Clothes size...

[Unknown Entity]

Today while I was out shopping with my mum, she wanted to go into H&M to get some fitted white tops. When we got to the shop, we noticed that it had had a complete makeover, and the store was much bigger (they knocked a wall through to the shop next-door).

Now, my mum is a big lady, and needs bigger clothes. We asked where the bigger clothes were, and we was directed to the section in the 1st floor. Firstly, what we saw was a section about the size of my bedroom - which is tiney!- with these bigger clothes. Secondly, the clothes were HORRIBLE, and I'm guessing even the fattest woman in the world would look like some kinda tent wearing what was there. Thirdly, the section was sooo tiny that some of the smaller clothes had "spilled" into it. The rest of the shop had clothes for thin women. We DID ask if there was another section, but there wasn't any.

Firstly, WTF? Not every woman in the world is skinny, so why is this massive branch not providing more clothes for the bigger women? Before the makeover, the section covered the WHOLE 1st floor, now you barely notice it! There are big women in the world who NEED clothes! Half the shops we past only really provided clothes for small women, and the big clothes were nasty! What is with big nasty clothes?

Is this some really sick way to tell people to lose weight? What!!?? I see no reason to why shops should stop stocking big clothes!

EDIT: And why do clothes sizes vary from shop to shop? Make the damn clothes the bloody same! I can fit into a pair of size 14 trousers in Primark, but the size seems to get bigger in other shops. Maybe I'm putting on weight by WALKING from shop to shop lol!

What do you guys think?

[winterborn86]

I know what you mean bout sizes, in one shop i will fit size 8 but in others im a 10, i find it the same with bras to, im not givin out my size lol but i one shop im one size and in another shop im another size. its so annoying when you wanna try out a new shop you gotta figure out what size you take in there.

[Refieth]

I know what you mean... I'm very thin, always have been, and there's hardly any clothes in my size. And there's a kid in my school who's short and tubby and the tight clothes she wears make her look like a blob. Again, sizing problems. Come on, clothes shops, sort it out!

[Mr Spike]

You think clothes size is bad?? I have to search high and low for size 13 shoes....

Although I have no idea what my collar size, waist size, inner leg etc is, so when it comes to buying fancy clothes for that one-off party that you have to go to, I get lost for about 3 hours in a department store, and end off going to Game instead

[Unknown Entity]

You think clothes size is bad?? I have to search high and low for size 13 shoes....

Although I have no idea what my collar size, waist size, inner leg etc is, so when it comes to buying fancy clothes for that one-off party that you have to go to, I get lost for about 3 hours in a department store, and end off going to Game instead

OMG! Thats what me and my brother do! XD

Seriously, my brother is also a size 13 in shoes, and the only way he can get them is by the internet, but then there is the problems with the post, how the shoes are (strong, crap, painful), and if they are ok for school! If he could have got them in a shop, there would have been no need for postal delays, and he can pick out ones he can wear to school, and if they are comforable. For some reason, we find it easy to get him trainers without the internet...

Also, have you ever noticed that a lot of trousers these days are too long? Even for your size? I have to turn the backs of my jeans up to stop them dragging on the floor, but they are my size!

[Furore]

What I hate is buying a large size shirt which is technically my size. And finding that it is indeed loose, but it ends halfway down my stomach. If I wanted frostbite or to look like a git, that'd be fine. But no, I just want a normal shirt. I've noticed that I've found more and more of such shirts of late...

It's really not uncommon for a guy to be over 6' tall these days, so why do some of the shirts seem to be shrinking and getting wider?

But apart from that, no real problems. And I notice if I stick to store brands, the size seems to be the right one usually. Large is large, small is small and there's nothing weird around.

Oh and I'm the largest standard size shoe myself. What's a pain is half the stores don't stock it and those who do tend to have bugger all. If my feet grow any more chances are I'll be having to buy online. And that'd suck as I wouldn't really be able to try them out first...

And that's why I'm not always too fond of clothes shopping.
Any other kind is awesome.

