What size am I?

No, this is not going to be a post about weight.

We all know that sizing between brands are inconsistent. But by how much?

Apparently it can be quite a bit. A clever lady from the UK, Anna Powell-Smith, collated clothing size information from a number of UK and US retailers and built an interesting app called "what size am I?" that helps you find the brand and size that best suit your body measurements.

I found the article on The Guardian and it listed the bust, waist and hips measurement of UK brands included in the app. Below are the measurements for 5 brands in size 12 (in centimeters).

FCUK	Zara	Topshop	ASOS	Dorothy Perkins
90	94	92	91	92
74	74	74.2	73	73
99	102	96.5	98.5	96.5

As you can see, the sizes vary by a lot. For instance there is a 5.5cm/almost 2 inch difference between hips measurements for Zara and Topshop/Dorothy Perkins.

I was also interested in comparing the standard measurements published by the brands and actual measurements from items that I own.

First, this dress from ASOS.

ASOS's published measurements for size 12 are 91-73-98.5. The measurements of my dress are 89-79-97.

Next up in this Dorothy Perkins dress.

Dorothy Perkins' published measurements for size 12 are 92-73-96.5. The measurements of the dress are 93-77-[I didn't measure the hips as it is an a-line dress].

So it appears that actual sizes are not that consistent with published sizes. Nonetheless I think this is a handy tool to see how different sizings between stores are. If you want to have a play yourself, the app is here and the Guardian article written by the creator of the app is here.

Are you frustrated by the lack of consistency in size between brands? Do you find this app useful?

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Finally sunny

Finally we had a lovely weekend in Sydney. The forecast is for rain again this week but at least we had two gorgeous days to enjoy.

My MBMJ preppy camera bag arrived on Friday and I wasted no time to give it a swirl.

MBMJ is a great brand for well priced leather goods, and this little bag is no exception. Mouse is a great colour (thanks for your votes!) - it goes with anything. With Shopbop and Endless among others delivering to Australia, MBMJ is now very accessible to us.

The eagle-eye among you may have noticed that I was wearing my new Zara dress. In fact my entire outfit have been purchased in the last month.

Zara dress
KORS Michael Kors flats
MBMJ bag
Oroton sunnies

On Saturday we went to the Powerhouse Museum (mainly for the Wiggles exhibition which TLP loved). While TLP was sitting in the Big Red Car, I checked out the Make Lace Not War exhibition. There are some exquisite creations on display.

TLP had a nap after lunch in the stroller. I took the opportunity to check out the outlets at Market City in Chinatown. I bought this from Esprit.

Esprit is one of the brands I'd never pay full price for, and I rarely visit their stores, but there are some bargains to be had at their outlets. The full price of this dress was $199, now down to $59.95.

The price tag lists the RRP of the dress in 6 countries. The dress RRP in Hong Kong is $HK899, given current exchange rates it equates to $A108. That is only half of the RRP is in Australia. *sigh* It is so frustrating to be constantly overcharged relative to other countries.

We went to Chatswood on Sunday - TLP was long overdue for a haircut. Afterwards The Duke took TLP to Myer's toy section, and I hopped over to Daiso at Mardarin Centre.

Daiso is the biggest "$2" store I've ever seen. Everything in the store, from containers to stationery to cosmetics(!), cost $2.80.

I picked up 3 things, a packet of 10 ballpens, a shower cap, and an electric nail filer. The last item is a bit bizarre but for $2.80 I'm willing to experiment.

Let's finish this post with one of the reasons I love living in Sydney.

P.S. Do you like The Etail Queen's new look?

P.P.S. I'm planning to set up an eBay directory. If you are an eBay seller and want to be included in the directory, just tweet me or send me an e-mail.

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Just a few more things ...

Ah, so much for a mini-shopping ban, ay?

Thanks for all your votes on the MBMJ bag*. The Mouse won the vote and also my heart, so I placed an order with Endless on Sunday night. I also ordered a back-up pair of Asics Gel Kayano 17, can't say no when they're only $US89.95! I've never own black runners before; it'll be a nice change.

I was wondering if they would ship the parcel before Monday US time and lo and behold I received an e-mail yesterday saying that it was on its way here**. A nitpick - instead of providing a link directly to the courier company's webpage in the e-mail, I had to log in to my Endless account to access the tracking details. Endless uses UPS (I usually get parcels from DHL) and maybe that's the difference.

* When I told The Duke I was looking for a bag he asked me "do you really need another one"? I thought he was being a typical male but he told me afterwards that he was planning to buy me a crossbody bag for my birthday as I use the MBMJ Turnlock so much. Brownie points for The Duke.

** This morning I received another delivery notification from Endless, apparently the two items are shipped separately. The bag is coming via DHL. Let's see which parcel comes first.

