Spain’s government sizes the nation
October 29th, 2007Imagine if the government set out to measure the nation’s height, weight and curves in order to improve the sizing of clothes in retail fashion. Well, Spain’s health ministry has taken on this mammoth task. The goal of the study is to ensure that fashion houses “promise to fit their clothes to real women, rather than the other way round”.
From a recent article in The Independent:
Last month technicians from Spain’s health ministry visited the first of 59 towns across the country to measure 10,415 Spanish women, aged between 12 and 70, to find out what size and shape the nation’s females really are. The nationwide measuring operation continues until 21 December, and results are to be announced next spring.
Women are chosen at random from the city’s census and invited to participate in an “anthropometric study”, which the state-sponsored National Consumers Institute claims to be the first in the world. The aim is to promote “a realisable image of healthy beauty – neither Rubens women nor anorexic girls”, according to the health minister, Bernat Soria. “It is our commitment that beauty and health go hand in hand.”
The results from the study will be used to standardize clothing sizes across the industry.
This step follows Spain’s leadership in banning ultra-thin models from the Madrid catwalks a year ago. And that isn’t the end of it…
The government has also extracted a promise from retailers to banish skeletal plastic mannequins from shop windows – said to encourage unrealistic ideals of beauty – and replace them over time with those sized at least 38 – a British 10 [this is roughly an American 6, where mannequin’s today typically wear an American 2] .
Regardless of your position on the government playing such an active role in consumer affairs, these are fascinating moves. Spain has tremendous clout in the fashion world because they are home to the biggest and most successful fast-fashion retail chain in the world – Zara. I’m looking forward to next Spring when the results of the study will be announced. It will be incredibly interesting to see whether they can be applied successfully, and whether other countries follow Spain’s example.
Will idealizing the skinny ever be out of fashion?
October 29th, 2007 at 7:55 am
This is an interesting experiment. And maybe it will show that there need to be more style options in the “other” size ranges…petites and plus sizes.
October 29th, 2007 at 8:23 am
This is just fascinating. It might be the first time we get stats on women’s measurements other than just height and weight.
I also find Spain’s move to ban skeletal mannequins noteworthy. Not necessarily because they are too skinny, but because the shops use binder clips and clothespins to cinch up the back often giving the article of clothing a silhouette on the mannequin that has no similarity to its actual shape. I know this has wasted my time trying on clothes more than once.
I can’t wait to see how Spain measures up, and what the average Spanish woman looks like.
October 29th, 2007 at 8:23 am
I like the message this sends. Wish Spain all the luck in the world on this task and hope it revolutionizes body image across continents!
October 29th, 2007 at 8:40 am
It’s such a good point that you make with respect to clothing being pinned to fit mannequins Meredith. Chico’s, J Jill and Coldwater Creek are notorious for doing that here in America. But sometimes there isn’t a size left in a particular style though. Mannequins end up wearing a size 8 or 10 on their size 2 bodies…which results in loads of pinning and size adjustment. I suppose that isn’t really a reflection of the style of the item? So Mannequins should be clothed in apparel that fits them….sans the pinning. Which brings us back to the original question of what the best size of a mannequin should be.
October 29th, 2007 at 8:44 am
I think this is great news! I lived in Spain and already and a huge fan of the culture, fashion, food, etc. This just adds to my admiration!
October 29th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Eh, my response to this scheme is a bit icy. If they did this here, in the US, where 2/3 of the population is overweight or obese, I don’t think I would approve of using the average female as the gold standard. I think shape–not size–is key. I am an infamous size 2, but I have curves and belly fat like any other “normal” woman. I am not saying I have the ideal body at all–just that being large doesn’t necessarily make you curvy, and being slim doesn’t make you boyish.
I don’t personally judge my own body or anyone else’s based on mannequins. I really do think this issue of skinniness has been blown of proportion to a point where it’s almost a joke. I agree with Meredith that it doesn’t help me visualize how clothes will look on me, but that’s going to happen whether the mannequins are a size 2 or a size 12 because they are not ever in a million years going to have my proportions.
Also, I have a few classes in the fashion department here at Parsons and I see a lot of dress forms marked as size 8’s, 6’s and 4’s. What I’m saying is that a mannequin size 2 is hugely different from a human size 2. I don’t know what sizes are like in Spain, but I can tell you that over here, I’m already starting to feel the heat of being sized out, and I’m not even abnormally tiny. There are plenty of women who are thinner than I am who were sized out long ago, and I don’t look forward to being one of them.
I think the best and most brainless solution is to start giving a greater range. I was trying to help my plus size friend find new clothes for work and it was really difficult and limiting. I really felt for her. I’d much rather see the market expand to accommodate more sizes rather than just knocking some off the end and replacing them with others (if that makes sense).
October 29th, 2007 at 9:56 am
You make excellent points Maya and thanks for your great perspective. From what I can gather from the article, the aim of the undertaking is to make sure that Spain stocks sizes to clothe all it’s people despite their size. But that “the national averages” would be reflected in the majority of the clothing that was available in Spain’s stores.
Optimal clothing sizes is tricky territory and it’s hard to be unbiased about this subject. In an ideal world, the aim remains to find a way to give us as much clothing and footwear variety in as many sizes as possible.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I think it is a wonderful idea what Spain is doing. While there is a need for “plus” sizing and “petite” sizing. Let us not forget the “tall” sizing. I have a hard time finding long enough pants. Jeans can be found fairly well, but try finding very many dress pants in long lenths! And then there are those of us who have no tush, or very broad shoulders. That makes for hard to fit as well.
It isn’t only the manequins that have the clothing pinned up, I have seen the models being photographed for catalogs being “pinned” up or “pinned in” and that also can mislead how an article of clothing should fit, or drape as it should.
October 29th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
When I worked in a department store in 1978, the mannequins only wore Size 10! What happened?
October 29th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
A size 10 then was not the same as a size 10 now. A size 10 then was probably the equivalent if a size 2 or 4 today as sizes got bigger over time.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
I was just thinking tonight while having my nightly chocolate that I really need to go on some kind of serious crash diet, like maybe total starvation, and then I could be as bone thin as I was before I went on the pill. I am still much thinner than average but even I feel the pressure. The whole society seems bent on making anyone who has curves feel guilty. A decade ago I never worried about my figure; it wasn’t a source of pressure then like it is now. I’m not sure who really started the whole skinny thing but it does seem to be here to stay.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I’d love it if we took on the same idea, and added more info.
Resorting the sizes and improving labelling to do a better job of building clothing sizes to create pear, hourglass, ruler and apple clothing. Being one size or another doesn’t determine curviness or lack thereof, I agree Maya. But personally I have a tone of trouble finding clothes since I am short waisted, well endowed, and unfortunately have muscular quads. So its a crapshoot finding pants and other clothing for my body type. I’d be happy if they created clothing with an average D-Cup bust in mind, since the average American is a C+ and my other busty friends…whether size 2 or 20 have so many problems finding shirts and jackets that fit.