# More feminine mysteries. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 16, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704 "2006-10-16T23:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Seren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Seren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/21 "2006-10-17T14:39:47Z")
I like long sleeves, because they’re comforting. It’s the same sort of idea as hiding under the blankets at night to protect yourself from monsters. It doesn’t actually do anything, but it’s still comforting. Same thing with the sleeves. I can’t crawl under a blanket if something bad happens or if I get scared during the day, but being completely covered by clothes gives me the same feeling of being protected. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/22 "2006-10-17T15:40:15Z")
> [@](#): > > So just who in the heck do women’s clothes actually FIT, we’d like to know. Exactly. I’m about 5’10", and my winter coat sleeves hit just below the wrist because I had to buy a larger size than I would like to wear. It seems like most coats are designed to be worn over teeny little silk blouses, or something. It drives me nuts. Hello, designers! This is a WINTER coat! I will be wearing it in the WINTER! Which means it needs to fit over sweaters and sweatshirts, scarves and you know, LAYERS. Arrgh. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/23 "2006-10-17T15:42:40Z")
In my case, no mystery here, just an appalling lack of height & frame. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/24 "2006-10-17T15:43:51Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] They are hiding “Hand-Job” callus. The ones in the long sleeves are the ones you want to get to know. 😉 Trust me. [/QUOTE] Shush you. Don’t give all our secrets away. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/25 "2006-10-17T19:06:08Z")
I’m 5’10" and nearly 300# and I still like to wear something oversized to feel bundled up and a little smaller than I really am. And it’s good to have extra room for layering. Plus my body doesn’t match my internal view of myself so I imagine there is a shred of cuteness there. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Pocito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@Pocito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pocito)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/26 "2006-10-17T19:24:24Z")
I’m only 5’0", and even with abnormally long arms for my frame, only my fingertips peek out of long sleeves. I know I’m a disgusting person, but I’ve learned to appreciate long sleeves in the winter. I use 'em to wipe my nose in the cold. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/27 "2006-10-17T23:04:49Z")
[QUOTE=Gatopescado] They are hiding “Hand-Job” callus. The ones in the long sleeves are the ones you want to get to know. 😉 Trust me. [/QUOTE] Am I the only one frightened at a technique that would lead to calluses? ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/28 "2006-10-17T23:18:39Z")
Add me to the list of people who can’t seem to find clothes that fit. I am small and on the skinny side, but have wider shoulders and, err, relatively bigger boobs than most women my size. So everything that fits me around the shoulders and chest tends to be too long in the sleeves and torso. I’ve learned to live with it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/29 "2006-10-17T23:50:26Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] So just who in the heck do women’s clothes actually FIT, we’d like to know. [/QUOTE] Not me. I’ve lost some weight so I’ve bought new clothes this fall, and I’m somewhat dismayed that even slacks size six are baggy in the legs. A. slacks oughtn’t be baggy. They’re not cargos or jeans, for God’s sake. B. shouldn’t someone a size six (or 8 given the lack of consistancy from manufacturer to manufacturer. That’s a whole 'nother rant) probably not have really fat legs? because someone with legs 2-3 inches wider around than me would and that’s what they seem to be aiming for… ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/30 "2006-10-18T00:10:29Z")
[QUOTE=XJETGIRLX] Because designers make clothing for amazon-waif women with arms and legs the length of the Mississippi. If I could find a pair of jeans/sweater/coat with the proper sizing, believe me, I’d buy it. I don’t have time to hem every pair of pants or sleeves I own, so I wind up with a lot of clothing like this. [/QUOTE] And if we short women (I’m 5’3") buy petite-sized tops, there are two potential problems: 1. They don’t come in a large enough size to accommodate my rack. For some reason, a lot of manufacturers stop a size lower in petites (if regular sizes go up to 20, petites will go up to 18, for example). 2. They’re not long enough in the torso. Trust me, I am doing everyone a favor in trying to make sure that my stomach stays covered at all times. I really like tunics that go down over the hips, but those have been out of fashion for the last few years (they seem to be back now! yay! time to buy clothes! 🙂 ) I suppose I could get clothes altered, but that’s such a pain, and having slightly-too-long sleeves doesn’t really bother me enough to do that. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/31 "2006-10-20T00:44:30Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3] AFAIK, most women do not have big feet at the ends of their arms. Or even small ones. [/QUOTE] Sure, there in Manhattan. But here in California a _lot_ of women have such extremities. Come on out and see. I’ll buy you a egg cream. Waidaminnit! 😃 mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704/32 "2006-10-20T01:07:45Z")
All these tall women! Woohoo! I’m 5’9", so my actual experience has been limited. Oh, well. That’s why we can dream, isn’t it. I do like being eyeball to eyeball and toe to toe. Especially when horizontal. :o My ex-wife claimed to be 5’ even. She lied, she’s 4’11". But she was cute. 😉 Anyway, I once dated a seamstress. I mention that because she made a lot of casual clothes, especially for “hard-to-fit” women. Big or small. They’d bring her a catalog, and she’d make what they wanted to fit them. Knock-offs they’re called. It wasn’t that expensive, but they often did have to wait a while. Coupla weeks, max. Any of you ever buy custom casual clothing? Bye all you yummies. 😃 mangeorge [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-feminine-mysteries/376704.md?page=1)