The Psychological Cost of Sizing Inconsistencies: How Consumers React to Larger-than-Expected Clothing Sizes

Vanity sizing — the practice of labeling garments with smaller-than-actual sizes to appeal to consumers’ self-image — has been shown to generate positive evaluations of clothing and boost consumers’ mood (Aydinoglu & Krishna, 2012). However, new research by Hoegg, Scott, Morales, and Dahl (2014) highlights the lesser-known consequences of this practice: how consumers react when they encounter clothing sizes that are larger than expected.

Negative Self-Perception and Clothing Evaluation

Across five experimental studies, the authors demonstrate that when consumers are confronted with a clothing size larger than they anticipated, their appearance self-esteem — how positively they view their physical appearance — suffers. This decline in self-esteem subsequently leads to more negative evaluations of the clothing itself, even when objective garment quality remains unchanged. As Hoegg et al. (2014) note, “requiring a larger size in clothing reduces appearance self-esteem, which negatively impacts attitudes toward the clothing” (p. 3).

Compensatory Consumption as a Coping Mechanism

Surprisingly, this drop in self-esteem does not necessarily lower purchase intent. Instead, many consumers engage in what the researchers term compensatory consumption — purchasing other items that help restore self-worth. These are typically appearance-enhancing but non-sized products, such as cosmetics or accessories. This effect appears to be domain-specific: restoring self-esteem in appearance-related areas is more effective than affirming unrelated traits like intelligence (Hoegg et al., 2014).

Implications for Retail and Consumer Behavior

This research reveals a complex psychological dynamic behind clothing sizes. While smaller labels can flatter and encourage purchases, inconsistencies in sizing across brands may trigger unexpected threats to self-image. Paradoxically, this can result in more spending, not less, as consumers attempt to regulate their mood and self-perception through additional purchases.

As the authors conclude, “shopping can serve to build, strengthen, threaten, and/or repair appearance self-esteem” (Hoegg et al., 2014, p. 9). The findings suggest that retailers should be mindful not only of how sizes influence fit, but also of how they shape emotional and behavioral responses during the shopping experience.

Reference:

Hoegg, J., Scott, M. L., Morales, A. C., & Dahl, D. W. (2014). The flip side of vanity sizing: How consumers respond to and compensate for larger than expected clothing sizes. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(1), 70–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2013.07.003