My wife is UK size 3 for shoes, doesn't seem to be much of a problem. Her 'collection' grows exponentially.
Clothes can sometimes be tricky as she generally tends to be between UK sizes 6 and 10
She has found she must always try them on first and often complains that the sizes vary too much.
Very often she does buy children's clothes and she's very happy with that. No VAT helps.
Small size is best when it comes to the time of Sales though