It says Norma Jeane, who you might also know as Marilyn Monroe, was in fact, a size 12.

上面寫著，諾瑪 ‧ 簡 (瑪莉蓮 ‧ 夢露) 穿 12 號的衣服。

She was.

她是 12 號沒錯。

but back in the 50s, a size 12 was very thin.

但在五零年代，穿 12 號的人算非常苗條。

That was a model.

可謂模特兒身材。

You know, a size 12 then would be about a size 6 now.

但當時的 12 號差不多變成現在的 6 號。

Well, to be exact, she would be a size 8 at Topshop, 6 at Zara, and 4 to 6 at American Apparel.

更精確一點，她在 Topshop 要買 8 號衣服，在 Zara 是 6 號，在American Apparel則是 4 到 6 號之間。

To actually show you the inconsistencies, I went shopping.

為了能呈現這樣的不一致，我實地去採買衣服。

I bought 3 jeans at 3 different stores, all in the same size.

我在三家店分別各買了一件牛仔褲，都是 4 號。

We’re already off to a bad start.

我們已經有個不太好的開始。

These all look different.

三件大小都不同。

This is not a 4.

這太大了，根本不是 4 號。

This one is the one in the middle.

這是中間那一件。

This one fits!

剛剛好！

Hold up.

等一會。

It won’t zip.

根本拉不上來。

I give up.

我放棄！

Let’s wind back a little bit.

我們來回溯一小段歷史。

It was the Napoleonic wars and later the Civil War in the US that demanded a sizing system for mass production of clothing for the first time.

由於拿破崙戰爭和之後的美國內戰，開始需要尺碼分類系統的產生，以便大量生產衣服。

It was for men’s uniforms.

尤其為了量產男性軍服。

After that, men’s suit sizes were based on the chest measurement and the rest was calculated accordingly, assuming that their bodies were in proportion.

在那之後，男性服裝尺碼是根據胸圍大小分類，則假設身體呈一定比例，根據胸圍計算。

The demands for mass production of uniforms escalated and ready-made clothing became really popular.

量產軍服的需求激增，成衣業進而更加蓬勃。

By the end of the nineteenth century, most people were wearing ready-made clothes.

到十九世紀末期，大多數人都穿成衣。

In 1939, the US government funded statisticians to collect the weight and 58 measurements of 15,000 women.

1939年，美國政府資助統計學家，蒐集一萬五千名女性的體重與其他 58 種尺寸資料。

They only used white women, even though they took measurements of women of color, they did not include them in the study or in the calculations.

儘管他們蒐集了一些非白人女性的尺寸資料，卻只以白人女性為樣本，非白人女性並未被納入研究或計算中。

The women who are most likely to turn out for these studies were the poor women because they would be paid.

而最有可能參與這項計畫的女性大多屬貧困階級，因為可以獲得報酬。

So I think the data set even back then was possibly malnourished women, certainly poor women, and not very diverse group of women… and that’s what we started with.

所以我想當初的資料是建立在一群貧困、營養不良的白人女性，而非以多元族群為樣本，這就是尺碼分類系統成立的開端

They were looking for key measurements that could predict the sizes of other parts of the body, the way chest sizes had for men.

統計學家致力找尋關鍵的度量，能推測身體其他部位的尺寸，就像以胸圍來推測男性身材一樣。

But women’s bodies, with variable breast and hip sizes, were much harder to summarize with a single number.

但女性的胸圍與臀圍相當不同，難以計算出一個確切數字。

So, the data was used to create a system in 1958 with sizes from 8 to 42, which was just an arbitrary number based out of bust size, combined with a letter for height and a plus minus for hips.

於是，在 1958 年統計學家便以這些資料，制定了 8 到 42 號的尺碼分類系統，任意取一組數字，代表不同胸圍；英文字母代表身高，和正負號代表臀圍。

The sizing chart was really unpopular, so they made some updates, but finally in 1983 it was completely withdrawn.

這套尺寸量表並不普及，之後有過一些修正，但在 1983 年還是被完全廢除。

In the 1970s and 80s, companies started labeling sizes down, and adding lower numbers like 2, zero and now even a double zero.

在 1970 和 80 年代，製衣廠開始在衣服上標示尺碼，並加入較小的數字，像 2 和 0，現在甚至有 00。

So the waist measurement that used to be a size 12 became an 8.

以前的腰圍 12 號，現在變成 8 號。

Vanity sizing specifically, is when the size on the label is lowered artificially, in order to attempt to get somebody to buy the garment.

虛榮尺碼，是指標籤上的尺碼被人為降低以吸引顧客購買。

So you’re appealing to the person’s vanity.

這是在滿足消費者的虛榮心。

Sizing became a marketing tool.

尺碼分類成為行銷工具。

I think it’s done because the women are getting bigger and we’re just addressing that.

我想這個成因是由於現代女性有越趨肥胖的趨勢，學者正努力解決這個問題。

When the first standardizing chart came out in 1958, it was mostly built out of malnourished, white women.

當第一套標準尺碼分類表於 1958 年問世時，大部分是依據營養不良的白人女性的資料製成的。

Now, that there’s such a wide group of people to cover, the retailers are picking a certain group of people to sell to, honing in on what works with that group and what doesn’t.

現今由於有多元族群的消費者，成衣業者開始挑選特定族群消費者，專注於吸引與不吸引該族群的特質。

I think we’re more aiming for our own target markets.

我認為業者更聚焦於自己的目標市場。

When Abercrombie & Fitch does their sizing, they’re sizing it to their target market not to me.

當 A＆F 決定產品尺碼時，他們是為目標市場消費者作尺碼分類，而不是針對像我這類的消費者。

And we kept tweaking that information until we sold more garments and could lower the return rate.

業者扭曲真相，讓他們能賣更多衣服，便能降低退貨率。

That means that even brands owned by the same company will have inconsistent sizes.

這也表示，同一家公司的不同品牌會有不一致的尺碼大小。

A size 8 at Banana Republic will have the same hip size as a size 2 at the Gap.

例如 Banana Republic 8 號褲子的臀圍，會等同於GAP的 2 號。

So if you get frustrated while shopping…

所以，如果你購物時，因為尺碼感到挫折的話...

It’s not you, it’s the industry, it’s not women’s bodies, we’re fine the way we are.

不是你的問題，是產業的問題，不是女人體態的問題，我們本來的樣子已經很好。

They are just random numbers, they don’t mean anything.

這只是隨機的號碼，不代表什麼。

And if you don’t like the size, just cut it out of your clothes.

如果你不喜歡那個尺碼，把它從你的衣服上剪掉就好。