Why Yes, There IS Such a Thing as Too Small

July 2, 2008 10:30 am     Posted in Body, Style  K - NYU g+ page

muffin.jpgThere are some attributes to the summer season that make it less than perfect. One of these is the prevalence of muffin top sightings, and I’ve just got to vent.


By K

It’s not so much the muffin top in and of itself that irks me. It is OSTS, or One-Size-Too-Small Syndrome, afflicting so many girls that just baffles me.

Why do I refer to this…issue… as OSTS instead of the popular, Muffin Top? Well, in my humble opinion, the phrase “muffin top” implies that the offender is what she eats, and likely has a fondness for Oreos and Taco Bell. This simply is not always true. Skin hanging over your waistband does not mean fatness. I’ve seen girls who can’t possibly be any bigger than a size 4 with a muffin top, and it’s not that they’re at all chubby. Instead, it’s that they insist they’re a size two, and the end result in the obvious: OSTS. It’s not pretty.

I’m definitely not a tiny girl by any means, and I completely understand the battle with body image. I get a little unhappy anytime I have to purchase something in a large instead of a medium, but if the medium makes me look like a sausage trying to escape its skin, is it really worth wearing? Is it really going to look like you’re a size medium to anyone but yourself? Of course not! I may groan when I have to reach for a size larger in that cute little dress or jeans, but if it lays just right and fits as intended, so be it.

Stacy London of What Not to Wear has said it time and again—the only person who sees the size of your clothing is you. What matters is the look and if you can pull it off. If you have to go up a size to look like you can breathe (or to actually be able to breathe) bite the bullet and do it. Don’t be a sufferer of OSTS just because you can’t stand to wear a 30″ waistband instead of a 28″ or 29″—I promise you, clothing was not meant to appear as though it’s painted on. And it certainly wasn’t meant to feel that way unless you’re a runway model rocking haute couture for a living.

Am I wrong? Is it just me who thinks it’s ridiculous to squeeze into a smaller size than you actually are?

[Photo courtesy of http://www.coloribus.com

23 Comments on "Why Yes, There IS Such a Thing as Too Small"

  1. kiki says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20086:51 am 

    Actually, this "syndrome" makes girls fit back into their original size. if their old jeans are too tight, it should be a motivation tool to start exercising. it definitely worked for me.

  2. kristen says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20087:06 am 

    Actually, it's called looking dumb.

    There are more flattering ways to motivate yourself.

  3. Lauren, University o says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20087:16 am 

    Yeah that doesnt motivate anyone. And it just looks awful. Wouldnt you rather look good than have a smaller number? Its just pathetic.

  4. Amber - University o says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20087:40 am 

    The whole motivation things sounds good, but should you REALLY venture into public wearing too little clothes?

  5. Kari - Florida State says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20088:19 am 

    Motivation without looking bad = a picture of Madonna taped to your gym bag. Girl looks gooooood and she's like 90. That gets me on the elliptical any day.

  6. Lisa says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20083:42 pm 

    sure use those fabulous jeans as a motivational tool – tell yourself you cant WEAR them until you fit them!!! wearing too small clothes makes even tiny people look fat. not cool. just say no.

  7. kiki says:
    Wed, 2nd Jul 20087:44 pm 

    why are people getting angry? wow? when you think about it, if you but "great looking" jeans on yourself which is a size bigger then 1 becomes a 3 becomes a 5 becomes whatever else is way up there…settling is wonderful.

  8. A.L. Hart - Universi says:
    Thu, 3rd Jul 20081:36 am 

    I work in a clothes shop and the amount of women I have seen thus far with muffin tops when they try on jeans is just exasperating. Of course they ask me for my opinion and instead of my instinctual 'It's too small love try a bigger size' I have to watch my politeness and ask them if they feel comfortable with it. It's all about comfort. If you don't feel it then you won't look as good in the item you are buying despite how small it is!

  9. Miranda says:
    Fri, 4th Jul 200812:21 pm 

    Clothing that doesn't fit you one way or the other always makes you look larger than you really are. I'm a size 16 and everyone always thinks I'm much smaller than my size indicates because I dress my body properly. My old friend was a size 6 but wore a size 4 and boys always used to call her fat because she had that roll hanging over her jeans. A number should never dictate your self-worth, ever. Most of the time it leads to bitchiness, eating disorders, and health problems. So eat healthy, get the exercise you need, and dress your body as it is now, not as you want it to be or how it was.

  10. Carly - Grinnell says:
    Fri, 4th Jul 20082:38 pm 

    I am sooooo glad you quoted Stacy London because she is SO RIGHT! Nobody sees your size but you. Those girls wearing a size or a few too small would look HOT if they wore clothes that fit their bodies properly. Sometimes it's hard to find clothes that DO fit properly, but it's really worth the time and effort.

  11. Lola B says:
    Sun, 6th Jul 20086:36 pm 

    Buying clothes and working out until you CAN wear them flatteringly, as a workout goal, is one thing…

    People who want to skip the working out/eating right step and shrugging into the size they WISH they were just horrible. There was a girl in my high school who was a bigger girl, and she was a pretty girl. She just happened to be a larger size. Unfortunately she wore size small t-shirts and jeans a few sizes too small and it looked like she was bulging at the seams everywhere.

    Dress to flatter your body! Outfits can't magically make you their size!

