The public’s average ‘ideal’ dress size is 12 – but while many say there is no such thing, the younger generations’ ideal is lower than their elders’

Debenhams recently became the first UK department store to display size 16 mannequins, in an effort to break away from the standard size 10 models said to cause women anguish and 'better represent real women's bodies'. It is a long-standing political issue, with the ‘size zero’ debate casting a dark shadow on the fashion world. Beyond the reams of newspaper articles, however, public sentiment is hard to gauge.

New research conducted by YouGov pins the ‘ideal’ British dress size down, and looks at differing perceptions of the perfect body image.

29% say there is no ideal dress size, however the majority (62%) do have a perfect size; the average is 12. The average male chooses 12 while women choose 13.

The actual average dress size in the UK is now 16, and both men and women estimate this closely – on average they say 15.

The younger generation are more likely to have a lower ideal dress size than their elders.

18-24 and 25-39 year olds choose 11 compared to 40-59 year olds saying 13 and those over 60 saying 14.

Reportedly 45% of British women are dress size 16 or more, while the average female waist has grown seven inches since 1951.

Image: Getty

See the full poll results