FWIW, there actually was a standard for women’s clothing. It’s just that everybody ignored it and it was eventually withdrawn. See here for more info; one of the pages has a link to the actual standard.
I just wish they would start carrying several styles all at once. It sucks for all of us when a whole body type is essentially excluded by whatever the latest fad is.
At the very least for me I wish we had more than one Tall Girl store in the city. Not the same store at a different location, but a different store with different clothes. I’m on a tall girl group on LJ and I hear about a bunch of different stores that are only in the US (I’m in Canada) that from their websites look like they carry stuff that would fit me. I’m leery of buying clothes online though, especially pants, because I really can’t afford to be returning lots of clothes if they don’t fit right.
Edited: Because I looked through our February weight loss thread and saw that Bites HAD already found us… :smack:
Clothing sizes exist for the sole purpose of making women angry and frustrated, for our amusement.
If you’ll excuse me, I gotta go enter the Witness Protection Program.
Were they t-shirts by any chance? If so, the one you thought was teddybear size was probably in the “baby doll” style. I bought one recently for my brother to give to his girlfriend, and I could tell from the look on his face that he thought I was insane to think it would fit - until I showed him the one I bought for myself and put it on. They look like they’re for little kids, but they fit.
What I like, but does add to the confusion, is that you now can frequently find long sleeve shirts in three cuts - modern, classic and relaxed. They differ in length and how fitted they are. But your size in each is different: a M in classic is like a S in relaxed. It’s nice to finally find some shirts that aren’t too long!
I sort of, kind of understand the appeal of vanity sizing, but why didn’t all makers do this once it became popular? Appealing to women’s egos probably sells more “size eights” than the same size “size tens” (or even “size twelves”) by another maker…
You know, I don’t actually feel that bad about being off-topic by talking about style instead of size (sorry, **olivesmarch4th, ** I can never seem to stick to talking about size–for me, it tends to lead inevitably into style, but I’ll scoot to another thread if you prefer) when the guys see fit to come in and start slavering and demanding cites.
because I know some of you will get huffy if I don’t make it clear that I mean it humorously.
What’s the name of the LJ group? Sounds like one that I’d like to join.
It’s called tallchicksrock. I like it, good group though it’s fairly slow.
Submitted my request to join. Thanks!
The basic difference is in the hips – Women’s sizes have more room in the hips than Misses’. The theory is a woman has given birth, so has had her hips spread out, while a miss has not. I have had 2 kids, I have no hips, I wear juniors’ sizes for that reason. Juniors’ and misses’ are the same.
The “M” is actually referring to the length, my guess. M for *medium * length – as opposed to “S” for short (which is still too long for me at 5’3" in most brands!) or “T” for tall.
Vanity sizing is a real problem nowdays. For example – my measurements currently are the same as they were in 1992, when I wore (in most brands) a 3/4, but I am a 0/00 now. Manufacturers make clothes a little larger (“we make clothes for a particluar body shape”) to promote brand loyalty. Think about it – if you are a vain woman who is self-concious about your weight, you buy a pair of jeans from, say Wet Seal and they are a little snug in a size 8, but then find out that you are really a size 4 at DKNY – where will you be spending your money?
Honestly, I could do a seriously vitriole-filled, hate-spewing, swear-word spattered pitting of clothing manufacturers, but it’s just not worth it. Buy what looks good on you, regardless of the size. It does help to go to websites and look up size charts to understand what size you will be. Of course, some brands are still somewhat true-to-form and size by waist measurement (such as Lucky brand jeans), but those are few and far bewteen.
*I find it interesting that the girl at Victoria’s Secret yesterday informed me that their bras “run small” considering one would assume that a 34 would be a 34 would be a 34. I could totally understand if the cup sizes ran small, but we were discussing the band sizes (32 anywhere else vs 34 there). WTF?
I’ve found that stretch is smaller than regular as well. Also, they fag out on me after a few days and almost look too big. I have to wash the stretch stuff about every third wearing to get it back to a good fit.
Anyhoo…it fucking kills me that I have to wear a size bigger in stretch, but I still tell people I’m my regular size. It’s the truth!
So, yeah, I went to Target yesterday, and apparently the way they size things has changed in the past six months, 'cause I haven’t gotten bigger and somehow I’m a size larger in tops. At least the “tunic” length that a lot of stuff has is actually enabling me to find long sleeved shirts that cover my torso instead of me getting a shirt that barely reaches my navel and then tries to crawl up my torso for the rest of the day’s wearing. Gah.
Any suggestions for places to shop that offer lots of room for boobage and shoulders and has long torso accomodation without making it look like I bought a dress that was four inches too short?
Part of me suspects the bullshit is designed to confuse, so women have to try stuff on. My conspiracy theory being that the longer they keep you in the store, the greater the likelihood that the sales staff can convince you to accessorize and buy more stuff.
My fiancee has pants that are labelled 3-4 and some others labelled 11-12, they fit her the same. She has complained that ten years ago she could pretty much just buy a 7, without trying them on, confident that they’d fit loosel-comfy. Nowadays she has to try on everything and has a pair of pants, size 4, she had to have tailored because they were about three sizes too big. She hates shopping and the lack of standardized sizes pisses her off. Most of her jeans are guy’s pants now, because she can buy them without trying them on.
That’s exactly what it is. Bastards!
Even mens sizes can be a bit odd. In pants I can wear anything from a 30 waist to a 34, with most 32’s fitting perfect. Except for the Macy’s store brand (Alfani) where the 34’s I just bought are a tad snug but not so much that I can’t wear them. I flat refuse to buy anything bigger so I’m just gonna have to lose a couple pounds.
I used to get annoyed with my husband over always having to try on his jeans. I always assumed that men’s sizes were better than women’s. I realised just how wrong I was when he took 3 pairs of jeans (1 Levi’s, 1 store brand and 1 Wrangler) all 36/32 into the dressing room and then modeled them for me. They definitely did not fit the same in the waist. Still, there does seem to be a LOT more sense to men’s sizes than women’s – a pair of jeans made for teenaged guys that are size 32 will be at least similar in size to those made for adult men. This is not the same for a size 4 Women’s and a size 3 Juniors, trust me.
Oh I know. I’ve got a couple female friends who I shop with (they hate to shop and I have excellent taste) so I’m more than familiar with the lunacy that is womens clothing sizing.
Yes, it’s odd.
I bought some pajamas for The Lovely and Talented Mrs. Shodan for Valentine’s Day. The bottoms were Medium, the top a Large. (Same brand.)
The top was too small, the bottom too large.
:sigh:
Regards,
Shodan (who meant well)
Oh, poor Shodan, never try to buy a woman clothing. Seriously, I won’t even buy my daughter clothing (and I know what size(s) she wears in pretty much every brand known to man!) because I know just how iffy clothing is. The only exception is if she points to an article of clothing and says “I have tried on that <article of clothing>, and I wear a <size> in it and I want you to buy it for me.” Trust me on this one.
Heh. Don’t feel too bad. I bought a pair of PJs right around Christmas - one of those sets tied up with ribbon to discourage you from trying them on. They were medium. I’m most always a medium. I got home and tried them on. They went back the next day. Why? Because the top was skin tight, but the pants probably would have fit me well if I gained 50 pounds. Clearly they weren’t designed to be worn by earthlings.