Body, bone.

[azurelunatic]

Evidently in California a size 8 is a medium/large.

If I were a size 8, I would be dead. Or I wouldn't even be a size 8, and I would be dead.

When I was 16 or so, I discovered fencing. I also discovered the joy that is a nasty body image, and the ability to do something about it. I was nearing the end of my adolescent growth spurt, and getting a more-defined female body shape. I wore size 16 jeans.

I went on what seems, now, to resemble the Atkins diet, long before it was fashionable. I swam in the mornings, and had fencing twice a week in the evenings. I worked out on my own. I restricted myself to no more than 135 grams of carbohydrates a day, preferably 90. My fencing teacher got really pissed at me when I nearly collapsed in class because I'd not really eaten beforehand.

I was still a size 16, edging my way to near a size 14. My best friend ate my sandwiches at lunch, and my cookies. My hips are just not anything under a size 14. Perhaps if I didn't eat anything at all, I might make a 14 or 12. I would also be unhealthy, unable to sustain any amount of activity, and all the rest of the things that full-blown anorexia brings. I was 190 pounds, and I was starting to pass out if I stood up too fast.

In California, I would still be extra-large.

Comments

::high fives::

[weruletheschool.livejournal.com]

I'm a size 16...but I guess I carry it well....People always guess somewhere between 8-12. My frame won't allow anything smaller, I don't think.

Re: ::high fives::

[azurelunatic]

It's a matter of being in proportion with oneself.

Proportionally, I'm only a little heavier than votania. By size, I'm 6-8 sizes larger.

[elysianmusings.livejournal.com]

I'm a 14 dear.

Fuck California. The US average woman is 5'2" and wears a size 14.

[azurelunatic]

So, when I'm half-dead from not eating, I'm average, but taller. Good to know.

[elysianmusings.livejournal.com]

Look at it this way. Marilyn Monroe was a size 16. Enough said.

[azurelunatic]

Yep. It's a matter of proportion, or it should be.

[elysianmusings.livejournal.com]

Look at it this way. Marilyn Monroe was a size 16. Enough said.

um. I hate it when the roomie logs in permanently on my computer. Dammit.

[mnfiddledragon.livejournal.com]

Even up here in MN 190 is an XL :P

[azurelunatic]

True. But you know what I mean.

[mnfiddledragon.livejournal.com]

all too well :P

[boojum.livejournal.com]

I support inch-based clothing measurements. Or centimeter-based. Anything that involves using a multipurpose measuring tool from a standard, unbiased source to actually measure the body involved, not just handwave around the whole issue in the name of fashion.

(The store I bought my belt from had two belt areas, one for men and one for women. The men's belts were marked in inches of waist that the belt would fit properly. The women's belts were marked in S, M, L, and XL; and the definitions of each seemed to vary from belt to belt. I bought a sensible belt.)

[azurelunatic]

Right.

I'm almost tempted to go to men's pants because of this. Almost.

[boojum.livejournal.com]

Men's pants fit me about as well as women's pants, and the extra inseam room makes yeast infections less likely. I'm still amused that it's easier to get wide-thighed men's pants than women's. I'm also in the gap between the two most common size ranges of women's pants, which makes men's pants better for me.

If you do end up looking at men's pants, take a belt. It helps a lot with the having more hips and butt than expected thing.

[amberfox.livejournal.com]

I know I'm overweight, but my hipbones are wide enough that anything under a 14 (12 if it's cut /really/ generously) is physically impossible. 16 is probably a good choice, and I wore 18 in high school. These days I'm around a 20. On the positive side, there was a tour last year to measure women all across the country, so maybe the sizing will be shaping up in a year or so?

[azurelunatic]

We are to hope.