SIZE MATTERS

For most of my adult life my feet were a size seven,yes I know that's quite big for a woman, we can't all have twinkle toes! Around ten years ago give or take a years my feet suddenly became a size eight. Now this was very odd as the size sevens shoes I had been wearing for some time were still a perfect fit,my feet had not grown...the shoes had shrunk.

When I made enquiry s as to why my already large feet had suddenly become (for the purposes of buying shoes even larger) I was and I quote told “Erm...I think it's something to do which the E.U.”

So it seemed that some idiot in Brussels with nothing better to do had decided to tinker about with our shoe sizes. OK. I asked the bored young shop assistant for a pair of the blue boots I liked in a size eight. “Oh,” she said, “We don't carry then as stock, there's no call for these big sizes.”

History had better not record my answer to this piece of incomprehensible logic!!

When I remarked that I was calling for them she just shook her head

After this encounter it was, for a while difficult to find fashionable shoes in my (new) size .but by and by things returned to normal and I was able to buy ladies shoes again.

In the intervening years there has been much fiddling about with clothes sizes so that now anyone who is a UK size twelve is a plus size, and anyone who is size fourteen is obliged to look among the triple X,s, it's ridiculous.

For the past couple of years I have been suffering from oedema (swollen feet) and shoes have posed such a problem that I have worn Croc's throughout the summer and Ugly boots in the winter, and very sartorially challenging I found it. Now, hoorah,my feet are there normal size again and I can again wear my old size eights.

Having decided to treat myself to a new pair of smart leather boots for the winter I searched long and hard to no avail, for in the past year or so shoe sizes seem to have changed yet again and I require a size nine in a fashion shoe.

Naturally I am not at all pleased by this turn of events as it is now only possible to acquire a pair of fashionable boots in my size at an on line shop for Cross Dressers!!!!!!

A few days ago I ordered a leather jacket for my son as a Christmas gift, the last jacket I purchased for him a couple of years ago was a 2XL ,and he has recently lost quite a lot of weight. Even so, allowing for the vagaries of garment sizing these days I ordered a 4XL, (no size chart was available ) and he could always wear a sweater underneath if it was a little large.

This morning the jacket arrived and my son tried it on,or should I say that he attempted to try it on for it was much to small. He checked the label to see if they had sent the wrong size but no, it was indeed the 4XL which I had ordered. I sent an e mail to the supplier explaining the problem and asking for a refund and he replied that he would be willing to sent the next size up if I would return the garment, the postage for this return was £15.00.

I told him that unless he had, perhaps a size 10XL we should all be wasting our time and he was forced to agree.

So how does in come about that I can buy a dress in one shop and get a great fit from a size 18 and in the shop next door find that a size 22 is way too small. Buying on line is even more hazardous,especially from Ebay as some of the sizes from Malaysia or Hong Kong are even more ridiculous. Of course it is understandable that different countries have different sizing methods but in the UK every blessed shop has it's own peculiar way of sizing their garments.

Until this anomaly is sorted out I have resolved to wear nothing but fleece Kaftan s in the winter. Cotton ones in the summer and on my feet either flip flops or Uglies all this aggregation is turning me into a grouch!