you'll pant and pant once more...

[orangerful]

So WTF is up with men and women's pant sizes? Who decided that guys get actual numbers that mean something and girls get arbitrary numbers?

I mean, I figure it's all a mental thing. Is it true that men's clothing rarely comes in a size "small" because no man wants to be told he is small? While women's sizes are labeled smaller because we like to be told we're tiny? So I figure they came up with these smaller numbers for women so we would be smaller. (this is a US thing though, as I noticed a few pants had "UK" stamped inside with a different size closer to what the men wear). Also, the men get specific measured lengths, while we get "short, regular, long". Which also means, at least to my understanding after talking with verdatum, zaubervz and jimithingy last night, that their pant sizes are more consistent. They are the size that they are, while my size fluctuates depending on what kind of store I'm in. Hechts I'm probably a 12, Kohls I'm usually a 14, retail stores in malls, usually a 14-16.

This also forces us to try stuff on, something I hate but have to do since each new store has a new size. Guys, not so much, they go in, get their size, walk out. I think, if that was the case for me anyway, I'd buy more if I could just go in and grab my sizes and leave.

HEAR THAT CORPORATE AMERICA!!!!! BE CONSISTENT AND I WILL BUY MORE!

*sigh*

In other news - Heath Bars are apparently not very popular in our Giant. I just bought one and it actually had dust on it...poor unloved Heath bar...come here, Sammie will make it aaaaaaaall better *eats*

Comments

[vertigozooropa.livejournal.com]

I sometimes work a goodwill handout thing on the street, and I always make sure there's a woman in the truck with me, so that she can deal with women's clothes. I just can't do it.

It's entirely so that women do not have to deal with their own waist measurements. They don't do it with bras because big breasts are valued in our society.

Of course, men's clothes are vanity-sized, too. They'll knock your clothes down a peg to make you feel good, don't doubt that.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

still, is there any reason to be so damn inconsistent! If you're gonna say a 14 is really 32 inches, then fecking make the damn pants all 32 inches!!! Therebye satisfying my shopping needs and my ego in one fell swoop.

[vertigozooropa.livejournal.com]

Yes, there is a reason to be inconsistent. Let's say that Gap uses accurate sizing. Size 14 is a 32 inch waist. Then let's say that Old Navy (which is owned by the Gap, but I don't know American stores) lets 32 inch waisters fit into a size 12. That customer will then attribute a really good feeling to being in Old Navy. Hey! I lost two sizes! Maybe a deep psychological connection will form, leading her to believe that Old Navy is a good store.

She'll go to Old Navy because it makes her feel thin. Because women are really gullible. :-P

[dstntp1lgr1m.livejournal.com]

oh my god i LOVE heath bars! YUM!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I noticed they are located in the worst possible spot, right where the cart would always block them, all the way on the bottom far corner. They get no love because no one knows they are there! Shouldn't you put a more mainstream bar like Snickers in a weird place because you know people will crawl on the floor looking for a snickers...those of us with more mature pallettes would prefer our Heath bars and we want them on top of the pile where they belong!!!

[dstntp1lgr1m.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Heath Bars really ARE superior to many other bars.

[whitemartyr.livejournal.com]

I hear ya about sizes. It's so dumb that sizes between stores aren't consistent. I wrote an article about that once...

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

I thought the whole downsizing thing was pretty recent, and the boomers' fault. The idea was that boomers were starting to put on weight, but were more likely to buy clothes in the same size they always were. It's definitely true though- in the clothing world, I've "lost" two sizes since college, in the real world, yeah right.

What I wonder is what happens then to the really tiny people. It seems like you see more clothes now in size 0, which I guess used to be a 4. So what if they keep making the sizes bigger- are the zeroes going to become -2?

Anyway, I'm not sure consistency would keep you from having to try stuff on. I've gone to the Gap and tried on the same size and cut as Gap pants I own, and they don't fit at all. So when it comes to pants, I always try them on.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

yeah, I pretty much just want pants that have a tag that say "yes sam, buy these, you don't have to try us on"

remember in Minority Report, where they had those scary machines that advertised right at you? I could deal with that if they scanned my legs, waist, and butt and said "Samantha, over here, these pants will look FABULOUS on you!"

I almost feel bad for the girls that are 0s. there's no way they can maintain that size forever. I mean, I was never a zero, but I've gone from a 10 to a 14 over the past few years. But girls that are in high school now and are 0s...any number will seem large to them! Scary.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

this is my exhaustive research you silly, but sadly the number of guys I have reading this journal is smaller than girls.

i hate fitting rooms. they are tiny, I have to take my shoes off, there's a huge mirror that reflects your butt at all the wrong angles, and I'm never sure if I'm allowed out while in the stores clothes. The ones in the mall were particularly bad, as you were in a hidden hallway, so if I wanted AD's or Vincent's opinions I would have to walk down a little hall and find them in the store. Ugh.

Trying clothes on is the suxxor. Especially when they don't fit right because my self-esteem starts to plummet...