bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

When Allison Weiss Brady and Michael Ladin emerged from weeks of locking down during the pandemic, they needed new clothes in new sizes – for different reasons.
Brady, 49, a charity fundraiser from a Philadelphia suburb in the US state of Pennsylvania, had been pulling back on her confectionery buying sprees during the lockdown and stepped up the cardio workouts at her home gym out of boredom. She lost 20 pounds (9kg) and went down two sizes.
In contrast, Ladin, 58, of Oak Park, Illinois, gained 10 pounds this past spring after sitting around eating crisps and dip.
“I’m not surprised. If I don’t work out consistently, I gain weight,” said Ladin, who works in marketing.

Many Americans like Ladin and Brady are changing clothing sizes depending on how they spent their time sheltering at home.
Brands from Levi Strauss & Co to lingerie label Cosabella are taking note – so are body measuring technology companies, which report that shoppers are changing their measurements on their online profiles.
Plus-size fashion influencer on her ‘colourful, bold and feminine’ style
The trend could be good for clothing companies – new sizes likely mean that customers’ wardrobes need to be updated. But retailers, already feeling the pain of decreased spending during uncertain economic times, are also facing an increase in costly returns as shoppers try to figure out their new sizes.
“Anecdotally, we’re seeing shoppers come back into stores unsure of their size,” said Marc Rosen, executive vice-president and president of Levi Strauss Americas, in a statement. “For most, it’s been a long time since they’ve tried on a pair of jeans, and they may be up or down a size.”
Some companies are even adding larger sizes in response to shoppers’ gaining weight, sometimes dubbed “Covid-15” in reference to the pounds gain of people stuck at home.

Guido Campello, co-CEO of luxury lingerie brands Cosabella and Journelle, said they have been adding more generous cuts of some of their most popular styles in bras and sleepwear in recent weeks because of interest from their 2,100 store account holders. Loyal customers are also requesting new sizes while making more exchanges.
Size fluctuations are bearing out in data from body measuring app Perfitly. It cites a 20 per cent increase in users redoing their avatars in April and May, compared with the same period a year ago, according to the company’s co-founder and CEO Dave Sharma. That spike is similar to what it sees in January after the winter holidays, he says.
“Because it is a huge spike, we think it is because of the weight gain,” said Sharma, whose app has about 50,000 users nationwide. “They are sitting around, they don’t go to the gym, and they don’t go for jogs.”

Fit Match, a start-up firm that’s rolling out 3D technology to scan customers’ bodies at shopping centres, found only one-third of the 100 women it surveyed in Texas, where it piloted its first programme, had no weight change during the lockdown, says founder and CEO Haniff Brown. Of the remainder, 15 per cent gained more than five pounds, while 20 per cent lost more than five pounds.
Brown called this change “pronounced”, noting two-thirds of customers typically don’t have any weight change during such a short time period.
Narvar, a software company that powers returns for more than 200 brands, says online returns have doubled from mid-March to early June, according to founder and CEO Amit Sharma. Retailers face more than US$800 million in expenses from the additional returns in the second quarter, in part because of sizing issues but also because of buyers’ remorse and shipping delays.

Having lost weight, Brady took advantage of sales and spent several thousand dollars in recent weeks on a new wardrobe that included T-shirts, summer dresses and designer sweatshirts. She also sent her new measurements to her personal shoppers at Neiman Marcus and Saks.
“I feel great. My [old] clothes are huge,” said Brady, who hadn’t modelled in years but was recently hired by a local agency.
Weight fluctuations may be here to stay as surges in new cases around the US force states like California to re-close businesses like gyms and encourage shoppers to shelter at home again.
Lauren Wire, a 32-year-old publicist who lives in Manhattan, says she worries that another lockdown could keep her gym closed during the winter months.
She gained back 12 of the 50 pounds she lost leading up to the pandemic because she was ordering in a lot from restaurants and partaking in socially distanced cocktail hours with friends. She says she bought new shorts and swimwear when she gained the weight but now she’s starting to shed pounds again by biking outside.

Ladin went to a local Kohl’s, a US department store, to buy several pairs of shorts.
“This will be enough to get me through the summer,” he said, trying on his new clothes in the Kohl’s car park because the store’s fitting room was temporarily closed out of safety concerns. “I am not buying any more clothes until I lose weight.”


TikTok Shop is outperforming Shein and Sephora among US shoppers online

Isak Andic, founder of Spain’s Mango fashion chain, dies after falling in ravine: reports

With Matthieu Blazy, a Raf Simons acolyte, as artistic director Chanel looks to the future

Chanel names Bottega Veneta’s Matthieu Blazy artistic director; John Galliano’s goodbye

Fashion

Did your waistline shrink or expand in pandemic lockdown? Fashion brands add larger sizes

Plus-size T-shirt and denim pants from Levi's.

