Lifestyle, Fashion & Style
Sponsored article
Size matters! Especially when it comes to clothing. When I say size matters, I mean the clothing size and not ours. Clothes should fit us and not the other way around. For years I believe we have mistakenly thought that we should fit into our clothes rather than clothes being manufactured to fit our bodies.
Sizing in the UK can be a problem, whether you are buying clothes in the traditional 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, etc or numeric sizing 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or even small, medium, large sizing. Each brand seems to have their own variation of these sizes. If you are anything like me, you have a wardrobe full of different sized clothing. I have 10, 12 14, small, medium and large!
During a woman’s lifetime her body shape and size will change many times. This is due to ageing, a slowing metabolism which can lead to weight gain, menopause and hormonal imbalances, lifestyle and genetics. Even muscle mass can affect our overall body composition. What fits well in one decade, no longer fits as you go into the next.
Since 2020 our shopping habits have changed and, due to the pandemic, more of us are shopping online that ever before. Instead of trying before we buy – although some brands are now offering this option – we are purchasing clothing from an idealised fashion shoot. Often the models don’t represent our body shapes and sizes. And when the clothes don’t fit, we return them.
If we return the clothes we are doubling the transportation costs and it seems that many of us don’t even bother, especially if the clothes were cheap to purchase. According to ASOS, 77% of their customers fail to return items because it’s too much hassle.
From a sustainability perspective, as well as the increased transportation costs, we have ever increasing amounts of discarded clothing going to landfill. In fact, according to Earth.org 92 million tonnes of the 100 billion garments produced each year end up in landfills.
Julia Reynolds, former CEO of Figleaves and Key Founder of F&F Clothing for Tesco, has worked in fashion retail for over three decades. She fully understands women’s bodies and how they change over our lifetimes. Julia has created Rey House to not only offer beautiful garments that will fit well, and stay in our wardrobes, but also to shake up how we size clothes in the future.
To help collect accurate data on the nation’s body shapes and sizes, Julia and Rey House have invested in a state of the art 3D scanner. The scanner can create an image of your body and accurate measurements almost instantly. I went along to their first scanning event in Ingatestone, Essex. I was astounded how quickly and accurately the scanner produced my avatar – I was scanned in just my underwear – along with detailed sizes for each part of my body.
Julia will use this data to encourage brands to update UK sizing so that it better represents women now and not based on women’s figures in the 50s. Not only will this enable us to choose clothing that is more likely to fit, but it will also cut down on returns and ultimately clothing going into landfill.
I have written about sustainable clothing before and over the years I have become more adept at choosing investment pieces rather than going for fast fashion. I am still a work in progress when it comes to sale bargains though!
It’s a conversation I have had with my friend Michelle, Fifty & Fab, who has influenced me more than once, and each time I have bought on her recommendation I have been delighted with the items.
Michelle has been exploring the Rey House range of clothing for women over 50 and has styled some of the pieces. She’s been impressed with the quality and fit and has added several pieces to her capsule wardrobe. I loved looking through the rails of clothing at the Rey House scanning event and will be adding some to my wardrobe as well.
Head over to Rey House and see the range of beautifully made pieces designed with you in mind, the woman over 50 who has a normal body shape.
Rey House will be holding another scanning event soon, sign up to join their community for event details, offers and more!
Use my discount code PARTNERSHIP20% at checkout for a 20% discount off all online purchases.
This article is sponsored by Rey House
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