Starting from the time we were born, our clothing sizes have defined us. Most of our clothing throughout the years have been sized in accordance with our age. Babies wear clothes that correspond with their age in months, children wear clothes that match their age in years, and then teenagers and young women are left to figure it out for themselves.
The small flaw in this method of sizing, is that sometimes you aren't the same size as everyone else your age. For instance a 1 month old baby, could be wearing 3-6 month old clothes, and a child who would normally wear a size 8, could be a size 10-12. There isn't anything wrong with this at all, except of course, it makes buying clothes for someone else kind of a guessing game.
Unfortunately, society has been built to idealize one size over the other, especially in the adult world. Some stores carry petite sizes, making it difficult for larger women to shop there, and other stores are more geared towards larger women, making it difficult for petite people to find clothes. This makes finding business clothes harder for some women. More developed teens and children are sometimes left with no other option than to wear very mature or conservative clothing, that often isn't age appropriate.
In my 19 years of life experience, I have been on both sides of the spectrum. Being a very petite child with legs longer than most at my age, I was constantly having to go on a hunt for long enough pants that had a small waist. Luckily, everything at that point in my life had adjustable waistbands, so bunchy waistbands were the only thing i had to deal with. I was also extremely small on top, so while everyone in middle school was shopping in the juniors department, I was searching for the smallest size they had, or looking for the largest size in the children's section. Now as a college sophomore, my body has become somewhat more proportionate, but i'm still struggling with being that in between size (so online shopping is always a hit or miss). While i may be a size 2 in one pair of shorts, my jeans may need to be a size 4, and my dresses might a size small, but my rompers a size medium. Its not only annoying, but can sometimes a self esteem killer.
My friends and I are all roughly the same size physically, but in clothing sizes, we are surprisingly all over the place. Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the size numbers being inconsistent in clothing, compared to previous years. I didn't really notice the difference, until just the other day when I, a size 2/4, fit into a pair of 00 jeans, and purchased a pair of size 7 jeans that fit like a glove. Being a teen who has struggled with having a positive self image for many years, especially in regards to my body, I didn't let this upset me, and instead used it as inspiration to spread the word. The numbers and letters that differentiate one size article of clothing from another, should not define us or make us feel beautiful and healthy. They are merely just a way to categorize clothes. I am happy with the way I was made, and the way I look, so I refuse to let a number on a pair of pants determine if I'm fit or not, in accordance to societies standards. A larger size does not make you fat, and a small size doesn't make you shapeless. It is simply just the pair of pants that fit your body appropriately and comfortably, and thats all it should be.
Don't let the clothes wear you, YOU wear THEM, and wear them proud!
