Size and the Fashion Industry
Marks and Spencer, one of the UK's leading clothing retailers, conducted a recent survey, that generated a lot of publicity, that found that British women are in fact getting bigger. The survey involved taking three-dimensional (3D) images of 2,500 volunteers across the UK. The results showed that the average female measurements in the UK are now: 36C bust, 28-inch waist, and 38-inch hips. This is a significant increase compared to 1960s statistics, when measurements were 34B bust, 24-inch waist, and 33-inch hips. The new average measurements reflect a clothing size 14 (U.S. 10), rather than 12 (U.S. 8 ), which was the norm forty years ago. From the results of this survey, Marks and Spencer announced it would assume 14 as its "base size", and altered the company's whole production process to account for the new size. Many other UK retailers have since followed suit and changed their sizes as well.