Lady's Choice | Gretchen Weber

It was that horrible moment when I realized I couldn’t fit into my usual size. “Oh geez”, I thought. I hoped I hadn’t gained the Freshman 15. Defeated, I decided to quit shopping for the day, and instead sulk.  Then it occurred to me - maybe it’s time to graduate from the junior’s department.  Never has there been a ceremonial graduation from clothing departments, but I decided I would make one.  I ventured into the women’s department and was overwhelmed, not only with finding a new size, but the new symbols, and styles.  Below I’ve provided any girl with the field guide of entering a new department:

1.       New sizes: The women’s department is numbered with evenly 0,2,4…14 and there is no good translation of sizes between  each department.  Women’s sizes are cut differently than juniors and allow for more room for “overall curves.”   Juniors sizes typically run smaller and are made for teens entering puberty and do not factor in larger chests, and wider hips (wiki.answers.com). 

2.       New Vocabulary: Petite, Regular, and Plus Size-

a.       Petite- If you are shorter than 5’3’’ look out for sizes that have a “P” after them i.e. 2P, 4P etc… Petites, according to petitesforme.com is all about proportions meaning “arm length, leg length, torso length and proportions ... it has nothing to do with your weight.”

b.      Regular- Also referred to as “straight sizes” are meant for women between 5’4’’ and 5’8.’’  These sizes are plainly numbered from 0-14 (beautypluspower.com).

c.       Plus-size- Also referred to as “women’s sizes” and are marked by W’s ranging from 14W-24W.  These clothes are typically looser and allow for room around the waist.  Plus-sizes can also be marked by 1X-5X (beautypluspower.com)

3.       New prices: With shopping in the women’s department you are receiving better quality clothing that will resist pilling, fading, and overall wear.  The tradeoff is higher prices.  A great suggestion maybe to splurge on essentials (i.e. work clothes/interview attire) that you will wear repeatedly.  While sticking to the juniors when looking for party tops.

Most importantly, don’t base how you feel on the number of a piece of clothing you’re wearing.  When trying clothes on, get multiple pairs of the same shirt, pant, or skirt in different sizes.  Try to mix them up and try them on without looking.  Good luck ladies!