Size does matter!

ldquoSmaller size labels evoke positive selfrelated mental imagery Consumers imagine themselves positively thinner with a vanitysized size6 pant versus a size8 pantrdquo write authors Niluumlfer Aydinoglu and Aradhna Krishna Professor of Marketing University of Michigan Published in Journal of Consumer Psychology October 2012 their report Imagining Thin Why Vanity Sizing Works demonstrates ldquoThis helps sell clothes women prefer small size clothing labels to large onesrdquo We discovered boutiques here have laid the snare too Sanchetirsquos cowl neck asymmetrical hemline dress fits sizes and accounts for many figure flaws Itrsquos an old trick In the early 20th Century in the West womenrsquos clothing was sized according to the bust measurement But the 1920s saw the birth of a ldquoMissesrdquo line designed for teenagers with understandably a smaller bustwaisthip ratio Over the next decade retailers noticed a steady decline in the sales of ldquoWomenrsquos clothingrdquo as women across age groups showed an obvious preference for the ldquoMissesrdquo lineu00a0Naturally retailers had to stock up accordingly but there was one big problem Women were still as voluptuous as ever So ldquoManufacturers changed the proportions of lsquoMissesrsquo clothing to fit the most common figure typerdquo according to Gotham Patterns Research and Design in Historical Costume thus introducing ldquovanitysizingrdquo a system of labelling clothes so as to appeal to the egos of shoppers ldquoThe main reason brands do this is to make customers feel good about themselves and more to the point about the brandrdquo says Roger Dooley author of 2011 book Brainfluence 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing ldquoIf a woman finds that one brandrsquos size8 fits her while in another brand the size8 is too tight she may conclude that the first brand is better designed because buying the second brandrsquos dress would force her to face the fact that she has gained weightrdquo the book states This breezy antifit asymmetrical hemline dress by Shruti Sancheti which is ideal for about three sizes Shape up and swipe the card ldquoIn retail the size range is very wide from double zeros sizes can go up to over twenty so thatrsquos where they have an opportunity to play around with the numbersrdquo says designer Shruti Sancheti whorsquos not a fan of deceptive sizing ldquoSome of my designs arenrsquot figurehugging and so can fit women across three sizesrdquo she adds calling this facet ldquothe beauty of kurtas they are very forgiving garments evenu00a0for menrdquo u00a0But personal stylist and wardrobe consultant Khushnaz Turner Founder Stylish Solutions says many Indian labels also resort to the numbertrick ldquoIrsquom a size two but if I could get into a size zero Irsquod be delightedrdquo she admits telling us that itrsquos not hard to see how this would play on the psyche of figureconscious shoppers and translate into more sales ldquoToday every brand has its own sizes Therersquos no standard so itrsquos crucial to try on each garment before you buy itrdquo Roger Dooley left his book Brainfluence But armed with a measuring tape this reporter found that even within a brand you could find varying options per size At Mango for instance of three pairs of size26 USA 4 lsquoslimfitrsquo jeans we checked one measured 26 inches around the waist another 30 inches and the third 32 inches while of two spaghettistrapped tops both labelled lsquoMrsquo and hung up on the same line one measured 44 inches and the other 38 inches at the chest Shop at multiple brands and it gets even more confusing Tshirts that measure 38 inches at the chest are labelled lsquoMrsquo at Tommy Hilfiger but lsquoLargersquo at Calvin Klein and Giordanou00a0 Niskha Lulla designer It doesnrsquot get less complicated for men According to chest measurements of menrsquos Tshirts that salespersons at these stores were kind enough to jot down for us an lsquoSrsquo Tshirt at Giordano measures 35 inches Jack and Jonesrsquo S38 inches Calvin Kleinrsquos S39 inches and at Tommy Hilfiger a lsquoSmallrsquo Tshirt measures 41 inches the same as a lsquoLargersquo Giordano Tshirt So you could go from being a Large to a Small in the same day without a minute of gymtime Isnrsquot that worth every paisa of that Rs 199999 hellipBut itrsquos confusing While you can try on clothes at a boutique size inconsistencies must pose a hurdle for online shoppers Are size charts posted on such websites enough to bolster customer confidence ldquoSizing is as heterogeneous as brandsrdquo admits Mukul Bafana cofounder of online fashion retail website Jabongcom which retails over 1000 brands ldquoThis is why we have a 30day return policy on most products Our courier offers to wait while shoppers try on the garment and the same can be returned immediately if the customer is less than completely satisfiedrdquo Besides Bafanarsquos company plans to introduce a 2D measuring tool to quell ambiguity ldquoShoppers can measure their bestfitting garments and reserve these measurements online as a reference guide By crosschecking these numbers theyrsquoll be more confident of their purchasesrdquo he reveals Bafana believes that size disparity across brands isnrsquot deliberate but a consequence that garments are now manufactured in different geographical regions with different specifications Mukul Bafana Cofounder Jabongcom Cut from a different cloth Designer Nishka Lulla argues that sizing may depend on the cut of the outfit ldquoToday most brands offer a loose or relaxed fit and a snug fitrdquo says Lulla who is sceptical about the sellingpower of a deceptive sizing policy ldquoHowever flattered I may feel were I to fit into a smaller size I doubt this alone would tempt me to return to the same storerdquo she reasons ldquoIt depends on the productrdquo Though apparel designeru00a0 Ken Ferns understands how fitting into smaller sizes can make shoppers feel good he too believes ldquoUltimately itrsquos the fit not the tag that matters The number or letter on the label is your little secret no one is going to peek at itrdquo Itrsquos true of course next time wersquoll give it more thought once we stop jumping for joy in our new USA 4 jeans