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Back in the not-so-distant past, every girl wanted to be Bridget Bardot or Marilyn Monroe with a figure measuring 36 - 24 - 36. These were the supposed "ideal" measurements, the perfect hourglass. Now we aspire to the rakish figures of anorexic models.....well, breathe a sigh of relief.....it`s now officially unrealistic and impossible for most of us.

The USA and the UK have recently completed National Sizing Surveys which show that adult body shapes have changed significantly in the last 50 years.

Yet most clothing manufacturers persist in offering us clothes to fit the woman of the 1950`s. No wonder it`s so hard to find anything that fits. We all feel like freaks when we`re actually normal.

Until now, there has been little or no research or analysis of body shapes and sizes resulting in the fitting anomalies frequently encountered by frustrated and confused consumers who find it common to fit into a size 10 in one brand and a 14 in another.

One of the reasons for these variations has been the growing practice of "vanity sizing" - upsizing the garment to make it appear that a woman fits into a size smaller than she actually is. It`s a desperate measure - the blind leading the blind - garments made with 1950`s outdated measurements, even upsized, don`t fit any woman in 2005.

The US study [TC]2 devised 3D scanners to extract 130 body measurements from 10,000 subjects. The UK study (SizeUK) used the same equipment to measure 11,000 adults. They found that since 1952, the average women`s waist measurement has increased 6 inches (15cm), and height by 1.5 inches (5cm).

Comparison of the studies showed that overall, UK women are taller, lighter and smaller in girth (around) than their US counterparts, but all had increased significantly.

Australian women were not included in the studies. In fact they haven`t been measured since 1940! The current standard sizes are based on data collected between 1920 and 1940.,/p>

At Sue Rice Swimwear, we did our own research based on the thousands of women crossing our store threshold every year. We noticed that the 36 - 24 - 36 woman was non existent (a hybrid of size 10 and 12) and that the best selling size was 14 (US 12). Women`s bodies have changed in the last 2 decades from 12 - 14 (US 10-12) in the 80`s, to now to include 16 (US 14).

Furthermore, in the 80`s we encountered many size 8 (US 6) women, but now we don`t even offer them, starting our range at size 10 (US 8).

Our own mini survey reflects the US and UK findings - that the experiences of our clients and their expectations and perceptions varies considerably. When we developed our online store, we couldn`t physically assist our clients to try on swimsuits. We didn`t want to add to their frustrations so we devised the "Sue Rice Size" to allow women to measure themselves, in the comfort of their own homes, anywhere in the world and be confident that the swimsuit they order from us is likely to fit.

Over 2 years we measured hundreds of clients and matched this data with the swimsuits they each bought. We therefore knew which figure-types fitted which swimsuit shapes. You can use our unique Size Analysis Calculator now. To date it has been very successful; a way to take the confusion out of purchasing a swimsuit on-line.

At Sue Rice, you can shop for a swimsuit with some measure of certainty.

Happy Shopping!

About the Author Sue Rice has been a designer and retailer of beautiful womens bathing suits and swimsuits for over 20 years.

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Article by Sue Rice of www.suerice.com.au - Sue Rice Swimwear Australia - source of Beautiful womens bathing suits and swimsuits.