Why I'm Considering Becoming a Nudist.
Clothing sizes. Dagger Aleph recently blogged on the craziness of size zero. Actually, there's lots of craziness relating to clothing, and it doesn't end with size zero.
First, I hate clothing sales because going to them always reminds me that I must wear the most common size in the US--size 10. Sales at the Gap, Banana, etc., always have piles of size 0-4, and sizes 16-20 left for their sales. Hey, guys, let's update our beliefs about size and distribution! Maybe if they stocked more clothes for normal people (normal in the distributional sense), they'd, gasp, make more money! It just seems so obvious.
Second, I recently went with my pal Mary on a mini-shopping spree. We went to the apparrel stores, where I bought size 10 pants. Then we went to a sporting goods store, where I bought track pants in a size 14. It's quite clever, really: At a sporting goods store, they want you to think you're larger than you actually are (or at least thought you were)--solution? Buy more stuff from their gadgets and gizmo section to help you work off those extra pounds! Clever, clever people.
Finally, Mary and I also hit a trendy, high-priced store--more for research than actual purchasing. There, I don't think they made any clothes for me--Mary, on the other hand, a small girl, could squeeze into their size 10 jeans (Mary is usually about a size 2 or 4). Now this type of sizing has to do with exclusivity. Stores of this sort are catering to the model-wannabes, and the tiny rich Asian population. Soo, they don't want to suggest to their clientelle that just anyone can wear their clothes--that's why the clothes are so appropriately and exhorbitantly priced! Because 'only models shop here.'
You know, in general, I'm pretty happy with my figure. I don't own a scale, but I do the jiggle test once in awhile (stand naked in front of mirror, and holding my breasts down, jump up and down to see where I need to focus my exercises), and I'm in pretty darned good shape. But shopping almost always makes me feel like a giant freakshow monster with abnormally large hips and breasts who apparently doesn't deserve to wear the super-sexy jeans or too-cute cardigans.
Since when did hitting puberty mean the end of sexy clothes?
First, I hate clothing sales because going to them always reminds me that I must wear the most common size in the US--size 10. Sales at the Gap, Banana, etc., always have piles of size 0-4, and sizes 16-20 left for their sales. Hey, guys, let's update our beliefs about size and distribution! Maybe if they stocked more clothes for normal people (normal in the distributional sense), they'd, gasp, make more money! It just seems so obvious.
Second, I recently went with my pal Mary on a mini-shopping spree. We went to the apparrel stores, where I bought size 10 pants. Then we went to a sporting goods store, where I bought track pants in a size 14. It's quite clever, really: At a sporting goods store, they want you to think you're larger than you actually are (or at least thought you were)--solution? Buy more stuff from their gadgets and gizmo section to help you work off those extra pounds! Clever, clever people.
Finally, Mary and I also hit a trendy, high-priced store--more for research than actual purchasing. There, I don't think they made any clothes for me--Mary, on the other hand, a small girl, could squeeze into their size 10 jeans (Mary is usually about a size 2 or 4). Now this type of sizing has to do with exclusivity. Stores of this sort are catering to the model-wannabes, and the tiny rich Asian population. Soo, they don't want to suggest to their clientelle that just anyone can wear their clothes--that's why the clothes are so appropriately and exhorbitantly priced! Because 'only models shop here.'
You know, in general, I'm pretty happy with my figure. I don't own a scale, but I do the jiggle test once in awhile (stand naked in front of mirror, and holding my breasts down, jump up and down to see where I need to focus my exercises), and I'm in pretty darned good shape. But shopping almost always makes me feel like a giant freakshow monster with abnormally large hips and breasts who apparently doesn't deserve to wear the super-sexy jeans or too-cute cardigans.
Since when did hitting puberty mean the end of sexy clothes?
Labels: Ranting
posted by slickaphonic at 8:14 PM
4 Comments:
it never ceases to irritate me that at my favorite store I am a size XS. I am four inches taller than your average woman and have shoulders like a line backer. I'd buy their clothes if they told me I was as stupid fat cow, because they are well designed, the fabrics are great and they are really easy to wear. I don't need to be flattered. Oh, ok, call me beautiful every once in a while.
Well, Beautiful, my pal Mary has the problem that she's four inches shorter than the average girl; so any time she tries on clothes, she always looks like a child trying on Mom's clothes. I guess she can to go to a tailor, and you can always sport default capris...
I always thought it was cruel that the children's section has clothes labeled "husky".
Maybe the excess inventory at the extremes of the distribution is an integer problem. If only one size 20 person comes in every two weeks, you can either not carry size 20s and tell them to shop elsewhere, or you can have a single size 20 dress sitting on the shelf for two weeks doing nothing. Even though it's optimal to have 0.07 dresses, the inclusive and friendly thing is to stock 1.0 units.
There may also be an observation bias, in that you're probably not noticing the odd sizes when they have your size.
Well, Mr. BK, first you're not a girl, and have no idea what misery we discuss here.
But that aside, for the first problem, there are usually plenty o' size zeros through 4's and plenty o' size 20's. Not one. Not two. plenty. Now I have wondered if the size zeros and size 20's are just really good at solving the collective action problem and just wait until the sale starts to buy their clothing, but in the end, it seemed unlikely. If I am lucky enough to hit a sale at the start, then yes, I usually find one or two items in my size and the sizes surrounding my size--and a pile--a pile of those "tail" people's clothes.
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