Supersizing of America & a rant

[KnottedYet]

I finally gave up on women's jeans completely. I couldn't get the size waist I needed AND the length I needed AND not have a huge gap at my heinie showing my lovely polka-dot undies to the world.

Shrink to fit Levi 501 were great in high school, and they are still great now.

The men's sizes seem to be consistent. I know they will shrink to perfection at my waist. I don't show a plumber's crack. (at least not after a few washes)

Ibex had long enough sleeves for a while, but I'm finding they are gradually falling into the same "Large and Extra Large just mean big around" trap, so soon I'll be looking for a new favorite shirt maker.

[blackhillsbiker]

"Large and Extra Large just mean big around" trap, so soon I'll be looking for a new favorite shirt maker.

I'm 5'8.5" and 125 lbs. No boobs. No butt. My daughters got all the curves. I can't even find jeans anymore. Lucky and Silver used to fit, but now they gap by about 2" at the back waist. I have a long torso and long arms. By the time I find something long enough, they assume I'm also big around. I hate skin-tight teeny-bopper shirts, but women's clothes are always too short, or they become shorter and wider with every laundering. Sigh. I hate shapeless guy's shirts – sometimes the only way I can find tees that are long enough.

I used to be a 10. Then an 8. Then a 6. Now a 4. I haven't changed weight in years.

Other pet peeve, while clothes go one way, shoes go another. When you wear a 10.5 or 11, and they run "1/2 to 1 size short, please order the next size up," AND they only go to a size 11 (if you're lucky)... It's almost impossible to find cute shoes.

Deb

[KnottedYet]

I'm 5'8.5" and 125 lbs. No boobs. No butt. My daughters got all the curves. I can't even find jeans anymore. Lucky and Silver used to fit, but now they gap by about 2" at the back waist.

Try shrink to fit Levi button-front 501 again. Seriously! I never thought I'd be wearing them again 25 years later, but really they are magical. Same thing we did in high school: add 1-3 inches to your measurement for the waist (more inches for larger hips) and 3-4 inches for the inseam. Keep washing, keep the faith, until the waist shrinks enough to absorb the gap.

If it weren't for good ol' Levi 501's I'd be buck nekkid right now...

[blackhillsbiker]

Try shrink to fit Levi button-front 501 again. Seriously! I never thought I'd be wearing them again 25 years later, but really they are magical.

I lived in 501s in high school & college. I didn't realize you could still buy the non-shrunk ones. I've just seen the prewashed ones. I guess I'll have to look around.

As for undies, Jockey Elance hipsters and I have been friends since 1986. If they ever discontinue or redesign them I'm in serious trouble.

Deb

[GLC1968]

Yeah, don't get me started on shoes. I thought I was a 6.5D. They don't make women's shoes in 6.5D (or men's that short), so I have been wearing either 6.5C or 7B my whole life.

Now I have a podiatrist that says I should buy even wider shoes. Dude, really? THEY DON'T EXIST! Oy.

And wow, Oak - those are some long feet for a short woman!!

[maillotpois]

wow - listening to all this, I feel like a GIANT. (and that's way before we get to the size 11 shoes....)

[NoNo]

While I agree that the vanity sizing is ridiculous, I don't see the issue with going to a tailor and getting little issues fixed. I'm a curvy 5'-1" (read: hips meant to birth a cow and an ample bum) so everything is long and I have to buy a size larger than I need just to clear my hips. $10 at the tailor's gets them the proper length and the waist taken in. And don't get me started on these tiny leg openings on shorts that my thunder thighs can't even squeeze through! I can't expect them to account for every whacky body type out there, so I get as close as I can and fine tune it from there.

[PamNY]

While I agree that the vanity sizing is ridiculous, I don't see the issue with going to a tailor and getting little issues fixed.

I agree. I've never understood why men consider it perfectly normal (and expected) to have a suit altered when they buy it, but women expect that manufacturers should accommodate every individual in every particular.

Especially with lengths! Making clothing to suit every single inseam simply wouldn't be possible.

Of course, I do wish that women's trousers were made like men's, so altering the waist would be easier.

[Veronica]

Especially with lengths! Making clothing to suit every single inseam simply wouldn't be possible.

Go look a place like LL Bean. Men can get pants in pretty much any length or waist. Obviously when you place your order someone hems the pants to the correct length. Women's pants should be like that.

For $49.50 a guy can get a pair of chinos at the right length. For $39.50 I can get petite, regular or tall. Then I have to take my time to go to a tailor and get them hemmed correctly. I'd rather throw the ten bucks at Bean and just have them arrive at the right length. Plus the women's chinos aren't nearly as well constructed as the men's.

I can understand pants fitting women differently at the hips. Women can have several different butt shapes, which men don't seem to have. But length... we have really should have the same options

Veronica

[shootingstar]

In fact, I would be surprised that many people have alot clothing bought off the rack, that fits perfectly.

