The feeling of being able to wear junior’s clothes is not a feeling I am unfamiliar with. It seems like at my age I should still be going for jeans in size 11, but a las, being in between sizes, an 11 is too small and a 13 doesn’t quite fit either. Yet I find size 12 to 14 in women’s sizes does the trick for me. You are probably wondering what is the difference between women’s sizes and juniors sizes. Well it is a lot like the difference between regular retail stores and plus size clothing stores. In the world of fashion sizing, it goes petites, junior clothes, women’s clothes and plus size clothes in terms of dimension. There is a way to get a rough conversion of your juniors size apparel to women’s, but it really depends on the store you purchase the clothes from.”Misses sizes” is also a fashion term floating around, but I have never heard it used in the real world.

The stigma of wearing women’s clothes is people associate that combination of words with “frumpy” and “matronly.” But it is not true, it is something we tell ourselves to scare us away. Plus, style isn’t measured by dress size. You set your own style and a number doesn’t dictate what you wear, right?

Don’t let a number dictate your style!

In regard to having a curvy body, women’s sizes are ideal. They are designed to accommodate your hips and thighs, post puberty. Junior’s clothes vary in size and the dimensions are slightly more narrow than women’s sizes. Being a curvy fashionista between plus size and regular sizes, finding clothes that will give my hips and thighs a little give is crucial when shopping.

The easiest way to know if you are looking at a garment that is a junior’s size is at the number. Junior sizes, numerically, go: 1,3,5,7,9,11 and 13. To know if you are looking at a piece of clothing that is in women’s sizes it is: 0,2,4,6,8,10,12 and 14.

The Benefits of Wearing Women’s Sizes:

1. More room for your hips, butt and thighs. Depending on the brand, women’s sizes give more room for women with larger hips, buns and thighs to fit. It does work with proportion so just because you chose a grown up size doesn’t mean the thigh area will be saggy. 
2. More room for a busty girl to breathe. Shirts in women’s sizes (even numbers) offer women additional area in the chest region so your boobs don’t turn into a uniboob. Button ups don’t have to stretch around your breasts in order to keep them contained like in a t-shirt. Hence, women sized shirts will allow busty women the ability to opt for a regular store’s shirt and not pay extra at a plus size if you are in between stores.
3. Mature washes and style. Too many times do I see 45 year old women in their daughter’s jeans. Just because it can be buttoned, doesn’t mean you should wear it. Women’s sizes offer age-appropriate washes and styles so you have less of a chance for being stared at for the bejeweled butterfly on your butt pocket.
4. Options for different heights in rises. Having options for your rise is great when looking to tailor a look for your pants or denim. If you have a bigger ass like I do, than a higher rise is necessary to cover ghastly butt crack exposure. Many junior size pants only come in the standard number sizes and with it being built for a pre pubescent female body, it could result in unwanted butt crack exposure.

These are just a few benefits that choosing women’s sizes over juniors can have on a curvy, in between plus size and regular store, body. Transitioning out of juniors and into women’s is a bit scary. The feeling is a lot like taking your first steps into a plus size store. But don’t get bogged down by labels or numbers, you want to look the best that you can look right?

I have experienced wearing, trying on, purchasing and remaking both juniors and women’s sizes to suit my style. Like I say in most of my posts, fashion and style is all your own. Don’t follow rules because there is always exceptions. If you find that a junior’s pair of denim in a 9 fits better than a women’s 10 or 8, go for it.