Supersizing of America & a rant

[jessmarimba]

Veronica - interesting little piece of trivia: I studied forensic anthropology in college, and self-reporting of height on drivers licenses can actually make for difficulty in identifying bodies. According to one study, men tend to overestimate their height by an average of 2 inches, while women report theirs as 2 inches too short on their licenses.

So maybe most American women really ARE 5'6.5"?

Don't know, but have Muirenn's height and feet, it seems, so I'm thrilled that I can find pants the right length now. Before I gained weight and muscle from cycling/running and got back to normal sizes, I couldn't find a size 0Long anywhere.

I wish I had a size 6 foot so I could get all the cute shoes on clearance!

[badger]

What bugs me is the inconsistencies in sizing throughout the board. There's 26", or size 3, or XS. Which is it? Then I go to England and I'm size 8. My shoe size here is 7.5, but in Japan I'm 25cm. There should be some International Fashion Police to set some standards on what size things are, and that they will be the same everywhere.

And then there's the inconsistencies even within the same brand...

[shootingstar]

Although what we noticed in Rotterdam was that folks there really were tall. My friend, who is 4'10" I think, and is married to a man from the Netherlands, commented to us that had we noticed how much taller people were there, and we actually had already commented. So there may be a 'self-reporting' effect happening there, but honestly, there were some tall folks over there.

It made me wonder if Danish women were also tall or at least bigger boned. I kept on exclaiming to my partner when we were in Copenhagen for...5 days, many bikes that were too big for me when we would pass a row of parked bikes.

So glad I brought my own bike to Europe. Otherwise lots of time wasted just to find a bike that fitted me. German women aren't normally known to be petite boned and short on average either.

I know this is not clothing size, but same issue.

[channlluv]

Men have this challenge, too. Since he started cycling, my DH has lost almost 60 pounds and has gone from an XL jersey to needing a medium. He's 6'3". We haven't found any Medium Tall shirts anywhere, much less cycling jerseys. He likes the racing cut, the one that fits lower on the hips. Anyone got a source for that?

Roxy

[Eden]

SIGH......

I know this subject way to well - at 5 nuthin 105lbs little to nothing exists that fits me any more and yes.... if I want a pair of jeans I am now relegated to the kids section. At nearly 40 there's precious little that I find dignified enough in a size 12...... (NO rhinestones please, and they have to pass the shoe tie test - if I can't bend over and to tie my shoes without showing underwear or worse crack I won't buy them...)

I wear mostly skirts to work as it is soooooo much easier to fake it when a skirt doesn't fit just right. And as with Crankin, Anne Taylor is my only friend these days. Sadly even they have lots of vanity sizing.... I think I'm down to a 00p, when just a few years ago I was a solid Anne Taylor 4p.

[Eden]

Men have this challenge, too. Since he started cycling, my DH has lost almost 60 pounds and has gone from an XL jersey to needing a medium. He's 6'3". We haven't found any Medium Tall shirts anywhere, much less cycling jerseys. He likes the racing cut, the one that fits lower on the hips. Anyone got a source for that?

Roxy

I don't know about these days, but a few years ago Nike cycling jerseys were cut long and lean. My husband is also 6'3" and mostly torso. He really liked the Nikes he had.

[OakLeaf]

Petite dresses do me no good. The waists fall at my chest.

If I don't buy petite slacks, the waist falls at my chest. If I do buy petite slacks, the legs end above my ankles.

Did I mention I have no waist?

[OakLeaf]

So maybe most American women really ARE 5'6.5"?...
I wish I had a size 6 foot so I could get all the cute shoes on clearance!

Maybe they are. I know at an honest-to-goodness measured 5'3", I'm below eye level. Women as well as men walk right through me on the street if I don't yield to them.

I wish I had just about any shoe size smaller than my 10-1/2 Wide.

[Eden]

Maybe they are. I know at an honest-to-goodness measured 5'3", I'm below eye level. Women as well as men walk right through me on the street if I don't yield to them.

*snort*.... I'm 3" shorter than you and I refuse to step off of the sidewalk... yes, I have occasionally let bozos walk into me....

[channlluv]

I don't know about these days, but a few years ago Nike cycling jerseys were cut long and lean. My husband is also 6'3" and mostly torso. He really liked the Nikes he had.

Awesome, Eden, thank you!

Roxy

Edit: I went to Nike.com's online store and they've got a dozen sports listed, but not cycling. Lance Armstrong is featured prominently, though, as is his LiveStrong foundation and Nike's sponsorship of it, but no cycling jerseys that I could find.

[Zen]

If I don't buy petite slacks, the waist falls at my chest. If I do buy petite slacks, the legs end above my ankles.

I think that waist/chest cut is rampant these days in order to hide extreme pear shapes.
Works for me

[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.

[zoom-zoom]

Edit: I went to Nike.com's online store and they've got a dozen sports listed, but not cycling. Lance Armstrong is featured prominently, though, as is his LiveStrong foundation and Nike's sponsorship of it, but no cycling jerseys that I could find.

My hubby and I were just talking about this...I thought I had heard that Nike wasn't doing cycling stuff anymore (I have never seen their shoes or jerseys online or in stores), yet Lance's jersey has a swoosh. Or are they just a sponsor, but not the manufacturer?

[PamNY]

I wonder if vanity sizing will eventually lead to minus numbers. If it continues, I will be a size -12 before I die.

[Flybye]

Except that everything from Athleta is WAY TOO LONG! It drives me insane!

Don't mess with Athleta - their stuff fits me PERFECTLY