course, this is cheating, but the manufacturers actually and rampantly do this. I think the reason is that the gals who are so darned size-conscious are also the doddering old ones who have more money than brains, but this is a personal opinion.

Suffice it to say that garments are quite often mislabelled according to size, and should be bought with full return privileges and always from a reputable firm. Beware, also, when buying a two- or three-piece outfit, that the bottoms aren't a different size from the tops: I bought a lovely suit on sale once in my correct size and discovered to my dismay (sale goods are usually not returnable) that the skirt was five sizes smaller than the jacket! Someone probably swapped sizes at the store! This taught me a lesson: I always carry a tape measure with me when I buy (since I can't try on the things) and I carefully measure the waist, shoulders, etc.

But measurement (C), the waist, should help our sister determine more closely whether she is the 16 or 18 mentioned above. If she has a natural 29" waist, then the 16 would fit fine, and an 18 would be too loose. But if she is a bit tubby around the middle and has a 30" or 31" waist then she is almost certain to have to wear the size 18. The recom- mendation here is to have the bustline of the size which will result in a waist as close to your natural waist as possible. This does not contradict the statement above that the shoulders are the most important measure- ment, and where any outfit should fit first and foremost. For, in compar- ing the size ranges, dresses with the same bustline and waistline meas- urements would have wider shoulders in women's sizes than in misses sizes; while tall sizes would have the widest shoulders of the three size ranges. This is one reason the tall thin GG with narrow shoulders has a very difficult time finding ready-made clothes that fit.

Finally, measurement (D) determines how much padding (unless you're lucky and don't need any) you will have to add in order to bring the bottom in proportion to the top! Again, our hypothetical TV above with 38 A bra, wearing a size 18 dress, would need a hipline of about 41" for the best proportions. Chances are her brother with his 30" waist would have 37-38" hips and would thus have to add sufficient padding to achieve the 41" hipline.

To sum up the technique: measure your brother's normal measure- ments, decide on your bra cup size bearing in mind the waist measure- ment, and then determine the needed hipline padding. Relate all these to your height and the range of sizes for each type dress size classification.

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