Young woman's rant over 'skimpy' sizing of Primark clothes prompts sympathy from females all over Milton Keynes

MK woman writes to Primark over 'utter heartbreak' of not finding anything to fit her
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Primark customer Kayla Neal has caused a social media storm by complaining about the sizing of women's clothes in Primark.

Kayla, who has a young daughter, describes herself as a 'bigger' woman who typical wears size 16 to 18 clothes.

In an open letter to Primark bosses, published on The Banter Mums local Facebook page, she posted a series of photos of herself in a pair of large size jogging bottoms she had to buy in the men's section because there were no bigger sizes in the women's department.

Kayla was not happy with the 'large' jogging bottomsKayla was not happy with the 'large' jogging bottoms
Kayla was not happy with the 'large' jogging bottoms

But the joggers turned out to be a far from roomy fit.

"I actually look like I’m a wanna be skater boy with unintentional skinny jeans," she wrote.

"My lady garden was suffocated, I had my ankles on full display - which is no good when I want to be not catching a breeze - and I could barely bend in what is supposed to be comfy clothing."

She told Primark bosses: "I am writing to let you know my utter heartbreak. As a loyal customer for many years I have to unfortunately now contact you regarding your products.

They were not a flattering fitThey were not a flattering fit
They were not a flattering fit

"I hereby ask you to revaluate your sizing as us women of the larger nature already struggle with many things in life and shopping is the most traumatic. I would like to return to the store for a more pleasurable experience and furthermore not be traumatised from shopping again."

Kayla claims there is a general lack of larger sizes available for curvy ladies in Primark.

"As a 'bigger' women in a typical 16-18 clothing, I now see there is no such thing amongst your stores," she wrote.

"This makes me feel very uncomfortable. It means I would need to lay of the cakes or be a 18-20 and keep eating the cakes. This is to much for my mentality to handle.

Kayla tries out the jogging bottoms for sizeKayla tries out the jogging bottoms for size
Kayla tries out the jogging bottoms for size

"Not only is the sizing selection awful, but shopping is stressful and I have found myself once again spending my money on clothing I didn’t need because it’s all I could find .

"As you can imagine, this leads me to comfort eat due to the stress," she concluded.

Kayla told the Citizen she penned the letter to Primark in despair. She has now received a reply thanking her for her feedback and saying her comments have been passed on to the buying department.

"I wanted to make people feel a bit better that it’s not them that is the issue - it's the clothes," she told the Citizen.

Kayla found it hard to move in the joggersKayla found it hard to move in the joggers
Kayla found it hard to move in the joggers

"I have spoke to a lot of women who have eating disorders and been completely thrown back that the clothes sizing is so off. It can be triggering for a disorder.

"There is clearly an issue going on and it may be great to help awareness and ease people’s insecurities."

Dozens of women on social media have posted in agreement with Kayla's complaint.

One wrote: "I rarely find anything that fits. I found a top I really liked the other day and asked if they had a XL, only to be told they only usually get one or two of that size in each item - so of course they go very quickly. I only buy clothes in the men's section nowadays."

Another said: "Oh, this has driven me mad! I always wear a size 8 in jeans and Primark sizing was fine pre-lockdown for me. Post-lockdown, I'm buying size 8 jeans and I cannot even get them over my calves!"

She added: "Now it would be easy to assume that I have perhaps eaten more on lockdown, but the scales say otherwise. I am the same weight. In fact the size 10 ones from there were tight last week and really unflattering. What is going on?"

A third customer wrote: "I think they should go up a couple if sizes. I mean, I'm a 20 - yes, I'm fat - but their 20 is more like a 16, to be honest. Not to mention I find it so hard to find the 20 sizes in stock. Though I really like their clothes, they should do a section in the store for bigger people. We aren't all skinny."

One size 18 shopper said she had problems with Primark's size 20 tops "clinging" to her spare tyre, while another mum described how her size 8 daughter had to get a pair of size 12 jeans to fit from the store.

"Primark sizes have gone crazy," she said.

The Citizen put some questions into Primark bosses about their sizing system. A spokesman said the company had NOT changed its sizing since lockdown.

He said: “We are proud to offer a diverse range of sizing across our collections. In womenswear, our sizes range from UK 4 to UK 22, while in menswear sizes range from XS to XXXL."

He added: "We want to offer something for everyone, and we will continue to challenge ourselves on choice for our customers to ensure our ranges serve our diverse customer base. We welcome customer feedback and always encourage customers to get in touch with us if they have any concerns.”

Primark sizing charts can be viewed here.

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