Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A question of size...

The whole size conversion thing between here, the US and the UK really confuses me. Not so much the math - according to this site you start with the American size and add 2 for the UK and 4 for Australia.

What really spins my head around are the sizes women claim to be. Kim Kardashian, pictured above, recently took to her blog to shout down a feature that linked her with plus-size clothing. She said "For the record, I am a size 2, not 2XL."

Jennifer Love-Hewitt endured a similar media storm when photos of her cavorting in a bikini, complete with curves, were splashed across the web. Her response? "A size 2 is not fat!"

Really? They're both an Australian size 6? I know a handful of size 6 women and they're all tiny, naturally petite women...and none of them look like Kim or Jennifer.

Don't get me wrong, I think they are both absolutely stunning and would be more than happy to look like either of them in a bikini...but, even taking into account the fact they're on the shortish side (157cm) I'd peg them for Australian size 10s.

So, I call "bollocks". Which leads me to ask the question - why claim an unrealistic size? Why not say "hey, I'm a size 6 (Aus10) and proud of it!" It kinda takes the weight (groan) out of their indignant denials if the common response is "Size 2? Yeah, right."

And meanwhile, millions of teenage girls around the World once again feel inadequate.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've got to say I'm similarly baffled by the size conversion. When I first saw the picture of Kim Kardashian I was very excited because I thought she looked like a real woman. Albeit a very toned and trim real woman, but she has thighs and boobs--which don't look like implants--but then perhaps she has a good surgeon! But seriously, if she's a size 6 I'll eat my hat. Embrace it girlfriend, you're a ten on a good day and sometimes, in those really annoying stores who think they are clothing ten year olds you're a twelve. So what? You still look amazing. Isn't it just a number?

shon said...

When in the USA I grabbed some size 2 t-shirts for my daughter who now fits into them and she is 10 and weighs 27 kilos wringing wet! All the sales had millions of size 2 items left..any wonder.

Anonymous said...

Your comments are exactly what I thought after reading that Kim said she was a size 2. But then again, who would ever believe anything a 'celebrity' said!

Carm said...

All the sizes are wrong. These days they just turn big sizes into smaller numbers to make people feel better about themselves. I'm easily a size 6 Australian and it's pretty much the smallest size easily available. I'm petite but not a rake - how other women find clothes I dont know!

M said...

Size conversions drive me made. On Sunday a shop assistant told me that Posh is a Size 0. What is that? O? Soon we'll have minus sizes.

Barb Fisher - Hopscotch said...

I agree, all those numbers are out of whack. There's no way either of them a are size 6!(AUS)

I would even like to see Kim's boobs fit into a size 10(Aus). I have boobs, and can rarely fit into a Size 10 up top if there are buttons involved.