Size Zero Standard: Do You Feel Pressure to Be Thin?

Hey, I worked at a Victoria's Secret store when I was a size 18 and it was all I could due to not buy lingerie after every shift ;)

The thing you have to realize is that the same industry that uses size zero models to model their clothes, are selling the clothes in sizes up to 14, 16, 18 still under the "misses" (regular size women) label...

Especially if they want to domninate the markert. Such as how there is almost no mall in America that doesn't have a Victoria's Secret. Because in the end it's about how much money you can make.

In just the past couple of years I have seen Kenneth Cole increase their size range from stopping at size 12 to size 14, and J. Crew increase their size range from stopping at size 14 to size 16.

And you have to remember that models are as thin as they are because designers want walking coat hangers. That is to say, someone who can wear the clothes at a fashion show or photo shoot without distorting the look of the clothing.

I'm a size 14 now and thats what I like because I can shop both misses and plus size. The industry's size definitions have actually become irrelevant for me.

I think I felt the pressure to be thin more in college than I do now. Back then, it was all about who was the hottest girl that would make the guys want them and make the other girls jealous. I was thin then, but there was always someone skinnier than me and it did drive me nuts. Once I got married and moved to a small town and got a job where I wear lab scrubs all day, I don't feel the pressure so much. Now it's more about my health and how I feel than whether or not I can fit into a size 0. I'm probably one of the smallest women in our lab now, which is weird to me...I'm not used to being the skinny one in the group.

I need to be a size 0. All my jeans are size 0 and I need to lose 20 pounds. I feel like a blob.

yes, i've always felt the need to be thin because i'm short and small-framed and extra weight (or curves, or cushioning, or whatever you want to call it) simply does not flatter me. i actually do wear size 00P now and i've had to get size 0s taken in when a clothing line doesn't make petite sizes. this is mostly because of vanity sizing (another topic for another day), as i'm not even *that* small - meaning my size doesn't scream anorexia.

anyway, i enjoy being my size and i'm a lot happier now than when i was bigger. i'm 26 now, and i feel more pressure now than ever to stay thin. maybe it's my line of work and where i live (manhattan), but i'm sure a lot of it is self-imposed. i worked very hard to lose weight, and i don't want to see my hard work wasted if i regain any of that weight.