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And the problem is not in the waistline, but in the hips size. The researchers found that the average hip size has enlarged by 3 inches during the same period of time.
The results of the research means that those women who have now size 10 would have had to buy trousers of size 14 back in 1975, and the ones who wore size 14 then would have to opt for the size 18.
The fashion experts admit that clothes manufacturers have stretched sizes out during the last four decades in order to conceal the fact women’s parameters have increased.
Gemma Seager from Retro Chick fashion blog illustrated the tendency as “vanity sizing”.
She told the Daily Express:
"There’s definitely an element of trying to flatter women who are going to be delighted if they fit into a smaller dress. If you look back you can see a gradual change decade by decade, so someone who wears a modern Size 10 would be a Size 12 from the Eighties, a 14 in the Seventies and a 16 to 18 in vintage clothing from the Fifties. Retailers know it’s a bonus if a woman finds an item she likes and it’s a smaller size than she generally wears.”
