Body Scanner Finds Perfect Clothing Size

May 17, 2011— -- Shopping can turn into an anxiety-fueled excursion when women find they are a size 4 in one store but a size 10 in another. It's called "vanity sizing," and stores do it all the time, but a new scanning device may be the answer for finding the perfect clothing size.

"Manufacturers or retailers take what should be a 6 and call it a 4 to make women feel a little bit better about themselves," said Stephanie Clifford, a retail industry reporter for the New York Times. "It's just led to so much confusion...but it's not us. It's the clothes."

My-Best-Fit is a machine with a walk-in chamber that scans the shopper's body and takes 200,000 different measurements of her shape.

After the scan is complete, the machine then spits out a receipt of what size and style clothing would best fit the shopper at certain stores.

"[Size 0] was introduced in the '90s," Clifford said. "Back in the '20s, the minimum size was around 16."

While Marilyn Monroe famously said she was a size 12, in today's fashion world, she would probably be a size 2. Experts say that shrinking clothing sizes can manipulate the way we view ourselves.

"There is no question that for some who are vulnerable to difficulties regarding body image," said Dr. Evelyn Attia, the director of the Columbia Center for Eating Disorders at Columbia University Medical Center. "The size matters. Numbers matter. Numbers on the scale matter. Numbers on the back of clothing tags matter."

Would you trust the My-Best-Fit scanner to find your size? Vote in our poll below to tell us what you think.