Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I'm 5'7 and totally agree!

Also a lot of the clothes just seem more fitted on the model than what you get. When I buy a Small from like Ann Taylor it's often some huge thing that hangs off me, but I am certainly not thinner than the model.

I agree with a PP that the model online is not wearing the real clothes, it's something tailored or tailormade.

Anonymous wrote:There are different kinds of models, and not all are tall. You are thinking of runway models, who are often 5'10" or even taller. Most print fashion models are also tall because of preferences for how designers and magazine editors want clothes to look in photographs.

However the clothes you buy in the store are actually made using a "fit model." A fit model is a model is like a human dress form -- it's a person who has whatever proportions the design house has deemed to be average, and she is used to fit the the prototypes and create the patterns that will be sent to the manufacturer.

The average fit model is between 5'4" and 5'9" tall, and they look for well-proportioned bodies in terms of bust-waist-hip ratios. A different model is used for petite or plus sizing. The model will often fall in the middle of a size range (say a 6 or 8 for non-plus size, a 14-16 for plus) and then adjustments are made up and down for smaller and larger sizes. This is why clothes off the rack don't fit a lot of bodies very well. I am small busted (AA cup) and have learned I cannot wear clothes that have darts usually because they are generally fitted to bodies with larger boobs. This includes bathing suits.

This is also why women who are top or bottom heavy (a Dolly Parton body or a Lena Dunham body) often struggle with sizing, especially in dresses, because they are using models with more proportional measurements. Same with long or short waisted women -- the waist on the average garment does not it them on their true waist.

And it's why you might see clothes on a 5'10" model in ads or on the runway, but then they will be a couple inches short on your 5'10" body when you buy them -- the garment you are buying was likely fitted to a 5'6" or 5'8" model. This is why tall sizing exists, just like petite sizing is for women for whom a garment fitted to a 5'10" body will always be too long.

Anonymous wrote:It has definitely shifted over the last generation or so. I am 40 and 5’7, and when I was a teenager in the 90s I had to have everything hemmed to fit me, even things like Abercrombie jeans. Now, almost all pants are too short for me unless I buy long sizes. I do have long legs, but my legs haven’t changed in 20 years. I always knew runway models were not clothing models, but I think that the practice of tailoring clothing to taller women has ended.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I an 5 10 and tot agree with this - they lie.

Ps some of the short people on this thread are rude and clueless.

+100

There are way more options for petite women than tall women. I'm 5'11" and have very few options. So much for size inclusivity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I an 5 10 and tot agree with this - they lie.

Ps some of the short people on this thread are rude and clueless.

+100

There are way more options for petite women than tall women. I'm 5'11" and have very few options. So much for size inclusivity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I an 5 10 and tot agree with this - they lie.

Ps some of the short people on this thread are rude and clueless.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I'm 5'7 and totally agree!

Also a lot of the clothes just seem more fitted on the model than what you get. When I buy a Small from like Ann Taylor it's often some huge thing that hangs off me, but I am certainly not thinner than the model.

I agree with a PP that the model online is not wearing the real clothes, it's something tailored or tailormade.

I wonder if they have the clothes pinned in the back to appear more fitted.

Anonymous wrote:Clothes aren’t made for models; they’re made to fit the most women possible. I’m 5’10 and don’t shop in person, ever. I buy everything online from places that sell tall sizes: J Crew, Gap, Boden, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.

I'm 5'7 and totally agree!

Also a lot of the clothes just seem more fitted on the model than what you get. When I buy a Small from like Ann Taylor it's often some huge thing that hangs off me, but I am certainly not thinner than the model.

I agree with a PP that the model online is not wearing the real clothes, it's something tailored or tailormade.

Anonymous wrote:I have this problem too! I'm 5'8, and thin-ish, with long-ish arms. My conclusion is that the "model is 5'9 wearing a size S" is a lie on a lot of websites.. They either make a tall model-specific version that's different from what they're selling to customers (I think a different comment explained the "fit model" thing really well), or tailor/pin the garment to look better on the model, or use tricks like bunching up the sleeves. (Nowadays I try not to buy clothes where the sleeves are bunched on the model, because it always ends up too short on my arms.) I figure it's because their goal is to sell the clothing, not to really inform about size.