Amanda Sakuma

Coming up... You know, a size 8 in one store will not be a size 8 in another store.

The struggle is real.

Thank you so much for having me.

And manufacturers only loosely follow those guidelines, if at all.

And so it just leaves this scenario where, you know, you have to do the trial and error of trying things on in store.

You know, a size eight in one store will not be a size eight in another store.

And that just leaves a lot to have to navigate.

It's so difficult.

I think we have this idea of what is a kind of normal medium-sized woman or just what a normal size is.

And I don't think that that correlates with the reality of humans, of modern women in the US especially.

And it starts at the age of 15 is around the age when most girls are able to start wearing women's clothing for the first time.

You know, the fifth percentile, you know, the smallest 15-year-olds are able to fit into the smallest sizes.

And the largest 15-year-olds are able to fit into the largest sizes.

But that is both the first and the last time that they're able to wear women's clothing.

Because after that point, as women age, you know, your size changes as you age, which I think is a very natural thing.

And it just creates this dynamic where as you age, you're getting pushed out of women's sizing options entirely.

The median woman in the US wears a size 18, but the average regular clothing line goes up to only a size 16.

So that means over half of all adult women are essentially pushed out of all regular clothing lines, which is kind of a problem.

It's really hard not to just internalize the struggle of trying to find clothes that fit right.

It's hard not to kind of take it personally and think it's, oh, this is just a me problem.