Vanity Sizing in straight sizes makes it so hard to shop online!
I recently have lost (and still in the process of losing) a good amount of weight. I can now fit into most straight size shops, which on it's own is pretty wild to me. It's been over a decade since that was possible. Anyway, I am discovering that vanity sizing has really gotten out of control in that time. I just got some workout shorts. I bought an XL, because honestly, I am still XL. They got here and I could have easily gone down a size. I went on the website and the listed measurements are a full 8 inches off of my actual measurements and they fit loose. They shouldn't fit at all.
I bought some t-shirts at Academy (all of my old workout/play clothes are hanging off me) and thank goodness I went in person because they were so oversized I had to get a medium. I am in no way a medium. On the other hand, I tried on XL clothes from another brand there and they were so tight I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing them out. I have some old shirts from the last time I could wear straight sizes, and they are XXL and are smaller than shirts I am buying in L today.
As much as I bitch about plus size clothes, at least the sizing is fairly consistent. If you are 1X or 18 at Lane Bryant, you will be fine with 1X or 18 at Torrid and you can be fairly certain those sizes will fit you across retailers. Of course, there is variation, but not like I am seeing now.
How are we supposed to shop if we can't know what size something really is? The fact that you can't rely on sizing charts online is really annoying. Can someone also help me with knowing which brands I should be trying? Does Free People run large or small? Anthropologie? (These are brands I have coveted for years lol. I don't even know if I will like the clothes on TBH.)