[Walter Sobchak]

I wear a 34-28 pants size, and I sometimes have to squeeze, while other times I need a belt. It is fascinating. However, my shirt size is a 16 32/33, and those all fit the same.

I wear an 11 shoe, and I always wear sandals, so I do not notice.

Big people get bad clothes because of the market. Skinny people are good looking people, and tend to buy flashier clothes than others.

I took my brother to buy clothes for graduation (he has never worn nice clothes before), and we went to Mens Wearhouse, where I shop all the time. He didn't fit, so we had to go to Big and Tall, which is conveniently the next store over. Mens Wearhouse is huge, flashy, and the employees are clean and pristine. In Big and Tall, it is one old lady eating Burger King with a broken door, dirty carpet, and a fourth of the size.

[Furore]

I wear a 34-28 pants size, and I sometimes have to squeeze, while other times I need a belt. It is fascinating. However, my shirt size is a 16 32/33, and those all fit the same.

That's where I'd consider you lucky. Over here locally, the majority of shirts fit the same in stores, but some large shirts seem to be made for insanely small overweight men. They seem to fit perfectly. Until you realise half your stomach is showing.

And our labels for shirts tend to be just S, M, L, XL, XXL etc. Pants tend to have sizes for the waist and all which I love, but the shirts can be any number of sizes...

[Walter Sobchak]

That's where I'd consider you lucky. Over here locally, the majority of shirts fit the same in stores, but some large shirts seem to be made for insanely small overweight men. They seem to fit perfectly. Until you realise half your stomach is showing.

And our labels for shirts tend to be just S, M, L, XL, XXL etc. Pants tend to have sizes for the waist and all which I love, but the shirts can be any number of sizes...

We have the small, medium, large, etc. But I only wear dress shirts, and that is how they come. It does neck and arm size, so they are almost a perfect fit.

If you asked ten men their dress shirt size, nine of them wouldn't know it.

I wear a large in a regular t-shirt, but that varies, as you say. I am going through my black slacks black dress shirt phase, which I go through for three months every other year, so I am not buying t-shirts.

[Joe]

Ha, It's kind of weird for me, I have no problem finding shirts whatsoever, I wear a large, simply because of my height (I'm right around six feet even.) All of the fabric, for the most part, from these large t-shirts goes toward the length, since I'm incredibly thin/lean/stick-like, etc, so I've never had a problem with a large not being long enough.

The real trouble when I'm clothes shopping is finding shorts and jeans. I live in the Southeast in America, so jeans for really skinny people aren't in as high demand, at least from what I see on store shelves. I wear a 30waist X 33 length pant, and 30 waists are few and far between. most of the time I settle for the slightly more common (though still hard to find) 31 waist, and I wear a belt.

[Govinda]

I don't understand why clothes shops can't just adhere to standards, simple ones. In Dorothy Perkins I am a size 12 in bottoms, and can't ever fit anything less than a 14-16 over my top half. At the moment I'm wearing a size 12 pair of New Look jeans and a size ten jumper from Topshop.

It's ****ing annoying and demoralising. Needed a cheapo black shirt for work, so I went to Primark - and had to get an 18. It's horrible, walking about feeling like an 18, wearing a size 18, but knowing somewhere inside you that you're not really so it's okay. But the tag still tells you you're pushing the scales severely. And the bras in Primark...oh my good gods. Yes, I know I have large breasts, but you are not going to sell me that badly sewn together pair of buckets and then say you don't have my back size. I hate Primark, I really do. Maybe it's because I had to work in there, I don't know.

So yeah. Wish shops would start paying attention.

Sucks about your mum, Entity. Just avoid H & M from now on. I think New Look's pretty good, their 'Inspire' range always has nice, untentlike clothes in it, my auntie shops nowhere else. It's really good, in Glasgow at least.

[Rocky]

I guess I really don't have problems looking for clothes, but then again my body is considered "average" by America's society standards. I wear a 32-30 for jeans and I can fit into most adult small or medium shirts. I'm 5'10 and weigh about 145 pounds btw (for you people over the antlantic/pacific oceans, do the conversion if you are curious, lol.).

