Megan Archibald November 30, 2021

Community Action Project

Do you feel confident in your wardrobe? In today's society women face the everyday

challenge of getting dressed in clothes that cause them to feel uncomfortable. Shopping for

women has been proven to actually increase stress and decrease confidence. Confidence is

important, believing in yourself, feeling comfortable in your true-self, knowing you have worth. If

you are confident, people believe in you, confidence is attractive, brings success, helps to

connect well with others and you generally feel happier. Only you can say you’re not confident.

The societal issue of not feeling comfortable shopping for clothing you feel good in will continue

to be an ongoing concern if there is no awareness to change.

Studies have shown women often feel the least confident when shopping for bras and bikinis. A

study conducted in 2010 showed that 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. Although

some bra companies will offer sizing for a bra most women don’t have the confidence to even

have a professional sizing them. Wearing the wrong bra size also results in a lack of confidence

and women tend to criticize themselves for their breasts overflowing a bra. Women begin to

start thinking they are overweight and degrade themselves when the only problem is they need

a different size. The study states a woman's body changes six times on average due to factors

such as dieting, pregnancy or for no apparent reason! These body changes affect her bra size

as well as her overall clothing size so it's worth checking your vital statistics every couple of

years. Having a well fitted bra is essential as it improves the way you look, your posture and

gives you confidence. People are usually shocked by how wrong they had it before, for example

someone who has been wearing a 36B for all her adult life could actually be a 32E. The

difference is that she will find that the bras won't ride up at the back anymore or dig into her

shoulders, not to mention creating a much better look. Bringing awareness to the importance of

this feminine clothing product and educating women on how a bra should look and feel will be

the first step towards change among their confidence. BeCheeky has an online resource for

women to measure and input these measurements into a database where they help you have
Megan Archibald November 30, 2021

the proper size. BeCheeky was originally launched in 2005 and was intended to give help to

men when buying lingerie for their partners. You can still find buying guides on the website,

giving hints and tips about size guides, bra styles and what will fit any shape.

A study in 2012 proves bathing suit shopping makes women anxious and depressed

. To conduct the study, published in the journal Sex Roles, researchers used four different

imaginary scenarios to test the impact of clothing on women's self-objectification. One scenario

involved wearing a bathing suit at the beach, another trying one on in a store. The other two

scenarios had the same settings, but involved jeans instead of swimwear. They found that

thinking about wearing a swimsuit made their subjects feel worse about their bodies than

wearing jeans and that imagining being in a dressing room in a bathing suit was even more

anxiety-provoking than imagining walking down a beach in one. "When you are on a beach, you

have distractions," explains Dr. B fashion psychologist. "This may include swimming, laughing

with friends, even seeing another woman who is totally comfortable with her body regardless of

how she looks. When you enter a dressing room, the purpose is to self-evaluate. Self evaluating

how you look in a swimsuit will always consist of comparing your body to those we see on

television and social media. Dr. B fashion psychologist states "We are our own worst critic, often

focusing on insignificant flaws or finding ones that do not even exist to an outside observer."

SELF has slideshows to determine what style of swimsuit will fit best based on your body type.

Women have different religious beliefs and ethical reasoning to how much coverage they want

in a bikini or swimsuit. Often named brands such as Victoria Secret are more expensive and

else coverage, their image of “sexy” consists of costing more and converging less. When you

see a Victoria Secret model in a thong bikini bottom and minimalist top women compare

themselves. Shopping in their stores, changing in their dressing rooms where the walls are

covered in images of these very thin models and mannequin showing off their bodies degrades

shoppers and their confidence decreases. Comparing your body in the same outfit as anyone
Megan Archibald November 30, 2021

else will never look the same, everyone is shaped differently and a different style may make you

feel more confident in your own skin.

Jeans were found to have a more positive effect on women in the dressing room than

bikinis although they also can be a challenge to shop for. Denim products really range in

different sizes 000-22 or 23-38 although these don’t alway fit the “standard size chart.” Often

womens jean size will range between 3 or even 4 sizes different from their standard

measurement and the universal size chart. Even jeans from the same company whether they

are the same style, cut or fit, they can often vary in size. An article from Today's news shared,

As a modern woman, bouncing between sizes or struggling to find the perfect fit is standard

dressing room protocol. So, no, it's not all in your head. But there is a reason for all that

variance. Decades ago, there was a standard in sizing — a time when a medium was a

medium, no matter what — but that faded as the market became more brand-centric and each

brand developed its own sizing system, Murphy explained. In theory, that means your size

should at least remain the same within a single brand, but that's not always the case either.

Take college student Missy Rogers' story about wearing both a size 4 and a size 10 in a pair of

similar shorts from American Eagle. And it’s no secret that many brands engage in so-called

"vanity sizing," in which they make the clothes bigger than what the size on the tag suggests.

