Michele Hope

ShoppingTelly

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You can wear any sized garment you like if you care to squeeze into them. Label size means nothing. I am a 10-12 but I needed one garment in Monsoon in a size 8. I didn't jump cock-a-hoop happy just knew the shaping was the reason. I bought a Centigrade coat in small once that could have fitted two of me in it including an extra bolster cushion across the shoulders! It all means nothing, except when you have to return and vow never to bother purchasing from Q fashion again, which is me. Their sizing, to me, is like supermarket sizing, big and roomy and can gape unflatteringly so you need to downsize in everything. Julia needing the small still in Q sizing is to fit her shoulders and arm length, not her tummy. It's all nonsense.
 
I think we are all conditioned to feel a certain way according to which dress size we fit in. If we stay the same, we are pleased; if we go down, we're cock-a-hoop; if we go up, we're plotting diets and fitness regimes to get back down.

The benefit of being able to go into shops and try things on cannot be underestimated... it's how we learn to be less slavish to the dress size and more aware of the difference the style of the garment can affect the fit. It's where we learn that it's OK to be in a size 18 top and a size 16 trouser, or a size 12 skirt and a size 10 top - or whatever combination we need to suit our bodyshape and make us feel comfortable and at ease in our clothes and bodies.

Given that dress sizing isn't a universal constant, but varies over time to reflect the average sizes in the predominant market for the clothing brand, it's practically guaranteed that your "usual dress size" can only ever be an opening guide.

And I would recommend if one size 14 doesn't fit you, it doesn't necessarily mean a size 14 won't fit you... just that the garment you took in the changing room is at one end of the "tolerance" compared to another (I learned about this doing a temp job years ago measuring the width and depth of the "V" on a V-neck t-shirt: I checked 100's of these every day and the tolerance was 1 cm in each direction). QVC's penchant for US dress manufacturers means you get their US customer base current averages categorized into dress sizes, not UK average sizes... same with other manufacturers whose home market isn't UK.

So forget the labels (or cut them out) and enjoy wearing what fits you, what you look and feel good in... and, unless you can afford your own dressmaker, stick with the high street for best success.
 
What a great post Maymorgan. I'm not a standard size in anyway but have a great dressmaker who does nips and tucks for me. She always says buy bigger but never tight as she can tailor the look. I tend to shop in the sales and it makes the alterations affordable. Julia would never get on with her.
 
What really bugs me is when there is such a big difference in size for exactly the same item but in a different colour.

I'm surprised to hear that posters think Q sizes are generous - I find them skimpy.
 
loveallthingsitalian said:
What really bugs me is when there is such a big difference in size for exactly the same item but in a different colour.

I'm surprised to hear that posters think Q sizes are generous - I find them skimpy.
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I think it's all very hit and miss. I bought two pairs of Diane Gilman jeans a while back, both the same size and style but different colours and one pair I could take on and off without undoing and the other I couldn't even fasten them, skin tight.
 
grannygarden said:
I think it's all very hit and miss. I bought two pairs of Diane Gilman jeans a while back, both the same size and style but different colours and one pair I could take on and off without undoing and the other I couldn't even fasten them, skin tight.
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One pair wouldn't have been black, would they?

That's another thing you need to be aware of. For whatever reason, black dye seems to make clothes less forgiving (or shrink more)... so you'll get less stretch and a much tighter fit... even to the extent where you may need to size up with a garment in black compared to most other colours.
 
Maisie said:
I also saw her on the machine and thought what a strange shape of a woman, skinny limbs and a rotund body. Pilates aint doing much for her and she has been at it for years!!
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She's a bit like a dumpling on stilts whereas Jill Franks is a lolly stick on stilts.
 
Silver Fox said:
Good luck with the house move!Stress I know what you mean, I am just waiting for an Exchange of Contracts.It has stopped me spending on QVC as I need every penny for the move!
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Thanks SF, I think it's the waiting that's the worst. We're viewing one tomorrow that could be it, but I don't think it's got much kerb appeal but it's stunning inside, but as Kirsty and Phil say off Location, it's all about the compromise. Good luck with the Exchange, hope it goes ok for you. :mysmilie_508:
 
shopperholic said:
Thanks SF, I think it's the waiting that's the worst. We're viewing one tomorrow that could be it, but I don't think it's got much kerb appeal but it's stunning inside, but as Kirsty and Phil say off Location, it's all about the compromise. Good luck with the Exchange, hope it goes ok for you. :mysmilie_508:
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Shopper, I hope you are stocking up on KellyHoppen etc for your new house (don't forget buy 2 and get half price postage - I'm pointing my finger Del Boy style as I type this)
 
My bugbear on size is when every weekly magazine do articles on women who have massively weight lost, and 95% of the time these ladies always start off as a size 22 ! never an 18 and rarely a size 26 - 30. Its something I've kept an eye on for a long time, and the height of the person is never mentioned, so a size 22 on a 5'1 body will look hugely overweight compared to someone taller. I am a size 20/22 with slim legs and face and a height of 5'7, so when I see these articles decrying the size 22, it really irritates me, particularly as my body shape is nothing like the images I see in these articles.
 
loveallthingsitalian said:
Shopper, I hope you are stocking up on KellyHoppen etc for your new house (don't forget buy 2 and get half price postage - I'm pointing my finger Del Boy style as I type this)
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Ah yes, my house will be stocked up with Kelly Stroppen, with some Cozee Homes thrown in, well I won't want sheet shock now will I, Cooks Essentials expensively cheap made copies will adorn the kitchen and Alison Corks Poundstretcher sequinned ornaments will be dotted around, so yeah I'm good. :mysmilie_15:

Disclaimer.....the finger made me do it!! :mysmilie_10:
 
brissles said:
My bugbear on size is when every weekly magazine do articles on women who have massively weight lost, and 95% of the time these ladies always start off as a size 22 ! never an 18 and rarely a size 26 - 30. Its something I've kept an eye on for a long time, and the height of the person is never mentioned, so a size 22 on a 5'1 body will look hugely overweight compared to someone taller. I am a size 20/22 with slim legs and face and a height of 5'7, so when I see these articles decrying the size 22, it really irritates me, particularly as my body shape is nothing like the images I see in these articles.
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What I want to know is what happens to all the extra skin?
 
merryone said:
Blimey! Is she still at it? Obviously! I've just checked out the qvc website and hopefully I've posted a link to the ugliest set of clothes in christendom!
http://www.michelehope.com/shop/qvc-collections

A lot of the stuff you must agree looks like 1970's household overalls that your nan used to wear whilst doing the housework! HIDEOUS!
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LOL! Some of these things are quite hideous - the sort of things Myra Desmond in Prisoner: Cell Block H would have worn. MH obviously loves floaty, dusky pink numbers. What is with the long mint green skirts? They remind me of the "mint crisp" ice lollies I used to eat back in the late 80s! Still she's been going a long time so there must be a fair few punters buying her tat. It's not even cheap (even if it does look it). I just wonder how many Saga cruise ships are packed full of ladies wearing Barbie's emerald / lime green towelling and mauve Crimplene creations a la Kays catalogue 1974. I wonder what sort of conversations they have at the captain's table? I love the glamorous names she gives her collections.

Look at this....this is very "Meg Morris"

http://www.michelehope.com/shop/qvc-collections/the-dazzling-collection/back-in-stock-knitted-tunic
 
This model really doesn't like MH's clothes. Her expression says: "What the **** am I doing here dressed in this tat? Can I go home now?"
 

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