The fact is that the world is obsessed with beauty, and has been since the beginning of time. Currently, we see thin and muscular as the paragon for beauty. Call it what you will, but we as a society see this as the way it is, so you can't blame anyone for it. Also, the clothing companies need to make a profit as well. I'm not completely sure on this, but there are more thin and trim people then chubby/obese people, so therefore the companies are going to do the logical thing and make more clothes and of better quality. Again, I am not sure about this, but my guess is it might take more money/resources to make clothes that fit bigger people.

Also the simple fact that clothes sizes are different even though they are have the same "number" is because that different companies make them, and thus use different units of measurement. Do you really think that people in New York City and that people in Barcelona can make the same "13" trousers? Probably not.

[Storm]

I have the issue of being 5'1" which is a pain when buying trousers! I'm a UK size 8 in trousers (US 4), however with legs which are I believe 29", it is incredibally hard to find them to fit. Any shop which has a petite range is very expensive (i'm a student and a cheap skate which doesn't help), then add on the troubles with me being very fussy and anti-fashionable, plus how hard it is to find size 8s in a petite range, and the fact that I need to travel to actually go to a town/city which HAS shops with a petite range... its hard! Many people tell me to go to the kids section, which sometimes works but a lot of the time the clothes there appear to be for people with very little figure, so I have trouble there for having 32"-25"-33" dimensions. Tops are easy though since its only my legs which have the small issue and I can wear size 8s, 10s and the occassional 12. Bras are aweful to shop for though. I'm a 32C, and the cheap shops seem to believe that if you have a 32-inch chest you are a B-cup or below. This means that I have to pay £25-£30 (US $48.75-$58.50) for a good bra (again my alternate fashion sense strikes!). Its extremely rare for me to go shoe shopping too, as its even more of an ordeal than trousers or bras. I'm a size 3 or 4 depending on the type of shoe and the shop, which are hard enough to find but when you have slender feet and a very skinny ankle area it's very difficult to find things comfortable enough to wear. I'm wearing my purple converse to a point where the fabric is starting to rip, and in order to wear boots I must pad them out with 2 layers of socks or a thick pair.

[Pete]

I've been blessed with averageness. Though I'm not a fan of how different stores have different opinions on what their numbers mean.

I'm 5'8"-5'9" and about 165lbs, with a 32inch waist, a 30in inseam and a shirt size of 16; 32/33 (I guess I'm that 1 in 10 that James was talking about), with a 10-11 shoe size, depending.

The thing that bothers me is that various stores have no idea what a true waist size is. American Eagle is good about it, Target is not. I won't lie, I've bought shorts and crap like that at Target, and almost every time, a 32 is a 33 or 34, or a medium tshirt is a large or somewhere between medium and large. To be honest, I think the only reason this is done is to boost the confidence of our country's ever-expanding waistline. Instead of actually dieting and exercising, they just make the clothes a little more spacious, slap a tag on them and call it a day. You wind up either thinking you've lost weight or that you're still a perfect fit. It's a smart move by target, but it really sucks for people who know their size and want something to fit well.




I suppose the rule of thumb would be, if you have the time, try everything on. It saves time in the long run, and will ensure you'll look somewhat decent. Plus, you can see if you actually like something on you before you buy it and wind up disappointed.

[Tallulah]

Bleh. It even varies in-shop. In Next I tried to get into a pair of size-16 jeans but they did not quite fit and I had to get the next size up. A couple of months later, I went to the same shop and tried on a pair of size-16 jeans, and they fit perfect!

The New Look size 16s fit me ok, but Dororthy Perkins size 16 are a bit more snug. As for Primark (bottoms, at least), forget it! Though Primark socks are amazing; they say 4-7 and they fit me fine (I am a UK shoe size 8).

[Usagy]

Don't have a problem at all with that, since I'm averagely build and in a good shape.
Over here you won't find clothes for "big" people in regular really. Only special shops got those, then again we got very few people of those sizes here.

Peace out