N.Z. women bigger?

Press, 12 January 1987, Page 6

N.Z. women bigger?

New Zealand women seem to be matching their British cousins for size. Calls to New Zealand underfashion retailers confirmed that women these days are generally buying bigger bras. "The Press” London correspondent reported that the average British woman now has a bust of 95cm. This compares with an average of 86cm (34in) of 10 years ago. . Figures on average bust size, or any other vital statistic, for men or women, appear to be unavailable in New Zealand. A spokeswoman for the National Health Statistics Centre in Wellington said that the centre had no such . statistics; and a Statistics Department spokeswoman said that it held only birthweight records. Clothing suppliers disagree as to whether average sizes have changed, one Christchurch uniform supplier saying that there had been a trend away from size 12 (86cm or

34in) to size 14 and 16. However, the most popular size for Adidas sportswear remained size 12, said Mrs Cherry Armitage, the publicity officer for the Lane Walker Rudkin Group. There had been a trend to larger sizes in some of LWR’s other lines, but that might be attributed to the fashion trend to roomier fittings, said Mrs Armitage. However, New Zealand women did appear to be larger than their European counterparts. “It’s all that jazzercise,” said one retailer. “Women are bigger all over today than they were 10 years ago.” Other retailers reported that they had noticed that some, particularly younger married women, were not taking pride in their appearance. The retailers emphasised that while slim did not necessarily mean beautiful, many women were, running to unnecessary fat The over-all weight in-

crease could be attributed to diet While not aware of any research, the dean of the Christchurch Clinical School, Professor Alan Clarke, said it was quite possibly because of increased nutritional standards. Whatever the reason, many women still felt they should look fashionable. One Christchurch plastic surgeon has noticed no changes in the last 10 years to the type of surgery requested by those seeking to conform to the image of the ideal woman. Quite what that image is seems to depend on the individual. Every year, according to the surgeon, half the requests for breast surgery are for reductions, half for increases. Fashion and images are not exclusively female concerns, however. The surgeon reports several male patients — most wanting less prominent ears and noses.