ONTD

11:18 am - 08/21/2012

Zara Sizes Are Considered Too Small For Americans

Have you ever left Zara empty-handed because the thought of purchasing a pair of jeans a couple of sizes larger than your typical pair is just too much to bear? Turns out, you're not alone.

An article from The Economist published in late March has resurfaced online, and the closer look has allowed the fashion community to single out a tidbit about Zara's so-called "size problem." According to Elle.com, the mass retailer does not participate in America's "vanity sizing" which allows us to fit into sizes that are smaller than our actual size. The Economist put it a bit more delicately:

Zara has struggled in America, for instance. It sells trendy cuts and slim fits. Outside the biggest cities, Americans have long preferred classic, roomier clothes (though this may be changing). Chinese office ladies like Zara's slim fits more, says Fraser Ramzan of Nomura, a bank.

We can't say that we've never been a victim of Zara-inflicted size-identity crises, but obviously every individual has had their own experience with the brand. And we can't imagine that obsession with one's size at every retailer is a particularly healthy mindset either. From a business stance though, it's interesting to see how Zara will fare as it continues to expand in America. Do you think people will be upset by the lack of vanity sizing? More importantly, do you think Zara's clothes are sized too small?






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I personally love Zara, because they are true to fit. I always drown in everything else from other stores and I hate having to shrink everything first before I wear it. There's a market for them, but it's not a "big" one (badumtish). 
xtinkerbellax 21st-Aug-2012 06:26 pm (UTC)
H&M is like that, like I always take 2-3 size small shirts, for example, into the fitting room, because I know they will all fit differently. And their seams suck a lot of the time so I'm always trying to find a dress or whatever with a straight seam.
tinxzie 21st-Aug-2012 06:31 pm (UTC)
H&M sizing is usually good for me but I'm having to do what you do with Zara, which is a shame because for those prices they should really be great on the first go..
xtinkerbellax 21st-Aug-2012 06:35 pm (UTC)
When items are sized 2,4, etc. it's usually fine, but a lot of their dresses will be sized s, m, l and there is always a huge discrepancy between sizes. Like I'll try on the small and it'll just fit, but I'm swimming in the medium, it's like there should be two sizes in between them lol. So I usually end up trying on a couple smalls to find the ones that fits the best, because there is no way I'm going to a tailor to take in a 30 dollar dress.
lovebats 21st-Aug-2012 07:49 pm (UTC)
i bought two of the same sized t-shirts from H&M a couple years ago and one was fine, wear it often, but the other was almost impossible to wear b/c the hems on the sleeves were so tight it was almost painful.
toilandblood 21st-Aug-2012 09:13 pm (UTC)
yes I hate that! once my sister was there and she called to tell me she saw a shirt I'd love and she got it for me in a S but it ended up being way too big.
mycousinmufasa 21st-Aug-2012 10:21 pm (UTC)
I have to do this at Forever 21 with dresses all the time. You can literally hold up two of the same dress in the same size and usually, one will be at least an inch smaller in the waist than the other.

Edited at 2012-08-21 10:22 pm (UTC)
leopard_legs 22nd-Aug-2012 12:39 pm (UTC)
I am the exact same with H&M
I bought a really nice pair of trousers from there but had to try on like 3 diff sizes because they were so...off. And sometimes I'll try something in my size and it'll hang like a potato sack, and other times it'll be like a fucking childs size. Very strange.
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