Tired of the small sizing....arrrrrg!

[lovelygamer]

I struggle with this too and it drives me INSANE. According to most manufacturer charts, in order to get a cycling outfit that first perfectly, I'd have to go into the 3/4X category. 3/4X are you kidding me??????? Nothing against anyone else, but I'd personally commit hari kari if I was really wearing a 4X. And, do you know how few designers make and carry anything that size? Yes, I'm overweight but on top of that, I am curvy. Double Whammy in athletic gear, for sure.

[ehirsch83]

Try Pearl Izumi for outer wear also.

I live by them and was going to go audition to be a fit model but my chest is too small and waist was too big for my sizing(they want a 34 chest and 26 waist for a small- I measured myself and turns out I have a 32 chest and a 27 waist.. only thing spot on for me was the 36 hips and I am actualy 5'5 and a half so I wasn't going to cut the 5'5 height requirement)
It seems that they run big in the chest for sizing (34 for small, 36 for medium 38 for large)

[Wasp]

I struggle with this too and it drives me INSANE. According to most manufacturer charts, in order to get a cycling outfit that first perfectly, I'd have to go into the 3/4X category. 3/4X are you kidding me??????? Nothing against anyone else, but I'd personally commit hari kari if I was really wearing a 4X. And, do you know how few designers make and carry anything that size? Yes, I'm overweight but on top of that, I am curvy. Double Whammy in athletic gear, for sure.

I found a really cute cycling jersey at a retail sports store, I tried on the large and it was so small the only thing it fit was my neck, so I tried xl. No joy there either. There was no noticeable difference in size except the sleeves and torso were longer. Bigger sizes are code for longer arms and torso, with no noticeable increase in width. The xxl "fit" across the chest, but the sleeves were about 4inches longer than my fingers, and the torso so long it looked like a short dress. All fixable, but inconvenient.
I know a lot of ladies have posted they find the sizes bigger, Unfortunatley that has not been my experience as I'm finding things fitting very small. My 115lb dtr-in-law usually wears xs or small, and she is finding them often to be to small. I think the trick is not to get hung up on the size of the clothing, and just go with what actually fits. Personally I find the sizing to be all over the map, even from the same manufacturer. These days when I find something that actually fits, I tend to buy it in 2 or 3 different colors.
For someone really petite I know junior sized clothing tends to look teenager-ish, but don't they have basic black cycling shorts? Or tops in basic neutral colors that would fit properly and not look inappropriate?
Just a thought

[Eden]

Cycling gear tends to only come in kids and adults. Kids stuff is usually inferior in design and materials (though it is generally cheaper too). I think this is true for most sporting goods - like I could buy kids 3.5 hiking boots, but women's size 5 will be a whole lot nicer and have more options available, since who wants to buy $$$ gortex hikers for their kid who will probably outgrow them before they get used 3 times.

Some things work in kids. Jeans - good. I can find nice fashionable jeans in kids sizes. Converse sneakers - the selection in kids 3/3.5 is better than adults. OTOH, dress pants - kids don't cut it style or material wise. Same with things like dress boots. Cheaper things that kids wear often are great, but things kids don't use to much or that would be expensive if made well (which means that you wont find them made well in kid size) don't usually cut it for me.

[Crankin]

Yep, there are no junior sizes in cycling clothes.
Not too many basics in juniors, either. I have eyed a few tees, but I rarely shop in stores, mostly on line. I wore junior sizes until I was close to 40, but thankfully petite sizes became more common. I am not as small as Eden, but my mom wore a size 4 shoe; that was OK when my family owned a shoe factory and 4 was the sample size. By the time she was looking for shoes for my wedding that was over, and she was desperately shopping at Nordstroms, where she did find something. She did buy kid's sandals and casual shoes, though. While I wear a size 6 in casual shoes, I wear a 5.5 in dress shoes, with a closed heel and it's tough at times.

[azfiddle]

A group of us just ordered some Capo jerseys. I looked on line and found the measurements, and ordered a medium (the size I usually wear). Ouch! We almost all had to exchange them for the next size- I hope the large fits. The medium made me look like a sausage!