I think many, if not most, women will agree that sizing of women’s clothing is a joke. There is no standard, and vanity sizing adds to the insanity. Anyone who says “I’m a size 8” without specifying which manufacturer might just as well say “I’m a size philodendron.” Men’s clothing seems to be sized more logically, with waist/inseam/neck/sleeve length, but is it accurate and consistent? I don’t wear the stuff, so I don’t know.
Completely disregarding the tag, whether it’s a number or a letter or a combination, what determines if a garment fits you? Do you prefer snug or loose? Clingy? Tight? Baggy? What about leg length or sleeve length? Or some other criterion I’ve not listed…
In jeans, I like snug, but not so tight that I have to lie on the bed and suck in my gut in order to zip them. If I can’t take a deep breath, they’re too tight. I prefer dressier pants to be a tad looser, and I hate wearing belts! Sweatpants definitely need to be baggier, but not so much that they want to fall down.
On the other hand, shirts, sweaters, and jackets should be loose so movement is not constrained. I don’t like tailored garments on me - give me T’s or polo shirts. Button-up blouses absolutely must never gap, and nothing should restrict arm movement. I don’t wear dresses, but if I did, the same rules would apply.
Shoes should never be tight. I refuse to ever again utter the phrase “They’ll stretch out” when it comes to footwear. At least shoe sizes seem to be consistent, so they’re easy for me to order on line.
So, what’s your preference when it comes to your attire?
I’ve had good luck for the most part with pants sizes as specified in waist inches / inseam inches. Less so with shirts sized SM, MED, LG though. Shirts (advertised for men) from Fruit of the Loom, Gildan, and Land’s End, respectively: I wear a size large, a size medium, and a size small. Not very useful for extrapolating to any other manufacturer!
I have had consistent good luck on size 13 skirts though. So that seems consistent.
Shoes: I have comparatively skinny feet and I like my shoes to lace up tight, or else they slip and slide and give me blisters. But from front to back, the feet better fit! I hate it when my longest toes have black toenail blood blisters from banging into the front of my shoe, ugh!
I like my clothing to be a bit fitted. I don’t want them tight and restraining, but I also hate baggy clothes. They make me look heavy even though I’m not.
I hate button up shirts. I don’t own one. They’re not at all comfortable.
I like jeans that fit, I don’t want to have to wear a belt. I heard flares were coming back. I hope so, I can’t stand skinny jeans. They’re the most unflattering jeans ever. Flares always give you a slimmer silhouette.
Dresses are comfortable, especially in the summer. I like an a-line or slightly fitted dress.
Women’s sizes are a joke. They keep moving the numbers. I wear a 6 in jeans/pants. This is not the size 6 of my youth. No way would I be able to get into that size 6. I don’t remember there being a size 0 or 1 when I was a teenager. Those sizes must have been added so they could move the numbers up a size or two.
To sum it up, I like clothes that don’t make me look dowdy or thick and I don’t like clothes that are uncomfortably tight.
Among average-to-thin sized men, it seems to be pretty consistent at least. Among the large and tall, not so much. Especially with the “large” part, variations of a full size are common. Trouser length as inseam in inches is pretty consistent, but waist size is not. Especially not if it is some description like “extra large” rather than inches, but even inch sizes have vanity-based (or refusal to face reality based) reductions. “Tall” or “Long” sizes in shirts and other tops is also not consistent, but some actually specify these lengths and compare them to their non-tall size. Anyway, I know they fit when I try them on and they feel comfortable and not floppy-large.
Allow me to digress momentarily: since I became a doughboy, I have not been able to find any tailored jackets (suits, sport coats) that are anything remotely like my shape. If they are big enough to fit around my waist, the shoulders and chest are far too big, and too much so for any alteration to fix. At present I don’t own a single suit or sports coat that I can wear, so I guess it’s just as well I don’t have occasion to do so (and stay away from those that would require it). Oh for the days of yore, when fat actors (Sidney Greenstreet, Edward Arnold, Eugene Pallette) always wore perfect-fitting three piece suits that, while they didn’t disguise their girth, actually fit them and made them look good. Tailored, I’m sure, but surely it was a model for off-the-rack manufacturers as well. It’s like those suit-makers have no idea what a real fat man looks like any more.
Me, I like clothes fitted but not tight. Pants have to be long enough to just about touch the floor. Cap sleeves can fuck right off.
I wear a lot of dresses, so can reasonably guess the size if shopping online, but I would never buy a pair of pants without trying them on (and then probably taking them to the tailor).
Sizes can vary between manufacturers and even among products from the same manufacturer.
I once ordered a shirt via Amazon, listed as XXXL. The fact that the seller’s XXXL corresponds to US L had been obfuscated and the shirt ended up in Goodwill.
What size fits me for Levi’s jeans depends on the style. I only order them on line when duplicating the style I have - anything else is a crap shoot.
But all in all men have it easier, since not so many places to fit and, for me anyway, I have a lot of leeway as to what is acceptable.
