is 6ft tall, a size 14 and as thin as a rake. I would imagine that anyone under 5 ft in that size, probably would be over her recommended BMI

Saw a lovely velvety top in Next yesterday which I thought would be ideal for Christmas - picked up a 14 to try on (14 is my usual size in Next). Too tight, 16 too tight. 18 fitted round my waist and hips but enormous over shoulders, arms and bust. I did not buy it.
Sizes these days are all over the place.

Sizing also depends on where it was made, my very slim friend ordered online (size 10, 5' 6") she couldn't get it on, couldn't get it over her shoulders or up past her knees ... made in China apparently so I assume they model it on their own petite ladies rather than Europeans.
My daughter is 6' and large frame so absolutely loved buying clothes when she lived in France as they do the longer arms and legs. It seems unless you buy designer clothes in the UK the manufacturers think the smaller the size the shorter you are , at 5'4" and a size 16 I'm just average.

Size 12 plus size? Ridiculous!

I am size 12/13. My weight hovers around 10 stone. Below 10 stone, I have nothing to put in my bra and look scrawny. My weight could drop to 7 stone and I would still be a size 12 because that is the size of my pelvis, not the tissue covering it.

Sizes are ridiculous I am 14 on a good day I recently bought a jumper from George they were EXTRA small, very good for my ego but I ve never been extra or even small I m definitely a medium
An average height lady (say 5’6” )is going to be slim at size 12 certainly not plus which would be 16 and above

I am barely 5' and although could get into a 12 in most things, looked into the mirror and saw a fat lump. By brutal cutting back on food and only eating between noon and 7.00 pm I have really struggled managed to lose 9lb, but it has taken me 4 months! At least I can now look in the mirror without shuddering. Some of my old size 12s are too loose, others fit perfectly, something wrong somewhere!

Vanity sizing does make a lot of 12s these days for the larger person TBH

TBH notanan2, at size 12 I am not a 'larger person'!
I am the same size and weight as I was 50 years ago, so I don't think sizes have changed that much.

Let's not fuel this ridiculous belief that only people size 10 or below are 'normal' size.

Sizes are a lot bigger nowadays. I have put on some weight but by some modern day miracle I am the same size as I was in my teens! I think in modelling terms size 12 would be large. You often see a tag next to a photo that says something like 'model is 5' 10" and a size 8' which is not most of the great British public.

My height is short and my size currently is fat!

I have the moon face associated with steroid treatments and having had no exercise whatsoever for the three months I've been ill I feel as if I'm almost as wide as I am tall. And yet.... the clothes I bought when I was two stones lighter do still fit me. I don't look so good in them any more, but they do actually fit.