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The insanity of size 0: over time, the numbers displayed on clothing tags have gotten out of whack with reality. Cosmo investigates what incredible shrinking dress sizes are doing to our minds ... and our bodies.(WHAT YOU'RE DYING TO KNOW ABOUT)
The national obsession with skinniness has always been a numbers game--think of those complicated body mass index (BMI) calculations or standing on the scale at the gym, fixating on that last quarter pound. But the desire to downsize has taken a ridiculous turn: We now live in a world of clothing sizes that dip below 0 to subzeros (also known as 00).
Negative sizes--and the dwindling celebs who wear them--put more pressure than ever on females. You can't help but think there must be a ton of ubertiny women out there if they have to invent less-than-0 sizes. "Size is the latest way to evaluate self-worth," says Susan Head, PhD, a body-image specialist and clinical psychologist in Durham, North Carolina. "Women want to measure up to the 0 ideal."
Complicating this crazy situation is that unlike weight, which is a quantifiable figure you can count on, size tags have become infuriatingly inconsistent. Not only is a 6 today probably roomier than a 6 from just a few years ago, but different stores have varying definitions of a size 6. You probably have a range of sizes in your closet, and lots of them may be labeled with a smaller size than you ever thought you'd wear.
Before you get too excited about that, read on to learn how the clothing industry manipulates sizes, why a simple number seems to matter so much, and how it all messes with us.
The Secret of Sizes
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- Magazine article from: Cosmopolitan Goober, Lesley October 1, 2002 700+ words
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- Magazine article from: Cosmopolitan Fahner, Molly July 1, 2008 700+ words
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Source: HighBeam Research, The insanity of size 0: over time, the numbers displayed on clothing...