M and S sizing

I think M&S are clutching at straws since they have slashed their quality and mistakenly think that flattery sizing will give sales a boost.

It wont.

The quality there is now worse than the likes of Peacocks and Primark.

Colours run, items shrink or distort on first wear/wash. They dont stock the same range of basics they used to and the fabrics feel nasty

Food has gone the same way. Went there to get some "nice" fancy nibbles for a party recently, and there was just nothing tempting. Left and went to sainsburys which had a much better range of posh nibbles

Telling me Im slim when Im not wont make up for that!

Think that should read 'anything from a 12 to a 16'.

I dont think there are standard sizes anymore,I'm a 6-8 in some shops and a 10 in others I have jeans in an 8 that need belted and leather trousers bought by my OH in an 8 that are a perfect fit.Then there are size 10 jeans that were so tight I could hardly get my legs in them .Its an adventure buyng clothes now so I tend to buy online as I can try them on at home and send back what doesn't fit and thats a lot of things.The courier I use says I keep her in work

In my wardrobe there's a top size 18 that just fits (Monsoon) and a mac that's a size 12 (Regatta) that I can wear easily over the thickest of Winter woollies.

Normally I'm anything between a 12 and a 16.

The trouble with M&S is that different brands vary in how generous they seem to be. Autograph and M&S Woman seem larger than Per Una. What do others find?

Haven’t noticed that all M&S sizes are larger, just, as GrandmaMoira points out, all their stock has become variable, if you tried on two identical items the sizes would feel different, which means trying absolutely everything on before you buy.
In the end though, vanity sizing or no, a number 10/12/14 etc means nothing, it’s how the garment looks and fits, and think we should all not worry about what size we are.

It's not just M&S, is it? I'm top heavy and just recently I've bought four new t-shirts in the sales from two different shops.
They vary in size from 18-22 and they all fit.

It's nothing new to rebrand sizing. In the 70s I was a size 12. I kept sine favourite dresses and in 2010 a friend's daughter was going to a 70s themed ball. Now this girl is so thin I always declared there was no way she had room for all her bits and pieces inside. Her dress size was 8. Knowing I had some outfits she came to have a look and I thought she would be wasting her time. Was I in for a shock, my outfits were too small! The zips would just not meet. So yes, as we have grown bigger labelling in clothes has kept reducing. 40 years later a size 12 was a 6/8.

Not just M&S, I bought petite trousers from Debenhams and they are 3 inches too long! I have not shrunk, as far as I know. In fact I think I will go and turn them up now. Only had them 6 months.

They are making the trousers longer. I used to buy ‘short’ and wear them. Now I have to shorten them first

Thank heavens for all these messages, I thought it was just me. I bought two bras same style, one on Wednesday and the second on Friday of the same week but the Friday one had to be a size bigger! Medium length trousers were always the best for me but now I have to buy short which are the same length as the medium ones I bought previously. My DH asked if I was shrinking into old age so I passed him the tape measure to check the length.

I have been a size 16 for years. I haven't lost or gained any weight. I recently fancied a dress in M&S so picked up a 16 - I couldn't do it up! I worked my way up till I got to a size 20 (horror!!); bust, waist & hips a lovely fit - but the armholes: GINORMOUS!! and no way to make them smaller. I used to shop online with M&S a lot but now I wouldn't know what size(s) to select. Back to the sewing machine I think

Yes, I've got a dress like that Gaggi3. Nightmare to get out of. Fits alright on though.

I seem to be bonnier than most of you.

It's the only place I can anything that fits. I'm a size 16. I like their sizing.

My feet are far too delicate and tender to wear their shoes.

Had to go down size in their shoes recently. But in all makes seem to be cosistent size 14.

Last year when I bought linen trousers,a black and a white pair in the same size and they were a different fit the salesperson when I returned them said very seriously “ our black trousers always come up smaller than the white “ ??

I’m a size 14 in all clothes shops...except M&S I always buy size 12. For me they’ve always been like that.

I relied on M&S oversizing when I bought a dress on line in the sale, which was a size smaller than I take, but was the only one they had. I got into it o.k, though no zip in side. When I came to take it off it was almost impossible, thought I would have to wait for DH to come home and cut me out! Eventually managed it, feeling quite claustrophobic. DD is tiny so thought she might like it, but even she had to be shoe-horned out!

I’m a stone heavier and a size smaller according to M&S!

I bought two pairs of trousers from M&S, identical style, two different colours - one pair was too big, the other too small!

Yes, all of my life I have had size 14 trousers and jeans and now I have to have size 12 or they fall down !!, Still I like looking at the label!

KatyK The size 13 jeans & trousers that I used to buy where the best fit I have ever found I thought the world had ended when they stopped doing them.

Trousers - definitely. I used to try a pair on and if they were ok, would pick up the same size in different colours. Can't do that anymore, every pair is different!

As a former supplier let me inform you.. it depends on the fit they are looking for..so a size 12 in one garment may have a completely different fit to another style.and it may have been designed to be a looser fit.. that said ,garments are fitted on different models who are essentially all the same measurements but can be different shapes..so you can have a 34 bust who has anarrow back but full front and vice verse..
a hip measurement that is more bum /less bum .
Often the fit process can ruin the essence of the garment with atechnologist completely ignoring the aesthetics .the buyer or designer should have the last say but that dies t always happen.
In my experience their sizes are one size up on the high street but then most of the high streets sizes are small for cost.
I always try two different sizes in clothes because at the end of the day it’s how it looks on you not what it says on the label .
MandS do not score well on fit or necklines..I agree entirely .necklines are so important.. there are formulas to achieve the most flattering shape..it’s the detail that makes or breaks a garment