aliceBB Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Your what's supposed to? you fall for it every time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 you fall for it every time Autumn, not Fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah-Lacie Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 This is true of women's dress sizes, where there has never been an official standard; a size 12 dress is the size that the maker decides it will be. Shoe sizes should not have changed, since they're measured in barleycorns (3 barleycorns = 1 inch) and that has not changed. Indeed, it is known in ladies clothing as 'vanity sizing'. The theory is if someone has to buy clothes in a size 16, they won't buy them, so they call it a 12, to make them feel slim. You notice it a lot when it comes to buying wedding dresses, which have never changed in size, and a size 14 wedding dress has about the same measurements as a size 10 dress bought on the high street. My blokes a size 7 by the way, hes only 5ft 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceBB Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Shoe sizes should not have changed, since they're measured in barleycorns (3 barleycorns = 1 inch) and that has not changed. How does that work then because I'm a size 6 but my feet don't measure two inches (= 6 barleycorns) or 6 inches, or six of anything obvious? In european sizes I'm 39 but that would mean my feet are 13" long which they aren't, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppet2 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Autumn, not Fall. The exceptions are clowns, who always rush in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 How does that work then because I'm a size 6 but my feet don't measure two inches (= 6 barleycorns) or 6 inches That's a good point actually, the base line might have changed. The difference between a size 3 and a size 6 is three barleycorns (1 inch). I don't know what length a "size zero" foot should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 That's just a hypothesis, though. You would need consistently reliable and accurate information to test out whether shoe size had also increased (assuming you could prove height has). Are you kidding me? Average heights have absolutely shot up in the developed world in the last century, I thought everyone knew that. "As standards of living and nutrition have improved, the average Briton has got taller at the rate of three-quarters of an inch each generation. The official Health of the Nation figures show that 30% of men aged under 25 are now over six feet tall. If the current trend continues, the average British man's height will be 6ft within a couple of generations and the average woman will be nudging 5ft 7in." Source I actually investigated the relationship between fathers and son's heights as part of my uni work not so long ago so I do actually have some relevant figures at hand. These data are actually from the 1890s, which is just at the start of this period of huge change. Collected by Robert Pearson of University College London, and the sample size was 1078 pairs of fathers and sons. On average, the sons were taller than their fathers by about 1 whole inch, and that was only one generation! Also of note, is that the average height at the time was about 5 feet 5 inches (for men), in this day and age, that is pretty short. And of course size of feet is correlated with height, apparently it is more closely related with the length of other limbs, but obviously people with longer arms and legs tend to be taller anyway. Here, have some sauce for that too. Average heights have increased significantly in the last century, foot size is fairly strongly related to height, therefore foot size has almost certainly increased as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 The exceptions are clowns, who always rush in. ...where angels fear to tread [see, back to feet again!] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppet2 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 ...where angels fear to tread [see, back to feet again!] Is it your sole purpose to always tow the line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 No, but I like to be in step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.