09:35 – Our order from All American Clothing arrived the other day: one pair of jeans and a pocket t-shirt for me and two casual shirts for Barbara. I haven’t tried on the jeans, but I’m wearing the t-shirt now. They didn’t have tall sizes with pocket, so I ordered a regular XL. It’s a bit shorter than I prefer but it’s nicely made with good material. And, despite being made in the US, at $11 it’s cheaper than the equivalent foreign-made shirts from Lands’ End or Bean.
Barbara tried on the two shirts and said they were much too small. I suspect they’re actually the nominal size, but few companies nowadays size clothing honestly, particularly women’s clothing. I remember when this started, 25 or 30 years ago. What had always been a women’s size 10, for example, suddenly became a size 8. This size deflation has continued over the years, to the point where I’d guess what is properly a women’s size 10 is now called a size 6, if not a 4.
Apparently this size deflation has started to happen in men’s clothing as well. After I mentioned ordering jeans from All American Clothing, someone commented that he’d continue ordering $15 jeans from Costco. Until then, I hadn’t realized that Costco even sold jeans. So I visited the Costco site and looked at their Kirkland jeans. Several reviewers commented that they ran huge. One measured the waist of a nominal 32″ pair and found it was actually 35″. The pair I ordered from AAC has a 38″ waist, which I suspect will be an honest 38″. (My chest is 48″, and the nominal XL 46″ to 48″ t-shirt I’m wearing fits comfortably but without much extra chest room.) I guess that means if I order a pair of Kirkland jeans they’d better be in a 36″ waist, if not 34″.
Here’s a blog entry on the concept. They call it “Vanity Sizing.” There’s an interesting graphic on advertised vs actual waist sizes:
http://www.consumerpsyche.com/2010/09/vanity-waist-sizing.html
You gotta laugh when Harry Potter can’t get through the border, but any virus laden ankle bitter can just walk over. Free health care (and every thing else) for them, but not Harry. lol
Thanks. I see that Wikipedia has a page about the phenomenon. FTA:
“Size inconsistency has existed since at least 1937. In Sears’s 1937 catalog, a size 14 dress had a bust size of 32 inches (81 cm). In 1967, the same bust size was a size 8. In 2011, it was a size 0.”
Which reminds me of an undocumented secondary sex characteristic that I discovered for myself when I was in college. The issue arises when someone can’t fit into a pair of pants.
Man: These pants are too small.
Woman: I’m too fat.
Stuff like this has been happening in Oz for at least 30 years, although I put it down to incompetence rather than a deliberate intent to flatter the purchaser. I used to buy XOS sized check shirts at R. M. Williams (peace and blessings be upon him) that fit nicely. The last time I bought shirts there I just got some XOS sized shirts without trying them on. When I got them home I found they wouldn’t fit. Not even close. But they still make the elastic sided boots of heaven.
I am now wearing tshirts from http://www.eddiebauer.com . However the regular length are a smidgen too short and the tall length are four inches longer (too long). I prefer the too long though as it minimizes buttcrackitis.
I see that http://www.eddiebauer.com has dropped the pocket long sleeve tshirts. Jerks!
You gotta laugh when Harry Potter can’t get through the border, but any virus laden ankle bitter can just walk over.
Pournelle is right! We are headed towards incompetent empire.
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/chaosmanor/rambling-about-blessings/
I had two Polo brand XXL Tall golf shirts. I bought them both at the same store and they were both the same style, but just different colors. If you held them next to each other they were the exact same width and same sleeve length, but one was easily two inches shorter than the other. I double-checked and they were both indeed the same size, both talls, and both the same style code. I’m guessing one was manufactured BEFORE they decided to save 5¢/unit by using less fabric in their tall sizes. I took them both back and ordered some online from LL Bean.
Going to meet some former coworkers in 34″(w) x 36″(l), made in Mexico from USA fabric (110% cotton), Wrangler jeans.
Regarding a travel show on TV from OZ outback: OZ cowboys dressed just like here, same style hats and boots, snap shirts and Wrangler jeans. Outside of that, couldn’t see a difference.
Geez, that’s idiotic with the sizing. I can sort of understand women’s sizes, because the numbers are just arbitrary. Do it slowly enough over enough years and no one will notice – but in that case, why bother?
Men’s sizes are something else entirely. A pair of pants sold as a 32″ waist had better have a 32″ waist or they won’t fit. Same for the length – am I supposed to feel flattered if my legs grew at the age of 50+? Anything else is just defective merchandise and should be returned. Really, just nuts…
Surprised, and yet not surprised, to hear that Experian had a huge data breach and gave out the driver’s license numbers and SSNs of 200,000,000 Americans. Apparently, this occurred before the big Target breach. To top it off, for which credit monitoring service did Target offer to pay for affected customers? Experian. I swear you can’t make this shit up.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/25/technology/security/target-experian/index.html
I guess that Obummer is going to disband the border patrol as he thinks that we do not need it anymore:
http://time.com/3028637/obama-eyes-major-immigration-move/
In a loose reading of the constitution, he may have a right to pardon all of these people and make them citizens. Very loose reading. Why not?
I header somebody on the radio today saying that she could not believe all the hoops that she had to jump through ten years ago to immigrate and get a work visa. She just got her citizenship and paid all the fees and taxes. She feels betrayed by the current administration.
I’ll bet that all these new immigrants will not pay their citizenship fees and taxes.
“I swear you can’t make this shit up.”
Nope. We can’t.
“She feels betrayed by the current administration.”
Welcome to the club, hon; some years ago Mrs. OFD’s first husband, a Canadian with dual citizenship in Bermuda, was put through a wringer with the citizenship process here; she remembers full days waiting in line in NYC at the time. Now they just give them away and if you bitch about it, you’re rayciss, etc. And if you demonstrate about it publicly you will face a line of SWAT riot police in full battle gear.
Outrage piled upon outrage and we all sit still for it and moan a bit and then go back to our daily mundane stuff.
Is Obama developing a backbone in his old age?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-26/obama-tells-central-american-leaders-most-children-will-go-home/5625870
“US president Barack Obama has urged leaders of three Central American countries to help stem the flow of illegal child migrants surging across the American, warning most will not be allowed to stay.”
Yeah, that sizing stuff is so goddamned annoying. Clothing sizes should be actual measurements of critical lengths. A 32″ waist should be 32″.
Well, at least inseams are still accurate.
I don’t “order” Kirkland jeans, I buy them at the store. Fit is what I have come to expect from Wrangler of the same size, 42×32. (No, I ain’t skinny!) That size allows for shrinkage; the seem a bit loose until they’ve had a few hot washes and runs through the dryer, same as the Wranglers.