What Size Am I? Decoding Women's Clothing Standards

Abstract

This article critiques the system of size codification for women's clothing sold in Australia. It is broadly accepted that the fit of women's clothing is inconsistent and does not conform to a size standard. But why, what size are we really, and what influences our perception of size? An ad hoc system has evolved, that labels clothing size as defined in Standards Australia; AS1344-1997: Size coding scheme for women's clothing, but disregards the specified measurement data. Identified during research undertaken for a Masters of Textiles, this article examines factors that have influenced this evolution, in particular by the use of a codified rather than a representative system. Given that the consumer perception of size has been distorted by industry non-compliance to AS1344-1997, this article examines data from “The Real Australian Woman”, a survey by the Research Institute for Gender and Health, University of Newcastle, to identify this perception.