In the UK, fashion is a multi-billion pound industry, but it doesn’t come without its problems.
Sizing has come under scrutiny recently, with shops being slammed on Twitter for making their clothes so much smaller than the label states.
I'm a size 8 in Monki and a size 14 in Topshop. I literally don't care what size I am, but I do find high-street women's sizing the most bizarrely inconsistent thing.
— Emma Gannon (@emmagannon) February 2, 2018
H&M sizing is honestly one of the most horrible on the high street. Got a size 16 dress in the sale and was honestly like a 12. I find it so bizarre and hit and miss I might just not bother anymore.
— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) May 6, 2018
We wanted to put sizing to the test at some of the UK’s top fashion chains, and what better clothing item to test than jeans. According to statistics from Statistic Brain Research Institute, the average woman owns seven pairs of jeans, with 1.2 billion pairs being sold worldwide each year.
We visited H&M, Topshop, Zara, and River Island to try their jeans for size and see if the sizing problems across each shop is still a problem.
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- Zara Jeans, Size 10
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- Topshop Jeans Size 10
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- River Island Jeans Size 10
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- H&M Jeans Size 12
As you can see the results were pretty shocking. The labels on these jeans all claim to be the same size, but that is clearly not the case and could be potentially very damaging to a nation where, according to Beat Eating Disorders, approximately 1.25 million people have an eating disorder.
H&M, in particular, has received a huge backlash online because of their inconsistent sizing. In a statement to Cosmopolitan Magazine, H&M said: “H&M hugely values all customer feedback. It is only ever our intention to design and make clothes that make our customers feel good about themselves, any other outcome is neither intended nor desired. H&M’s sizes are global and the sizes offered in the UK are the same in all the 66 markets in which we operate and online. As there is no global mandatory sizing standard, sizes will differ between brands and different markets. Our dedicated, in-house sizing department works according to an average of the sizes and measurements suggested by the markets we operate in. H&M sizes are continually reviewed by our in-house sizing department.”
Words & Video: Ruby Naldrett | Subbing: Lucija Duzel
Featured Image: Public Domain Pictures via Pexels
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