Does size matter?

The concept of whether size matters is always associated with men. But, really, I think women are more concerned about size. Their size. Their clothes size.

Yesterday, the female radio host of the morning program I listen to in the car reported on a story about Kirstie Alley. Kirstie claims that she has lost so much weight from her stint on Dancing with the Stars, that she went from being a size 14 to now being a size 4. No doubt she has lost weight (she claims 100 pounds - kudos to her; that is fantastic) but I've seen pictures of her lately and she doesn't look like a size 4. Which is EXACTLY what the radio host said! Is she smaller? Yes. Is she smaller than a 14? Yes. Is she a size 4? No. I know, I know: the camera adds pounds. Well, in her case, it's adding dress sizes too! She looks more like an 8 or a 10. Which are still sizes to be proud of, I might add!

So later in the day, I was shopping. And I realized that in my closet, I have clothes in sizes Small, Medium and Large and skirts and pants in sizes 6, 8 and 10. They all fit right now. In fact, while shopping, I bought a sweater at Macy's in size Small, then bought one in J.Jill in size Medium, then tried one on at another store in size Large that was too tight!!

Size matters. If you want to get dressed in the morning it does. But why are we so size obsessed? Well, why are we Women so size obsessed? Why does Kirstie Alley feel compelled to tell us her size and to pick one that is so small? And, why do we care what our size is or what other women's sizes are? No one can see the labels!!! Trust me, I love that I have a couple of skirts in my closet in a size 6! I'm also perfectly happy with my size 8 clothes. But, it does bum me out that when I shop in J. Crew, I have to buy size 10 pants.

It makes shopping so much more of a challenge. I like the challenge of finding a bargain. I don't like the challenge of guessing what size I am in every brand! I really hate HAVING to try clothes on at the store - it's a hassle and it takes too much time (and the lighting is always bad!). I envy my husband. When he needs pants, he goes to the rack, picks out a pair based on his waist and inseam measurements and he's done. It's not fair.

Funny, I remember being excited about  buying new clothes in smaller sizes when I lost a lot of weight last year. I still enjoy being smaller, but I still can't go in and just buy right off the rack (and speaking of racks - shirt and bra sizes are a whole other issue since I'm a woman who has breasts larger than the barely-there A-cup models for whom clothes are designed - that's a whole other blog!). So, yeah, I guess size matters. I'm just not sure why.