Went shopping with my closest friend and she kept pushing me toward smaller sizes but I still reached for the XL and L every time. Honestly I was probably always an L my whole life, but anything remotely snug feels unbearable so I always sized up, especially worried about shrinkage in the wash. Kind of sad looking back, buying bigger clothes felt like shrinking myself down mentally, when really I was just hiding. Plenty of larger women out there own their outfits confidently, I just never let myself do the same.