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Vanity Sizing in Clothes

Coach RichCoach Rich
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On of my guilty pleasures (?) is skimming Slowtwitch from time to time. Found this link to an article in Esquire about "vanity sizing:" http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-090710

First of all, Joanne buys my clothes, such as they are, at Costco so not sure where my buying habits lay on the Esquire scale. I doubt I'm their target reader . But I recently attended a motorcycle rally and the organizers offered long or short sleeve t-shirts. Just like any other t-shirt, I ordered a large. I "might" be a medium for a portion of the year but a large works, all the time, especially if any shrinkage in a cotton t. However, this thing is swimming on me. Easily what I would consider to be an XL or XXL.

Patrick and I had EN polo shirts made for us, by Dunning. I'd call these true to size, athletic cut (ie, made for fit people) shirts. They fit very well and, if anything, the arms might be a little small for me.

Anyway, I can only imagine the friction that you poor bastards in the real world have to deal with when you buy clothes for your real world jobs. If you're a 32 waist are you actually buying a labeled 30? Can you even FIND a 30? I've told Joanne I want to have a pair of 30" jeans reserved for race week only and my goal is to get into them, easily

Comments

  • jwpicciottojwpicciotto
    I am not sure if a motorcycle rally is the right place to be looking for "true to size" sizing. Most of the people that I see riding Hogs look like they are trying to smoother the bike seat as their fleshy bits hang off the bike like ice cream melting in the hot sun. It's like Jabba the Hut meets easy rider.

    I do know that I have hit the bottom of the waist range at Lucky Jeans. My official 32 inch waist is a 29 there. If it gets any smaller, my next stop is the kiddie department for a pair of Garanimals.
  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    This wasn't a "rally," like what you're talking about, rather a group of off-road riders meeting in Death Valley for the weekend. But these are probably the only civilians I ever hang out or have conversations with. Basically nothing in common with them other than riding motorcycles.

    Still...it's a t-shirt. What could go wrong?

    I'm in Lucky 32's, they're getting loose. I'll likely be jailin' in 'em in 8wks.
  • filarlfilarl
    Hey - what's wrong with the kids dept?
    For some size-challenged folks, you can get a good deal on high-tech (under armour, patagonia, etc) sports and rec type clothing, usually about 25 - 50% less than adult size.
    and John - sooo not liking the graphic image you describe, although sums up what I usually see here in the Northeast as well.
  • ironmtngrlironmtngrl
    I was recently trying to find some jeans that would fit me in the department stores in the mall (total failure, btw) and was shocked that I was having trouble finding selection in sizes small enough for me. Trust me, this in the past hasn't been my issue. Needless to say, this didn't exactly make me unhappy. However, it is a sad reflection of what a large percentage of Americans are overweight. I've been reading "The Sugar Fix" - very interesting read about fructose possibly being the culprit of skyrocketing percentages of folks having weight trouble.
  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    Linda,

    Joanne and I took up snowboarding this year. We were able to get her kitted out for about half of what it cost me because she's able to get into kid's stuff, on sale no less. Too bad she doesn't wear kid's size designer shoes....
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch
    Beverly- check out the kids section in Target. Seriously. At our height, it's actually a reasonable option. I save a lot of money that way- but the quality is what you pay for- they don't expect you to be wearing it for more than one season.
  • Tom GlynnTom Glynn

     @Nemo,

     

    so this is what you wear www.target.com/b/722970011/ref=sc_pgb_r_3_0_13298291_2 ?

  • J.T. ThompsonJ.T. Thompson
    @Rich - I hear what you are saying about buying clothes for real world jobs....having to wear a suit to work and being a fairly lean guy, I can't normally for example buy dress shirts off the rack - they end up being huge around the waist. I've gotten to the point that I just get most shirts custom made - costs a bit more, but at least they fit.

    Right there with you on the T-shirts - never seem to know how they will fit - even if you buy a large.... Happy to report that all my EN gear fits well!! image
  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    Posted By Tom Glynn on 22 Apr 2011 12:45 AM

     @Nemo,

     

    so this is what you wear www.target.com/b/722970011/ref=sc_pgb_r_3_0_13298291_2 ?

     

    Yeah, at the end of every ToC stage, Nemo jumps into her Wonder Woman footie pajamas and curls up in the back with a Nancy Drew novel. Orders from the kid's menu too...

  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    And K-Swiss isn't helping us out with their Ironman branded gear. I have to go up at least one size in it and have had one athlete tell me the shirt from her IM-branded race wouldn't fit a 5 year old.
  • Nemo BrauchNemo Brauch
    Posted By Rich Strauss on 22 Apr 2011 10:58 AM
    Posted By Tom Glynn on 22 Apr 2011 12:45 AM

     @Nemo,

     

    so this is what you wear www.target.com/b/722970011/ref=sc_pgb_r_3_0_13298291_2 ?

     

    Yeah, at the end of every ToC stage, Nemo jumps into her Wonder Woman footie pajamas and curls up in the back with a Nancy Drew novel. Orders from the kid's menu too...



     

    LMAO!  I do my best to avoid cloths with Jasmine or Cinderella.  Anything with Nemo on it though is totally fare game

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