Some years back, I saw a pullover on sale, marked size XL. I didn’t bother trying it on since in those days, women’s XL was comfortably baggy on me. Nope, it was closer to a M, and I’m guessing where it was made (somewhere in Asia) it might have been XL, but not in the US. Like yours, mine went to Goodwill.
I am a man who dresses casually and has no interest or requirement to go beyond that. I am self-employed from home but also have a “day job” that requires 10-12 hour standing labor and the main requirements of that are avoiding heat rashes and bruised toes and such. So I pretty much wear shorts and t-shirts and athletic shoes every shift. As I’ve gotten less self-conscious (and relatively fitter, though my medical records say I am overweight) about my body I wear tighter clothing that doesn’t get in the way so much - well-sized dri-fit shirts or similar and shorts that leave little to the imagination.
Outside of work, I’m pretty much jeans and t-shirt type guy. I own button-up shirts but I rarely wear them. Has to be below freezing for the most part. Shirts I like fairly “fitted.” I grew up during the baggy everything era - when kids would pick on you if your clothes remotely fit. I was also very self-conscious and would wear baggy wet t-shirts in the pool/beach, didn’t realize that made the chunkiness look worse. t-shirts should fit fairly snugly for me and should leave a good bit of the upper arm exposed and fit tightly against it. Should be tapered down against the waist and not billowing off. For jeans, I can’t do skinny jeans nor would I want to. But I’m not trying to wear dad jeans or look like a '90s rapper either. Don’t want to look like a '70s rocker, either. Need a place for my package without shoving it down the side and showing the detailed imprint. Don’t want it hanging off the back (I have no butt but big legs) or painted on my calves, either. So it is a little tricky but I’ve found a brand and style I like, and I can pretty much just order online by waist and inseam and know that it’s good. Same with shirts. Sometimes it falls under “slim/fitted” but never skinny or baggy.
I often go shopping with friends, and have learned that what’s comfortable and what’s flattering are not the same thing: loose-fitting clothes are comfortable, but form-fitting clothes are more flattering.
So for pants, my general rule is it must fit around my thighs and my waist (no cutting off of circulation or restricting breathing), without sagging in either the butt or the crotch.
For tops, my general rule is it must fit tightly enough to show my belly (in other words, I don’t want it to hit my breasts and then hang so loosely that it looks as though my stomach is as big as my breasts), but not so tightly that my stomach is straining at the fabric. But this is only for sleeveless tops.
If something has sleeves, my only rule is it has to fit around my shoulders – if something fits my shoulders, it’s going to shapelessly drape over everything else on my top half because I have extremely muscular shoulders.
I go by comfort and whether it becomes clingy enough to show my lumps. I may have a big tummy, but I prefer my shirt to look like it gradually flares out and comes back in, not like you can actually see where my tummy starts. (This is also why I don’t like tucking in shirts, as it shows my love handles if I tuck it in neat enough.)
But mostly I’ve gotten to where I can stick with a size. Sure, the fit isn’t the same, but, with the types of clothes I wear (t-shirts, pants with inch measurements), I’ve found enough consistency. However, I understand that this is not so much the case with women’s clothing.
I have actually considered getting some mom-jeans, though. They just happen to fit the anatomy of my body better. Unlike my tummy, I don’t mind so much if my butt and hips are a little more form-fitting. It doesn’t work well with dress pants (as those are all about the straight lines), but I think it actually can be slimming in jeans, somehow.
I look in the mirror. If it looks good, I buy ten of them in varying colors.
I have bought 32x33 Levi 501s my entire adult life.
I found a pair of Nautica Khakis. I went back to the store and bought every color they had.
Polo Shirts, Ralph Lauren Polo. Medium. Got 10 of them.
T-shirts are more problematic. I prefer a longer shirt to hide my gut. (not that it really works). I buy various T-shirts from places I visit and such. They don’t always work out. I do have every color that the Duluth Trading Company offers to solve plumbers smile.
I own 2 suits that were hand tailored but I don’t really wear them often. Weddings and funerals. They still fit though. I have had a gut since I bought them.
I found a good pair of jeans once. I went back to the store and bought every color they had. Then I had to return them, because women’s clothing also varies in size even within the same fucking item.
Unfortunately true. My idea of a good fit is a compromise between comfortable enough to tolerate wearing, and form fitting enough not to be totally unflattering. Combine that with the difficulty of finding trousers that fit around the waist without being far too tight elsewhere, and my refusal to buy any that don’t have pockets, and shopping becomes distinctly challenging. I’ve even resorted to sewing belt loops on to a pair that were otherwise acceptable. Then since the UK is cold, I spend most of the year wearing a fleece or sweater of some kind, and these seem designed to be shapeless and unflattering. Why should it be impossible to look good without spending the day shivering?
Don’t even speak to me about shoes/trainers/other footwear. When I find a comfortable pair I literally wear them until they fall apart.
