Maria Fowler is sending an important reminder to women who feel "deflated" when out shopping if jeans in their usual size don't fit.
The former TOWIE star, 34, took to Instagram to reveal how much clothing sizing differs depending on where you shop.
She shared a video of herself trying on a pair of size 12 jeans in the changing rooms of four different high street retailers like Zara and New Look to compare the sizing.
"I’ve come in to try size 12 jeans in different shops," she explained. "I want to see how they really fit, no matter what dress size you are.
"You might wonder why one minute everything fits, and two months later you can’t even zip those jeans up."
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The first pair of jeans that Maria tried on was from H&M - a pair of skinny high waist denim.
"These are H&M," she said. "I’m a UK 12.
"I’ve had two children and they just don’t fit. I want to show you that on the high street, if you’re feeling deflated in a changing room, it’s not you - it’s them."
Next up was a pair from Zara, which Maria could barely zip up.
But when she tried on a pair of size 12 jeans from Next, they fit easily - with a lot of room to spare.
And the same with her choice from New Look - she was able to button them up with ease.
"I can now laugh it off, but for so many women, it’s not that easy," she sighed.
"I hope this video makes you remember - size is just a number. We need to ignore the sizes that are on these labels. Because these companies are not consistent.
"We need to tell our daughters, our friends, our mums, our sisters - that our value is not based on the size of our clothes.
"So next time you go shopping and you can’t work out why the jeans don’t fit just remember it’s not you - it’s them."
In the caption to the Instagram video, Maria explained that she "used to not buy clothes in the size up."
"I used to feel embarrassed, ashamed, insecure. And now thanks to the power of the internet, I realise this is a massive thing that so many women are noticing and flagging."
"I hope highlighting this reminds you that if you can’t fit in those jeans or that dress, please size up and please don’t feel upset doing so."
Fans rush to praise her message in the comments, as one person said: "Love this! I always come out of Zara feeling a fat frump and want t go home and be nil by mouth, so at least this video shows that the sizes are all different."
Another wrote: "This is the best thing I've seen today."
A third commented: "I love this! So true, I hate sizing up but I'm slowly becoming more comfortable doing so... hopefully, I'll get there one day."
Someone else said: "Thank you for sharing this, it makes me feel normal."
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