THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 20, 1995 TAG: 9504200054
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
PAT STECKER SUSPECTED that the smallest skirts in the department store weren't so small anymore. It was almost as if they had grown and taken on a life of their own. They puffed out here, bagged out there and hung oddly from her body.
``I thought it was my imagination,'' said Stecker, a 52-year-old Norfolk homemaker and community volunteer. ``But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.''
It's the mystery that clothing designers are reluctant to discuss. But there's a legion of puzzled shoppers who'd like an answer: Why is a size 8 not a size 8 anymore? And women like Stecker have another question: Why have you sized us almost completely out of the market?
The phenomenon frustrates shoppers, sales staff and those in the industry who have been screaming for changes. In the past decade, women's apparel sizes on average have dropped at least twice. That means what we now call a size 8 was a size 12 about seven years ago, said William Rankin of Dress Rite Forms, one of several companies that mold dummies for designers and manufacturers.
Here's what happened:
``First, it started with the big-name designers, and then the entire industry had to follow suit,'' said Rankin. Everyone followed the industry leaders because if they didn't, ``they'd be killed,'' he said. After all, if a woman likes two dresses and can afford one, which would she buy: the size 8 or the size 12?
It makes sense to designers and manufacturers because the average American woman is gaining weight. To be exact, we put on 20 pounds between the ages of 24 and 45. We are heavier than our mothers, and our children are expected to be even bigger.
``Manufacturers have discovered that as women mature, they gain weight, and they don't necessarily like to be a size 10 and then a size 12 and then 14,'' said Jan Larkey, author of ``Flatter Your Figure.'' ``So, they lower the number on the size tag.''
In many cases, the downsizing trend has brought pleasure.
Rose Lawson, a retired clothing saleswoman from Norfolk, remembers how her customers smiled as they emerged from dressing rooms.
``We had some ladies that I knew were really a size 16, but then they could fit into size 14s,'' said Lawson. ``They were so happy.''
Mixed in with those joyful exclamations are exasperated cries from women who don't exactly fit into the weight-gaining trend.
Don't expect much sympathy from the industry, which sees thins, slims and even some average-sized women as a shrinking pool of shoppers.
Spurned, dismayed and annoyed, the small and slim women of America are rebelling. Some refuse to shop. Some buy the smallest sizes from catalogs and return what doesn't fit - a costly experience for catalog companies. Others buy what they can and head for tailors. A true sign of desperation is the number of women hunting through children's stores.
``I'm 24 and I shop here,'' said Joy Gabriel, assistant manager of The Limited Too, a children's store in Virginia Beach's Lynnhaven Mall. ``Normally, I can buy a 3 or 4, but they're just way too big now.''
Gabriel's adult shoppers aren't embarrassed, they're annoyed.
``They're not hesitant about saying the clothes are for them,'' she said. ``They more or less complain that there's not anything out there that fits them.''
An alternative is buying less expensive clothing. There, manufacturers tend to reduce costs by using less fabric, so clothing tends to run smaller, industry observers said.
Career women who want quality clothing may consider more expensive solutions. One option is buying oversized clothing and toting it to tailors - one group that has clearly benefited from the downsizing trend.
Lillian Tran waves at the rack of clothing at her Virginia Beach shop, Ana's Tailoring & Alteration. There's a peach suit, a lime-green skirt, pink shorts and a black sequined gown - all owned by slim women who have been coming to her in growing numbers over the nine years she's been in business.
``This is small, this is small, this is small,'' said Tran, rustling through the plastic-encased clothing. ``I have almost no big people. They're all small.''
Several designer clothing companies and manufacturers either did not return telephone calls or denied they had changed measurements for specific sizes.
``Our sizes are true sizes,'' said a spokeswoman for Ellen Tracy, a designer clothing company. ``We haven't changed them.''
Dress Rite's Rankin laughs. Designers call in with measurements - waist, bust and hips. Then they'll say, ``make it a size 8,'' even though they were previously calling it a size 10, he said.
``I think they all do it.''
So who's the model for the clothing displayed in the stores? She's a young, World War II-era woman who wore a girdle and pumped her bosom up to her chin, said Rankin. She was the basis for the first standard ``forms,'' or dummies, that are still used by many manufacturers.
That helps explain why some shoppers find a dress too long, too short, too tight in the waist, big in the hips and puffy where the breasts don't quite match up. It also explains why older women, whose bodies naturally change shape over the years, have trouble with fits.
Women come in a variety of shapes, and the industry's failure to adapt is a costly error, Rankin said. He blames sizing problems as contributing to declining sales in women's apparel.
Some manufacturers have at least acknowledged the problem. At department stores, for example, shoppers might notice an abundance of pants with elastic waists.
Other designers seem to be filling part of the gap by moving into petite and large women's lines. Whether your department store, boutique or chain store carries those lines is another matter.
Catalogs are another adventure. The measurement charts sometimes don't help, so your best bet is to ask the sales rep whether specific items run large or small. Don't be embarrassed to send it back if it doesn't fit. And don't be afraid to complain about poor fits.
``We are very frustrated,'' said Rankin. ``You say none of this is any good huh.' '' ILLUSTRATION: KEN WRIGHT/Staff
by CNB