Carpe Diem blog: Your Pants are Lying to You: "Vanity Waist Sizing" (via Newsalert).
posted by Helen at 6:27 AM
Monday, September 13, 2010
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13 Comments:
That doesn't surprise me, to a degree. Though those are more metrosexual or at least urban outlets or brands. I do not have a friend who wears jeans, or anything else, from the Gap. I haven't even heard of H&M, CK, or Alfani. The Gap. Ha!
I have a problem shopping, that is getting consistent sizes. No matter how I order, the size is wrong the first and sometimes second time I order. But it is not always wrong in the direction indicated by the article. I order from man outlets, like Cabala's and Duluth Trader, which might make the difference. I just wish they would all go with the exact same and right size. I've gone from a 44 to a 38/40 and cannot seem to find a pair that fits! Still won't shop at the Gap though. Let me guess, they sell shredded jeans for more than good jeans? Ha!
That doesn't surprise me either. I had a recent conversation with a young lady who shops at upscale clothing stores. She and are the same height and she claimed she weighed 110 pounds. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. Then she claimed she wore a size 0. Now if most of my pants are a size 6 and I weigh 116 then being 6 pound less doesn't buy you a difference of 3 sizes (women's sizes differ by a factor of 2). What is different is that I shop in cheaper stores which tend to be more honest about sizes. But if the lady wants to think she is a skinny minny in a size 0 she can have that fantasy I guess. Who am I to take that away from her.
I never understood why someone would want to lie to himself (or herself). What to they get out of it? I generally dislike clothes shopping so I do it as little as possible. I know my sizes, look for them on the rack, and try them on. Sure, there's some variation between cuts but the waist/inseam sizes should be accurate. If suddenly the clothes on the rack suggested my waist was a couple inches smaller than normal and I know I have not lost any weight (sigh), I probably wouldn't buy their product. If they're willing to lie about that, then what else are they willing to lie about?
As for women's sizes, I've never understood them. What possible unit of measurement is a "size 6" anyway? Other than bra sizes, it seems women don't want to face the brutal truth of clothing sizes the way men do.
My recent experience validates the article.
A week ago I decided the old jeans were just too worn out. As I was checking the prices on Amazon, my wife announced she was taking me to Bloomingtons for their $9 Jeans sale.
The jeans on sale were mostly of the popular "distressed" variety -- more worn than what I was replacing. Also, pants marked in my size were far too large to actually wear.
We proceeded to JC Penney and bought Lee jeans that fit. The price was a little higher than Amazon, FWIW.
It is the new politically correct way.
Measure something twice. Apply fuzzy feel good logic. Then cut.
We saw it with the temperature, measurements in the global warming scandal. We see it in pants. We see it in the unemployment numbers, where things need to be massaged.
Give them an inch and they will take a mile. But they will tell us they have only taken an inch. And they will issue us, our new rulers and tell us to measure ourselves.
Baronger -
You think this is new? Nope. My daughter has complained for years about having to ignore sizes because they're completely trumped.
It's not new, it's not 'politically correct', it's women's egos.
Daughter's solution? Buy what she likes that almost fits and tailor it down. Learn to sew and you're ahead of the clothing game.
Years and years ago sizes actually used to be smaller than the recommended widths and lengths. Clothing manufacturers used to save money by shrinking the patterns a smidgen so they could use less fabric. Certain fabrics have gotten so cost competitive like cotton that now the amount of fabric used isn't much of an issue. It takes the same amount of labor to sew a garment so now the design houses have swung in the opposite direction and increased the width of many sizes so they can play head games with us all.
A college girlfriend told me about this years ago. She went shopping for a new supporter, and came back saying "they must have changed the sizing scales, I have not gone up a cup size (her old stuff still fit fine) but that's what fit me at the store." In the case of bras, it's almost shirley an ego massage.
I've known this for along time. I have good fitting 34" pants and tight 38" pants. Something isn't right. I don't care for teh self delusion. No one else is reading my trouser labels. I just want stuff that fits. I can't do mail order for clothes because I can't trust the sizing.
Prof. Hale and Doom:
For me, Land's End has always been good. L.L. Bean isn't bad either. Now, one has to like the style of clothes they purvey, which I personally do, but perhaps they aren't for everyone. I mean, I'm talking fit here.
I already noticed this, because as I've gotten slightly bigger (well, filled out a bit - I was always a bit skinny), my pants size has got smaller. In the last 10 years I've gained about 10lbs and gone from a 10 to as low as a 4 - yeah, makes perfect sense! My old self must be in the minus sizes, or the fat kids' section.
Land's End has always been good. L.L. Bean isn't bad either.
The men's stuff maybe OK, but the women's stuff looks like soccer mom wear. Totally asexual.
The urban fashion stores seem to be right on the money when it comes to sizes. Rainbow Shops and Rave do me right every time. No soccer moms anywhere, this would not be their milieu.
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