I'm a thin almost-50 yr. old woman who is tired of being ignored by clothing manufacturers. Today my mom and I went to Boscov's, a dept. store. She wanted to buy a package of underwear. Easy, right? Well, out of four different kinds, there were none in a Size 5. Nothing. She wanted new ones because the last few she bought were a Size 6; there were no Size 5s available at that time, and they were too large on her. I also wear Size 5 and am now really p*ssed off that now buying underwear will be a problem for me.
Most stores don't carry any pants/shorts smaller than a 4, IF they have any 4s at all. And most times, the 4s are too large. I dress in a classic conservative style and will not wear jr. pants that sit below my hips (well, I'm boy-shaped and have no hips to hold pants up). I'm not smaller than I was 20+ years ago because I found a pair of jeans I bought when I was 20 and they fit me perfectly now.
Oh poor you, I hear you say. Too thin. Well, what do you do when the smallest size is falling off of you? The pants I'm currently wearing are usually belted up with lumps from the excess fabric. Most times taking them in doesn't work because of the back pockets. I recently spent $59 on a pair of LL Bean jeans because they actually came in a Size 2 and fit!!! I've emailed them asking them to carry more pants in Size 2. I'm also too tall to wear Petites.
I have lost about 15 lbs. since cutting down my carbs and sugar and I'm not sickly thin, although wearing baggy pants makes me look unhealthy. My small frame just doesn't have any excess fat now, and no more bloated tummy. Thank goodness riding pants are still sized by waist measurements or I'd be really livid.
It seems that clothing is being made for what is now the "average sized woman". Today's Size 2 is 1980's Size 6.