I’m currently stuck with some shirts I ordered on line - no refund unless I ship them back to China at my expense. Had I known in the first place they were coming from China, I’d never have ordered them. Not only is the quality pretty crappy, the sizing is the opposite of vanity. Their idea of women’s large is more like what I see as medium. I ordered one 2XL for my pregnant daughter, thinking it would be comfy in her last trimester - hah! I don’t think it’ll even fit her after the baby comes. So it looks like the local thrift store will be getting brand new, crappy t-shirts in their donation bin.
I honestly don’t understand women who seem to think that if they can squeeze into it, it fits. I’ve seen yoga pants stretched and straining to the point that they’re almost transparent! OK, maybe it’s a fashion statement that eludes me, but they can’t possibly be comfortable, and they certainly aren’t flattering, in my unprofessional opinion, anyway. And this isn’t fat-shaming - I’ve seen thinner women cramming themselves in a similar manner.
I remember a coworker of many eons ago - he had a HUGE gut and pretty much no butt. He wore jeans that fit his butt and fastened under the gut, so while the tag on his Levi’s may have said 36 waist, his actual measure was probably closer to 56". At least he had shirts long enough to wrap over the gut and stay tucked in. And I suppose technically the jeans fit…
Seriously, don’t you sometimes ask yourself “Doesn’t that person own a mirror?” Yeah, I know, people don’t have to dress to meet my standards, but I’m still entitled to my opinions.
Sorry for the rant - I’m ticked off about the t-shirts…
I’ve stopped buying black jeans because of this. They’re always smaller and the fabric feels uncomfortable. AND they fade in the wash weirdly, not evenly.
Right. Variations happen within menswear as well. And even within brands, certain lines “run large”. Also, inseam being a length as it says of a specific seam rather than of the whole piece, one has to take into account the rise of the trousers.
Heck you don’t even need to be particularly portly to have issues with what is the right fit – which in the US is kind of aggravating considering the weight issues in this country’s population.
As I once posted on my social page:
Observation at the store: Majority of items are labeled “Slim Fit” or “Athletic Fit”
Further Observation: Minority of customers are described by either of those words.
Maybe they have a kickback scheme with the gym down the street trying to shame us. But at least I know that if I see “Slim Fit” I should just keep looking.
But, yeah, it’s pretty much become the expected thing that the “average” guy will be wearing an off-the-rack suit with some alterations, but that if you are more than a couple Standard Deviations from whoever that “average” is, you will be doing made-to-measure or bespoke or else resign yourself to Big Sizes purgatory.
Just FTR, I recently checked my jeans waistband with a measuring tape. They were marked 32 waist, but came in at about 37". Yup, men’s vanity sizing.
I wear slim fit dress shirts. If I don’t get those, the shoulders, neck and sleeve length is good, but the body bellows out like a sail. I’m fortunate, I’m a slim guy with just a bit of a middle- age belly. Those dress shirts make me look horrible. Even most t shirts do the same.*
I’m a bit of a clothes horse. I like clothes, and I like shopping for clothes, especially at thrift stores, and I like looking good. Shirts should fit in the shoulders, sleeve and neck (so I can wear a tie. Take that!) and the body should conform to my body without straining the buttons. That goes for more casual shirts, too. (minus the tie, of course.)
For me, jeans can be form fitting, but not skinny/ tight. The slim fit ones usually work best, but some are a bit too slim. Boot cut is good, too. Straight fit looks baggy on me. Snug in the butt and thigh, looser over the calf. I love the newer stretchy denims. Dress pants and chinos should be a bit looser. Suit pants can be even more generous depending on the jacket style.
I just recently stumbled on this YouTube channel: Stylish D He’s just a guy who happens to know how to tailor clothes. He figured it out on his own and is sharing his knowledge. I’ve been going through and tailoring my shirts to fit better. It’s not that hard.
I have a number of non-average measurements – I’m 5’1", with a thick long waist, short-legged even for how short I am, small hips, and fairly flat chested. Kind of the opposite of curvy, but I’m not particularly thin (or fat). I’m a “small petite” in most women’s wear, but things that emphasize the waist are real dumb-looking on me plus they make me look even shorter by dividing me in half.
Through a lot of trial and error I found styles that looked better on me – drop waists for example. But now that I rarely have to dress up for anything, all I ever put on are jeans or shorts, tees or loose button-front shirts. I work physically in these clothes, so my prime consideration is clothing that doesn’t get in my way – doesn’t bind, slide off (a problem with pants), slop over my wrists – and stands up to abrasion and snags. Baggy is hard to work in Pants are very hard for me to fit as I just don’t have the right body for it. I mostly buy pants and tees from L.L. Bean as they are sturdy and come in petite sizes, socks from REI, and wool sweaters I get off ebay. This is most of my wardrobe.
As for dress-up clothes, I can’t stand anything too tight, or sacklike either, so some sort of medium must be obtained.