Anyone who sews, knows there is always abit of altering the pattern pieces before cutting the fabric. One really starts to understand in greater detail a person's unique body shapes/curves.

I never saw anything wrong cutting off 4-6 inches pant legs. Yes, it's a pain in the neck to do an alteration. Shrug. Yes, it can alter the overall look of a pant. But then...I don't buy the style in the first place. (which is why I won't wear capris. Doesn't complement shorty here.)

Maybe it's because women just tend to buy alot more different garments (?)..I can see it being a hassle for fashionistas who don't sew. Fashionistas who sew alot, would consider it a design/redesign challenge or at best, minor reworking.

[Eden]

I agree. I've never understood why men consider it perfectly normal (and expected) to have a suit altered when they buy it, but women expect that manufacturers should accommodate every individual in every particular.

Especially with lengths! Making clothing to suit every single inseam simply wouldn't be possible.

Of course, I do wish that women's trousers were made like men's, so altering the waist would be easier.

Well..... for some of us "alterations" would pretty much mean just re-using the cloth to totally remake something that actually fits, because the normal sizes no longer fit anywhere... and I really can't sew. I break sewing machines just by looking at them...

[redrhodie]

While I agree that the vanity sizing is ridiculous, I don't see the issue with going to a tailor and getting little issues fixed. I'm a curvy 5'-1" (read: hips meant to birth a cow and an ample bum) so everything is long and I have to buy a size larger than I need just to clear my hips. $10 at the tailor's gets them the proper length and the waist taken in. And don't get me started on these tiny leg openings on shorts that my thunder thighs can't even squeeze through! I can't expect them to account for every whacky body type out there, so I get as close as I can and fine tune it from there.

A couple of years ago, I had a top taken in to the tune of $50. That was more than it cost! I was shocked. I've also had pants hemmed for $17 (just the length, no lining, nothing complicated, no waist). I think that's standard for this area, but too much for me.

I finally found a reasonable tailor 20 miles away ($10 hems, not including waist), but she is BUSY. When I asked her last month if she could make me some skirts, she said she slows down a little in Feb. Is it like this in other parts of the country, or am I in a dead zone for tailors?

[GLC1968]

A couple of years ago, I had a top taken in to the tune of $50. That was more than it cost! I was shocked. I've also had pants hemmed for $17 (just the length, no lining, nothing complicated, no waist). I think that's standard for this area, but too much for me.

I finally found a reasonable tailor 20 miles away ($10 hems, not including waist), but she is BUSY. When I asked her last month if she could make me some skirts, she said she slows down a little in Feb. Is it like this in other parts of the country, or am I in a dead zone for tailors?

I found this too. In fact, even fiding a GOOD tailor is exceedingly difficult in some areas! Honestly, if the thought of spending my day sewing didn't sound so dreadful, it would probably be a good field to get into! Job security and all...

[JennK13]

[QUOTE=redrhodie;522620]A couple of years ago, I had a top taken in to the tune of $50. That was more than it cost! I was shocked. I've also had pants hemmed for $17 (just the length, no lining, nothing complicated, no waist). I think that's standard for this area, but too much for me. QUOTE]

I hear ya! I took two - read that TWO - pairs of slacks in to have the waists taken in and hemmed up the length and it cost me $70!!! I'm cheap, and almost always buy clothes on sale, so this was way more than I paid for the pants; more than I would have paid for them off the rack if they fit. But I was at a loss on what to do!

[Crankin]

I didn't look at this thread when I got home from dinner last night, so to comment on Veronica's question about the 30" pants; when I said "regular" pants, I meant pants not from Athleta, not "regular" sizes, as opposed to petites. Most petite pants are now made in 30" lengths, especially the jeans. Regular sizes are, as you said, 32-33 inches.
GLC, I have a couple of petite sized skirts from Athleta, so they do make them. Not a lot, but some. My bigger gripe is with Title 9. I love their casual clothes, but they have no x-smalls and their smalls are often size 6-8. I noticed in the catalog I got yesterday there were a few more x smalls, mostly from Mountain Hardware (not their own brand), which is a brand that fits me.
I don't mind bringing a pair of nice work or dressy pants to be hemmed, but since I am buying petite sized clothing, I don't think I should have to do this. I certainly don't want to have to pay to get athletic clothes or jeans hemmed!
And yes, my DH has the same problem. He is 5' 7" and weighs 148. He is very muscular. While he has no issues getting pants, since they come in waist/length sizes (although a lot of stores don't have the shorter lengths and smaller waist sizes), his problem is with shirts and jackets. He has to buy all slim fit dress shirts and now, at age 53 has suddenly become a "small" in a lot of brands, when he pretty much was a medium all of his life. And a lot of men's clothes don't even come in smalls anymore... yet they have the 2XL sizes.
What I loved about Spain is that I felt tall compared to everyone there!