I may be a walking cliché when it comes to shopping, but it's true: I love it. I like trying on new things, being inspired by fashion trends, browsing thrift stores or just going for a stroll with my best friend. Without a goal. Because it's fun for us and we're happy together when we've been able to find one or the other sweetheart. Whether new or used. However, what I hate and what has made me despair so often are the dress sizes. I can't even count how many times I've seen something fantastically beautiful on a clothes rail and tried it on in love - only to find out that I'm too small for it.
What I found out for myself: I don't conform to the norm, because although I'm 157 centimeters tall, I still have – let's call it "feminine curves". Which translates to: My short legs need pants in a small size, i.e. S, but unfortunately my hips and (excuse the language) my wide ass don't fit into the corresponding models. And vice versa, the same game: if I wear an M or L, the trousers fit at the top. Unfortunately, I then have to turn my legs three times until they sit in the length. You can probably imagine what that looks like in the end. For me, however, that means: I try on around 13,000 different models and end up buying either a pair of jeans that “fits so-so” or nothing at all. Stupid for me, stupid for the fashion industry.
As if buying pants wasn't frustrating enough, it doesn't look any different upstairs: Here, too, I would actually need dress size S, considering my short upper body. But nature was kind to me and gave me a lush breast (thanks, mom) . Which inevitably means that I actually need dress size L or XL so that my stem has enough space in a piece of clothing. Even if the oversize look certainly played into my hands at one point or another, because I could just put on things that were obviously too big. I've stood in front of the mirror shaking my head at least as often, stunned at how horrible the much too large top looked on me. Like I'm carrying a sack of grain. So I've had to put up with various defeats here as well and give back the much-loved piece of clothing with a crying eye.
As much as I like following new fashion collections, I quickly had to accept that as a small woman it is very difficult for me to follow the trend. Quite simply because most clothes don't fit me. Instead, I found another way to quench my thirst for fashion: I rummage through the remaining stock. In fact, over time I've noticed that at the end of a season there are always the garments that don't conform to the norm - just like me. This means that the parts do not fit as they should. An XS, which fits more like an L, or an XL, which fits more like an S, is a nightmare for many normal-sized women. But for me they are perfect! I've been able to get hold of so many great clothes this way that initially seemed too small or too big to me, but I still just took them to the changing room with me on a whim. Lo and behold: they fit! And the best part was that most of the parts were mostly reduced because no one wanted them. point for me. Even if I now almost exclusively own items of clothing that range between XS and XL.
I want to kiss the feet of whoever came up with the idea of using stretch. A brief explanation if you don't know what the term means: This is a synthetic fabric that is very stretchy. If it is used in jeans, for example, the material gives way when you wear it. In other words, I can suddenly wear pants in my size again, which sit on the legs as well as on the waist, stomach and bottom. How great is that? Of course, I'm aware that stretch is inferior to cotton or real denim, but seriously, before I look like I'm shopping in the children's department or wearing pants so tight my stomach is bulging like a yeast dough, take I definitely accept that. Incidentally, the same also applies to outerwear: Here, too, the fashion industry has recognized that stretch in T-shirts and sweaters can definitely make sense. So thank you very much, you made a little woman very happy with it!
When the first online shops advertised their "Petite" collections, I almost fell off my chair. Should someone actually have recognized the problem and designed their own fashion line especially for small women? I could hardly believe my luck. After delving deeper into the garments, I quickly realized that "Petite" really just means "small". The fashion is kept shorter overall by using less material - and yet the things are again only aimed at female figures who correspond to the norm. What is supposed to mean: Small women are automatically slim, have a narrow waist and a small bust size. So again I'm out of the question. Unless the material contains stretch. But to be honest, it doesn't bother me that much anymore. Of course it's a shame about one or the other piece of clothing, but on the other hand my own shopping tactics have made me a real bargain hunter. And I can live with that.
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