On Sunday I went shopping with my mum. I was hoping to buy her a belated Christmas gift but we had no luck. Well actually she loved a top from Jigsaw but they didn't have any in her size, and I bought one instead. This is quite bizarre because we usually have really, really different tastes.

I can dress it up with an A-line or pencil skirt, or dress it down with a pair of skinny jeans.

We also went to Leona Edmiston. I'm a fan of her frocks and I bought my sister (who lives overseas) a few LE dresses last year. Mum said she received a lot of compliments so we wanted to get some more for her. Unfortunately LE's current collection is not that suitable for a conservative office. I had fun trying on dresses for myself though. The Isabel dress from the Ruby line fitted me like a glove.

I didn't get the dress though because I couldn't find a second dress to take advantage of the 2 Ruby dresses for $200 deal, and part of me suspects that the dress will be discounted further in a few weeks. That's what happens when retailers markdown their products quickly - no one wants to pay full price.

I had a short Monday lunchtime shopping trip again yesterday (oops...). Tried on a top and a skirt from Marcs when I was at Myer but no cigar. Myer had racks and racks of clothes with further discounts. I wonder what happens to them when the sales end?

I went into Zara again, not expecting to find anything but I came across this cute dress.

It fits, and it's less than half price! It's destiny :-D Can't wait to wear it on my day off.

P.S. I went through the Endless sale with mum and she likes the look of the Kate Spade Fanfare Brette Satchel. What do you think?

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A grand day out

Yesterday was my day off (I work 4 days a week). took TLP into the city and we had a fantastic time. Before I go on-topic (yes I came home with a few bags of goodies) I thought I'd share a few photos from the day.

We went to the Wildlife Sydney in the morning and TLP had a ball seeing all the animals, including the mighty croc Rex.

Lunch was at Sky Phoenix. Thumbs up to the waitstaff - the service was excellent.

 

In the afternoon we went to the Sydney Tower Eye. It was a beautiful day.

After lunch TLP dutifully fell asleep in the stroller so I had a chance to shop more support the Australian economy ;-)

I'm quite convinced I've lost my sunglasses again so that was my main shopping goal. Luckily I found a pair quickly.

You can tell by the O on the side that they're from Oroton. At half price ($115) it was easy to say yes.

What do you think?

I also picked up these beauties at Oroton.

I love earrings and I love Art Deco designs so the Ornee drop earrings (on sale at $45) are perfect.

With the right outfit I should be able to wear them to work. Or I have to nag The Duke to take me somewhere nice for a date.

My next purchase was from FCUK. I don't visit their stores often but one of the dresses on display caught my eye.

The Pina Colada is a lightweight, 100% cotton dress with a vibrant print. Great for a day at the beach (we just need some beach weather in Sydney!). The price was marked down from $99.95 to $49.95, I must have missed the "further reductions" sign because I only paid $39.96. Always a nice feeling when you pay less than expected.

Then we went to SA Hair to pick up a hair brush for blowdrying my new, shorter do. The SA was so friendly and informative I ended up buying a few extra items. Memo to retailers: good salespeople = more sales.

The other item on my list of things to buy was a hat for TLP. I liked the look of the Honolulu hat ($29.95) at Country Road but TLP was asleep when I saw it so I couldn't check for size.

I went to the kids' section at Zara after TLP woke up but they didn't have any hats. I bought this fun long-sleeve tee for him instead (on sale for $7.95). It was my maiden Zara purchase in Australia!

Next up was Myer so TLP could play in the toy section for a while. No hats but I went through the "extra 25% off discounted prices" racks and bought these in the next size for summer 12/13.

Five tees and a pair of shorts for $70 ($70/6 = average $11.67) is great value, but by comparison the Zara tee has a RRP of $12.95. It goes to show that Zara's pricing is a big threat to other retailers.

A few observations:

• The SA at Veronika Maine told me her name and asked for mine before I went into the change room. It was so much nicer to address each other by name rather than "hey you".
• Postage for FCUK is $14.95 (for registered post) - a bit steep? One day I may do a tally of postage cost by major fashion etailers.
• The Oroton website plays music. One word = NO.
• I cannot provide the link to the sunnies from Oroton's website because the women's sunglasses page came up blank. I don't know if it was deliberate or if it was an error. If it's the latter they need to have a stern word with the webmaster.
• The Oroton earrings were $45 at the store however the website has them at full price ($95). The SA mentioned that the sale ends yesterday, however I wondered if they deliberately left them at full price on the website. Inconsistent pricing between stores and online is definitely a Etailer Don't in my book. 
• This is no surprise but Myer is chronically short-staffed. How can they expect to increase sales when their level of service is so low?

I think this blog is making me shop more! I still have to write about my second Shopbop order this year(!) and an ASOS order. Maybe it's time for a mini-shopping ban...

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