A plus-size look from Levi's

Lauren Wire, a 32-year-old publicist who lives in Manhattan, poses for a portrait before a fitness class Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in New York. Many Americans are changing clothing sizes depending on how they spent their time sheltering at home. Wire gained back 12 of the 50 pounds she lost leading up to the pandemic because she was ordering in a lot from restaurants and partaking in social distance cocktails with friends. She says she bought new shorts and swimwear when she gained the weight but now she's starting to shed pounds again by biking outside. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Plus-size sleepwear from Cosabella

Plus-size lingerie from Cosabella

Lauren Wire has gained back 12 of the 50 pounds she lost leading up to the pandemic. Many people are changing clothing sizes depending on how they spent their time sheltering at home. Photo: AP

Is Lane Crawford better placed than other department stores to survive the pandemic?

Lane Crawford in Times Square, Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock

The facade of Lane Crawford in Chengdu, China

HONG KONG - DECEMBER 08:  (L-R) Tasha Liu, Co-Founder of Dong Liang, Designer Huishan Zhang and Andrew Keith, President of Lane Crawford and Joyce Group attend "The Business of Fashion Announces VOICES, BoF's Annual Gathering For Big Thinkers" event on December 8, 2015 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong.  (Photo by Keith Tsuji/Getty Images)

Young designers presenting their work at Lane Crawford's Global Creative Callout in Hong Kong

Fiona Lau & Kain Picken, founders of Ffixxed Studios, past winner of Lane Crawford's Global Creative Callout

Andrew Keith, president of Lane Crawford and Joyce

A young fashion designer presents her work at Lane Crawford's Global Creative Callout in Hong Kong, a chance for their creations to be stocked by the department store. Young Chinese designers represent the future of fashion, says its president, Andrew Keith.

Elderly Taiwanese couple become Instagram sensation modelling clothes left behind at their laundry

A Taiwanese couple in their eighties are enjoying Internet fame after images of them modelling clothes left behind by customers at the launderette they own went viral. Pjhoto: Instagram

A Taiwanese couple in their eighties are enjoying Internet fame after images of them modelling clothes left behind by customers at the laundry they own went viral.

Taiwanese laundry owner in clothes left in the laundry he runs

A Taiwanese couple in their 80s are enjoying internet fame after images of them modelling clothes left behind by customers at the laundry they own went viral. Photo: Instagram

Fat-fighter Boris Johnson declares war on obesity in UK

Boris Johnson drinks a beer in 2016. He proclaimed that he was now ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’ after a recent bout of Covid-19. File photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: People eat chips whilst walking along the promenade at the British holiday resort of Scarborough, England July 16, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Pizza Pilgrims in West India Quay, in London, Britian June 26, 2020. Heathcliff O'Malley/Pool via REUTERS

Asia worst for cholesterol amid diet and lifestyle changes – what you can do to lower yours

An overweight woman exercises at a weight loss clinic in Changchun, Jilin province, China. A new study has revealed that cholesterol levels are on the rise in Asia, but a healthy diet and exercise can still combat it. Photo: AFP

Handout image shows Jeff Saunders, a Texan-native at River Sichuan restaurant in Hong Kong for meat-free dishes with his family in July 2020. In 2012, high cholesterol prompted Jeff Saunders to go vegetarian.[18JULY2020 FEATURES HEALTH] CREDIT: Jeff Saunders

Cholesterol in artery, health risk CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

Close up of a generic statin tablet on a blister pack.CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

Handout image shows Jeff Saunders, a Texan-native tucking into a vegetarian feast at a Sai Ying Pun restaurant with his wife Jane and their daughter Anya in Hong Kong in July 2020.  In 2012, high cholesterol prompted Jeff Saunders to go vegetarian. Anya also became a vegetarian a few years ago[18JULY2020 FEATURES HEALTH] CREDIT: Jeff Saunders

School children waiting outside a fast food bar at Aldgate on 26th November 2019 in London, England, United Kingdom. Eating fast food has been linked to obesity, high cholesterol, and depression. Many fast foods tend to be high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and calories. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)CREDIT: Getty Images

Handout image of Dr Michael Chan Pak-hei, an honorary consultant in cardiology at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong. A study on global cholesterol levels, led by Imperial College London, uncovered a surprising development: while levels in Western nations have dropped sharply, Asia is now the epicentre of cholesterol dangers. [18JULY2020 FEATURES HEALTH]

Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty


People are changing sizes because of their exercise habits and food choices during the global lockdowns, and clothing brands are taking note
Online returns of clothing purchases in the US doubled from mid-March to early June, and some companies are adding larger sizes to their collections



With the coronavirus pandemic throwing lives – and waistlines – into flux, fashion brands are adding bigger sizes and more generous cuts, and dealing with more exchanges.


Did your waistline shrink or expand in pandemic lockdown? Fashion brands add larger sizes

People are changing sizes because of their exercise habits and food choices during the global lockdowns, and clothing brands are taking note Online returns of clothing purchases in the US doubled from mid-March to early June, and some companies are adding larger sizes to their collections

People are changing sizes because of their exercise habits and food choices during the global lockdowns, and clothing brands are taking note

Online returns of clothing purchases in the US doubled from mid-March to early June, and some companies are adding larger sizes to their collections