Finding the Right Clothes and Body Type

[mochagirl1]

Is it me or is it really hard for many Black women, and even women who don't fit a certain body type, to find clothes that fit well?  I'm pretty slim but I don't have the boyish shape that many department stores cater to.  Most pairs of jeans and pants have to be tailored because I get that "gap" between at the back because the pants were made for women that have no backside and no clearly defined waist.  Finding a dress is even harder.  My mother, sister and my best friend were all complaining that clothes are  now being sold on an ideal, rather than for realistic body types.  There was even a report that women are now becoming more "boyish".     I don't know what planet that's on, because I see women everyday that are not at all boyish.  ( Side note:  What so damned attractive about a woman looking a boy?    )   What happened to the days of women who had hips, thighs and a waistline being considered attractive?  Women like Josephine Baker and Eartha Kitt and even Marilyn Monroe were not at all boyish.

What do you all think?  Have you had problems finding clothes and find that your body type just isn't represented?  Do you think it's becoming more prevalent or it's the same?  What does this say about what society thinks about women, especially Black women?   

[devineone]

I find that sizes on clothes are all over the place.  YOu can't even really tell a true size, you just have to try items on.  I also think depending on the quality of the clothes size will vary.  I bought a pair of namebrand  pants out of Marshalls Josephine Chaus, size 4, I bought a pair of cords out of the Express size 6, and I have jeans out of the gap, size 8, (they fit in the butt but too big in the waist and they are too slim in the thighs).

It's frustrating, so my size ranges from 4 to 8 depending on where I shop.  I think they are making clothes for skinny white girls, with no thighs and wide hips and white shaped butts. 
Tim Gunn  of Project Runway said in his book that sizes are larger now than they use to be 20 years ago.  A size 4 is really a size 6 when compared to clothes sizes before.

He also said that true sizes are haute couture fashion sizes.

I find that living in NYC, there are a lot of teeny tiny sizes.  Size 0, and 2.  There are a lot of bony skinny women in NYC.  I'm slender but I'm not bony, my collar bones won't cut cheese.

[mochagirl1]

I find it's that way with me too.  I have to go to lots of places to find pieces.  I am not even sure what my true size is.  One day I'm a 4 or even a 2 and the next day, I find that I have to try to squeeze into a size 6 by some other designer.  I hate shopping because it takes me all day to find three outfits.  I used to be really skinny years ago and I still found that I had a bit of trouble finding things that fit, but not as problematic as I do right now.