Ever heard of the term Vanity Sizing? Well if your answer was no, neither had I. It is in essence a type of psychological warfare to make you shop more. At the end of the day, most, though not all businesses want one thing from you, your money.

So what is it exactly?
Vanity Sizing is when a brand will alter the sizing on the tag, to allow customers to fit into smaller sizes. Given that society in recent times has perpetuated a ‘thin’ ideal, this makes us feel better about ourselves. And this positivity about ourselves, in turn, is used as a tactic to make us spend more.

On the flip side of Vanity Sizing is a different tactic being commonly referred to Humility Sizing. This can be thought of as the exact opposite of Vanity Sizing; putting a larger size on the tag.
But what would be the point of making us feel bad about ourselves?
A study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that when our usual size doesn’t fit (that is, is too small), we are demoralised and feel negatively about ourselves, or about the clothes. This can put us off the clothing entirely. Conversely, it can cause consumers to engage in compensatory spending to help repair the damage to their self-esteem. We spend more to feel better.

Another study, this time in the Journal of Gender & Society, found women experience a knock to their self-esteem when they no longer fit into their usual size. The research also revealed that when we can’t fit into something, we blame ourselves rather than the clothes.. Sounding familiar?

There are of course other factors to take into consideration too: there are no real guidelines or standardised sizing leading to signification variation across retailers, with fast fashion it’s impossible to maintain consistency across such a wide span of sources and no central governing body, everyone’s shape and size is so unique that it’s impossible to standardise and it can be location dependent. Certain companies for example with Asian roots may have smaller sizing where the average physique is slighter compared to the average sized woman in Australia which is a size 14-16.

So when there is no standardisation between stores and sometimes even within the same store, when it’s in their interest to gaslight and mess with your self-esteem to make you SPEND, how on earth are we supposed to navigate shopping?!

Here are some tips to help you overcome:
– Be aware of the tactics. Knowledge is power! Knowing that there are inconsistencies and that brands use these tactics means that they are less likely to work on you.
– Ignore the size on the label and find what FITS YOU best. If the number on the tag really bothers you…cut it off!
– Stick with the measurements rather than the size, particularly when shopping online.
– Know your measurements, get that measuring tape out! It’s not just size: it’s proportions, height, shape, weight distribution. We’re all so uniquely different, which makes bodies impossible to standardise. Though mass production almost demands that we do.
– Work on your self-esteem, self-confidence and self-love! Your size doesn’t define you, your worth or your beauty.
– Ask yourself questions such as: how can I wear this (is it versatile)? Do I already have something similar? Where will I wear this? etc, to make a LOGICAL purchase, NOT an EMOTIONAL one.
– Get help from a Personal Stylist 😉

Remember, the clothes are there to work for you, not the other way around.