Pretty much everyone has felt frustrated by clothes at some point. You see a beautiful piece in the store, grab it in your usual size, attempt to try it on, and it doesn’t go past your thighs. Like, how does that even happen? This horrifying experience happened to me pretty recently. All I wanted were some on-trend culottes. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently, it was. I took a few to the changing room, and only managed to be disappointed. I got one leg in my typical US size 14, and the 16 still pinched. Considering the 16 was the biggest size they had, those pants did not come home with me.

Crazy part is, I purchased a size 12 shirt in the same store that day. You can be a different size in different parts of your body, but that seems a bit absurd.

As a curvy girl, I know how frustrating a changing room can be. We often wind up more focused on the number in the clothes rather than the piece. How many of us have said, “I don’t want it,” when it comes to clothes when what we really mean is, “I don’t want it in that size.”

The reality is, we cannot be defined by a number on a tag. If the stores can’t put you in a number, why should you relegate yourself to one? Ditch what society says – forget the size. Buy what fits and what makes you happy.