So, for example, a size 4 really fits like a size 6. The thinking behind the tactic is that women are

presumably more likely to buy an item when it makes them feel good about themselves.

Although this may make some women feel better about their size it may also make others feel

worse. Targeting a certain size to buy their clothing will only hurt their business in the long run.

Research published in The Washington Post last year illustrated how a size 8 dress today is

about the same as a size 16 dress in 1958.Not being able to find the right size is largely a

women’s problem, especially since many men’s garments are sold by measurements. Most

women wear about three different sizes, while men typically go between two sizes, Murphy said.

And that likely influences return rates, according to research from True Fit. Due to the number
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on the tag being so far off from the accurate size when women try a new company that is more

consistent with following the guidelines of the standard size chart they are unhappy with the size

of pants that fits them properly. Reading a size on the tag while trying it on can scatter the

confidence of the woman who has been wearing a fake size 0. A size 0 should not be a

standard for women to follow nor should it be 4/5inches larger than the universal size chart 0.

Online shopping has evolved over the years and has been more practical in society due

to the pandemic and the limited sizes in stores. Retail therapy has been known to boost the

mood of customers but it also has its effect on women's confidence as well. Although women

are not surrounded by others or antagonized by sales associates while they shop online they

also don’t have the opportunity to compare the size to their physical body but only given a size

chart which often does not correspond. Returns rates have rapidly increased along with the use

of online shopping. Confirmed by Today News and based on women sizing and retail statics,

$40 billion of online transactions across multi-brand retailers are returned — where return rates

are higher, because customers are shopping across many brands and also can’t try the clothes

on first — the company found that most of the time, it’s women sending the clothes back.

Dresses have the highest rate of returns, according to the research. "If you're anything like me,

and you need a dress for an event, you say, OK, I'm just going to order five of them and return

the ones that don't work," the reporter said. Most women trying to find an outfit for a special

occasion will consider ordering multiple, allowing them to get more than one size or style and

returning the ones they don’t wear. This degrades their confidence by only seeing the model

showcased on the website's platform. Some websites include more than one model and

showcases different body shapes instead of giving a misconception of how the outfit will look on

anyone besides the model. Aside from not being able to physically try on clothes while online

shopping they can do so in the privacy of their own home with less societal pressure. While

platforms like True Fit aim to help shoppers narrow down which size will work best for them in a

particular brand, shopping today, for the most part, is still a guessing game.
Megan Archibald November 30, 2021

This pressure of being a certain size, looking a certain way, having clothes that are

trendy and look a certain way on your body will only change over time if society accepts not

everyone looks the same or can wear a certain size. Women will learn not to criticize their

bodies, they will educate themselves on what is best fit for themself. Some brands have taken

action for not having a size that fits everyone. Lululemon offers tailoring to all their clothing items

included with the price of purchase. This allows women to feel more confident and more

comfortable in their clothing while still being within society’s “trends”. Lululemon unfortunately is

overpriced for a lot of women to purchase so this luxury is out of reach for the majority of

women. The idea of customizing all of womens clothing to fit everyone individually is out fetched

due to the amount of time and resources to do so. Although the idea of adding additional sizes

to the standard size chart may be more realistic. Addition of mechanisms that can adjust

clothing such as the tabs in childrens’ jeans to adjust the waist band size can easily be

incorporated into boosting the confidence of women.

Works Cited

BeCheeky. "80% of Women Still Wear the Wrong Bra Size!" PR Newswire: Press

Release Distribution, Targeting, Monitoring and Marketing, 3 Nov. 2010,

Megan Archibald November 30, 2021

www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/80-of-women-still-wear-the-wrong-bra-size-

106595733.html.

"Does Online Shopping Make People Feel Better? The Therapeutic Effect of Online

Shopping on Korean Female Consumers’ Mood, Self-esteem, and Self-efficacy : Based

on the Context of Fashion Product Shopping." Taylor & Francis, 3 Feb. 2021,

www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21639159.2020.1808821?journalCode=rgam20.

"It's Not You — Women's Clothing Sizes Don't Make Sense." TODAY.com, 5 Aug.

2016, www.today.com/style/jeans-don-t-fit-here-s-explanation-inconsistency-women-s-

t100419.

Nast, Condé. "Study Confirms It: Women Hate Trying on Bathing Suits! 7 Ways to

Make It More Bearable (Really!)." SELF, 24 Apr. 2012, www.self.com/story/study-

confirms-it-women-hate-t.

"Why is Confidence So Important?" The MindBodySpirit Festival - Mind Body Spirit

Festival, 15 Aug. 2016, www.mbsfestival.com.au/healthy-living-hub/confidence-

importance/.