Style Matters

After you figure out the right size, finding the right style is a big part of getting the fit you want. June Saltzman, vice president of fashion merchandising for the Home Shopping Network, offers the following style definitions (They apply not only to clothes sold on HSN, but to most items available off the rack):

• Close fit -- follows the curves of the body.
• Fitted -- slightly more relaxed, but still follows your curves.
• Semi-fitted -- close to the body, but with more ease of movement.
• Loose-fitting -- generously sized, with ease of movement and fabric drape.
• Very loose-fitting -- cut very full for ultimate comfort.

While electronic retailers and some catalogs provide this information to shoppers, you may simply have to use your "eye" when sizing up the cut of clothing in a brick-and-mortar store.

Sizing Up Your Shopping Options

It may actually be easier to find the right size when you buy from electronic and catalog retailers than when you shop at the mall. Because inaccurate sizing can lead to returns, many such retailers have taken steps to avoid sizing confusion.

For example, all 60 lines of clothing from HSN conform to identical size standards -- unlike many department or specialty stores, where every line may have its own sizing structure, Saltzman says.

"Because shoppers can't try things on, we had to get over a lot of hurdles, and one way we did that was to give equity to all of our brands," Saltzman says. Since 90% of all fashions sold on HSN are exclusive to the network, Saltzman says, it was easy to lay down the sizing law.

To further ensure a better fit, Saltzman says, HSN tweaked the industry-standard measurements to develop a more relaxed fit, closer to what SizeUSA has found to be the "normal" American shape.

"We started with standard size measurements and we interpreted them to our style, which at HSN is a nice, full fit, not skimpy -- it's Middle America, demographics of age 45-plus, " Saltzman says. That even includes anything containing spandex!

Online retailer QVC also has standardized sizing across all its lines -- but the two networks don't share the same sizing structure. So if you're a 2X on HSN, don't automatically think you're a 2X on QVC; you've still got to check sizing charts, says Simonton.

For online purchasers, HSN, Lands' End, and some other retailers also allow you to create a virtual model of your body so you can "try on" clothes online. You enter your body measurements, and a computer program builds a 3-D, on-screen model of you. Then when you click on outfits you like, you get an idea of how they look on your body size and type.

"It can show you how you're going to look from all angles," Saltzman says. And that can go a long way in taking the sting out of that first glance in the full-length mirror