When making a vintage garment purchase there are a number of elements to keep in mind, especially when purchasing vintage clothing online. Clothing made before and during the 1970s was often purchased and later altered to fit. The sizing was general and often longer in length so that if the wearer was tall they would still be able to fit the piece. Clothing made before and during the 1970s began sizing at 12 then 14, 16, 18, 20. The size 12 was the smallest of the sizes and it was very small. A size 12 during this time period was probably equal to a size 2/4 in today's standards. One way to understand these size conversions is to study the sizes of patterns during the time period in question. Vintage patterns can be found on many of the vintage clothing websites and can shed some light on the size to measurement conversions. The chart below can be used as a tool in converting vintage sizes to today’s standards.
Again, keep in mind that dresses were often altered in length. When searching through a rack at a thrift shop the color and quality of the fabric will often be the first factors that alert my attention to a possible vintage garment. The factor I look at to determine whether the find is truly vintage is whether the item has been altered in length. With today’s sizing it would rarely be necessary to alter the length of a garment considering there are specialty sizes from tall to petites. Most if not all vintage garment purchases I have made involve the garment being altered in length. On the other hand it is rare to find a day dress made after the 1980s that has had the length altered.
With all this in mind the best rule to finding vintage garments that fit is to compare your measurements to the measurements of the garment in question. All serious vintage dealers will state the measurements of the garments they are selling. I will include the size if stated on the label of the garment and the size of the dress form the garment is displayed on. More often than not vintage garments do not have a size label, which makes sense considering the clothing would likely be altered to fit the wearer anyway. So regardless of what size Marilyn wore, be it a 12 or 14, the final product was most likely altered to fit that fabulously curvaceous body anyway, and her true size will remain forever a mystery.
Modern
|
4
|
6
|
8
|
10
|
12
|
14
|
16
|
18
|
Bust
|
33½
|
34½
|
35½
|
36½
|
38
|
39½
|
41½
|
43
|
Waist
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29½
|
31
|
32½
|
34½
|
Hips
|
35½
|
36½
|
37½
|
38½
|
40
|
41½
|
43
|
45
|
Vintage
|
12
|
14
|
16
|
18
|
20
|
40
|
42
|
44
|
Bust
|
30
|
32
|
34
|
36
|
38
|
40
|
42
|
44
|
Waist
|
25
|
26
|
28
|
30
|
32
|
34
|
36
|
38
|
|
