General Chat

And don't get me going on how badly made these clothes are. Or how they look as though they need a good ironing even when displayed on models.

If you are only 5 foot 1 1/2 like me the first problem is reaching up to unhook the tops off the rails in shops! Anything with long sleeves has to be shortened and crop trousers are full length on me and anything longer has to be shortened. My larger size now means that mnfrs assume I have 'power' width shoulders so the shoulder seams hang over the edge of my shoulders. By the time 'adjustments' have finished being made, you may as well have made it from scratch.

Fifty years ago my "wedding dress" was a Wallis copy of a Chanel suit - well made in cream wool with braid on the edges and a pink sleeveless blouse with pink cuffs on the suit jacket - size 10. Last week I bought two pairs of cropped trousers, one cheap the other fairly expensive, both size 10. My weight has gone from 7st 10lbs to about 9st 4lbs.

As for M & S, where we live it is next to a branch of Scope and guess who always has the best dressed and most tempting windows.

I've just read this in the MailOnLine (OK, I know!!!) ..............

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Revealed, the real reason why your size never fits in H&M ........

Every UK dress size has a corresponding European size. But H&M labels go against conversion charts and match the UK size to a smaller corresponding EUR size, meaning your 12 is really a 10.

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When I first moved over here, I had to get used to new sizings in clothes and shoes ......... the size 7 shoe I wore in the UK suddenly became an 8. The size 10 became a 12 with no change in shape or weight ........... and then a 14 when I did put on weight a few months later.

Like so many of us, I find a top or skirt that fits and then buy 2 or 3 of them before they disappear from the shops!

For years, I bought trousers online from Lands' End .......... they fit perfectly and I could have them shortened to the correct length. I have long legs so pre-hemmed ones are always too short.

Then, they "tweaked" the style ............ and the pants no longer fit just right.

I now much prefer wearing long skirts and hardly wear trousers, except in winter when it is teeming down with rain or snowing ........... and the 3 pairs I have are all over 10 years old but fit!


The other thing I'm finding these days .............. a style of shoe or clothing that I like, that fits and is comfortable is often only available for one season! No longer can I assume that I will be able to buy that "standard" or "classic" top next year :-(

Just found this - it could explain a lot - although they cite one shop - it could be more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4563022/The-REAL-reason-size-never-fits-H-M.html

At 1.6m or around 5ft 2 3/4 and a uk size 20 it is next to impossible sometimes to get clothes to fit. They assume that when you are larger you must also be tall where as I'm short and with narrow shoulders.

All of my tops are too long in the arms and with an inside leg measurement of just 27" trousers are always too long.