  12. Anna says:
    Mon, 7th Jul 20081:55 pm 

    I definitely agree. If the motivation worked for you great, but I hate seeing girls who are NOT big with muffin tops. My little sister and I had this discussion yesterday actually. She was complaining about her muffin top and I suggested a size larger pant. She was offended, but I assured her that nobody would notice that the pants were bigger and she would look better. The funny thing, she's not even that big (proportionally at least, she's a 5'9" 15 year old… she's the only one with the tall genes though). The pants definitely did the trick though.

  13. ela says:
    Tue, 8th Jul 20084:01 am 

    put on the jeans before you hit the gym. never leave the house with them on until they fit. wear em around the house! wear em while you eat!

  14. Kel says:
    Wed, 9th Jul 20087:55 am 

    Sometimes jeans that fit in the legs don't fit in the waist hence the muffin top. I am pretty thin and I still get it sometimes but I came up with a great trick.

    If you simply put a slit or 2 on the sides of the waist of the jeans (right around the hip bone area) you lose the muffin top effect.

  15. Anna says:
    Thu, 10th Jul 20088:02 am 

    I'm so glad you posted this!! I see "OSTS" everywhere.

    Being very petite myself I don't like to push the issue because my friends just give me that condecending "you wouldn't understand you've always been skinny" thing.

    Those of you who are defending the muffin tops, etc. You're the ones who everyone thinks looks bad. That's right, no matter what you say, all evidence points to the contrary- you look awful.

    It's true, squeezing into a small size won't actually make you small.

  16. Katelyn says:
    Fri, 11th Jul 20082:01 pm 

    I COMPLETELY agree! I'm no small girl either – but no one can belive I weigh what I do when I tell them because I dress for my body type! I absolutely dispise things that show my imperfections – so I just cannot understand why people do it on purpose! Don't they have a mirror?! I swear I have my own syndrome when I walk down the street – I see everyone's "potential" to look good – like if they got a new haircut or wore the right clothes. There are SO many beautiful girls getting ridiculed because they refuse to accept that they aren't a size 4 or 6. I wear different sizes in EVERY store I go to – in the end…all that matters is that I look amazing when I walk out the door. So grow up and accept your size – or do something about it. There is no easy way out!!!

  17. Bea says:
    Sun, 13th Jul 20087:29 pm 

    I'm actually very surprised that all these commenters don't bother to even question the idea of standardized sizing. As a girl whose waist is out of proportion with her bust and hips, I can understand why some girls would have a muffin top. I carefully avoid jeans that cause me to get one, but if (and this has happened to me) you find that buying jeans that fit in the waist make the hips awkward looking (what with the curve some manufacturers include there to accommodate the hips), it might be better to go for a size smaller, which fit your hips just okay and your waist just okay.

  18. Bea says:
    Sun, 13th Jul 20087:30 pm 

    Oh, and my point was that quite a few of us don't fit the uniform sizing categories that the clothing industry uses.

  19. Barfly says:
    Sun, 3rd Aug 20085:46 am 

    As a male… and there is no need to be mean here…

    there is nothing less atractive; add to that some of the women who walk around like that also have an inflated self-image; which only makes it worse… nothing less attractive; IMHO, than a person who refuses to acknowledge their own shortcomings…

    that goes for all species of the animal world… I mean; be honest, is there anything more infuriating than say a hooded lemur strutting around all "don't you wish your g/f was hot like me…"

    I can't tell you how many times I've seen it and it is still maddening… damn lemurs

  20. Carly says:
    Tue, 2nd Jun 20097:47 am 

    I think if people weren't so indenial about their weight/size, there wouldn't be such thing as the "Muffin Top Syndrome." People need to stop squeezing and start buying clothes that actually fit them. I am a 5'3", 115 lb girl. I wear a size 2, but even I know that some of my old jeans that are too tight will make me look enormous despite my petite size. Small jeans are great for motivation I guess, but in reality, it is better to have a pair that actually fit, not a pair that will take 5 weeks of exercise!

  21. S says:
    Tue, 9th Jun 200910:32 pm 

    these comments are ridiculous. as some people have pointed out about the sizes, “apple shaped” women store fat in the upper part which creates the muffin top. i’m not talking about extreme cases, but pants have to fit the legs first and foremost. i wouldn’t advise anyone to go size up because jeans stretch out over time. besides dieting/working out, there are other options such as high waist jeans or just a looser shirt if the muffin top is not that bad.

  22. L says:
    Wed, 8th Jul 200910:36 am 

    Umm, actually, people do see what size you are. The rude ones anyway. These college girls came to my house and picked a pair of my jeans out of my newly-folded-and-waiting-to-be-put-away pile and checked the tag. When she couldn't find it, she asked me where it was. I asked why she wanted to know, and she said she wanted to see what size I wore. I then told her and she replied with "You don't look fat. How come you wear a size -? I'd never have guessed. You don't look fat, but -s are for fatties." Ever since, I've cut the tags out of my jeans.

  23. Lolla says:
    Sat, 11th Sep 20101:06 am 

    I am a pear shaped girl, and you know what? I find jeans that fit both my legs and my waist. And I dont have muffin top.

    WOW, its not about hiding the muffin top, its about finding the right pair of pants.

    I had two friends in high school, one of them was really petite, with a great body, the other one was bigger. And the bigger one always borrowed clothes from the small one, imagine how that looked o.O

    Why can't people accept their size? I'm a size 12, and yes, that bothers me, but still, I won't wear smaller jeans to feel like size 10…ahh…

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