Also they make me look like Comic Book Guy and this is bad for my body image issues.

[substitute]

This is going to sound like a dumb Observational Comedian Rant, but here we go. What the hell is going on with t-shirt sizes? The devaluation of sizing is weird. I'm 5'11" and 240 lbs and in most other types of clothing I wear either an L or an XL. In t-shirts, an XL now looks like something one of my smaller female friends might comfortably wear without tucking it in. After washing, it's suitable for a chihuahua. In order to wear a shirt I must order at least XXL, and if it's going to be washed I should get XXXL. Of course the typical t-shirt vendor has S, M, L, XL, and that's it. I have had quite a few good shirts that I wore maybe twice before they became rags or gifts to tiny friends.

Is this a piece of sharp business to get us all to buy unwearable handkerchiefs for $20? Can they really make that much more money by selling undersized shirts to everyone? Do they think we're all Laotian? Why does no one buck the trend and sell t-shirts that are the Real World Size and US $1 more?

I have shirts I bought ten years ago that are XXL and still hang way below my belt line and feel a bit baggy around the shoulders. It wasn't always like this.

Small dishonesties like this bug me way out of proportion: the Starbucks small being "tall", ultra-colossal olives, etc.

I blame Excel.

Comments

[trinnit.livejournal.com]

You've encountered the +$10 for these sizes range.

[miss-education.livejournal.com]

I have the same deal. Only in reverse. See, in female clothing you have Women's and you have Junior's. There is also this thing call petite, but randomly comes in either Women's or Junior's. There is no middle ground. Except say, the Gap[aptly named].

[icariancypher.livejournal.com]

Let's hear it for Excel!!!! w00t!

I think the sizes are just fucked every which way, honestly.
Some jeans I've bought are marked the same size, but one pair is loose, while the other was obviously made for a small anorexic child.

On the other hand, I tend to wear M shirts, and I'm 6'4" and almost 200 lbs.

I think there may be something about the strangeness and variety of human shape clashing with a demented textile/clothing industry's demand for cost savings/slavish attention to popular trends.

EXCEL!@!

Small dishonesties

[torgo-x.livejournal.com]

I still grind my teeth every time I see ".99" on the end of a price.

[klikitak.livejournal.com]

I blame emo kids.

No for reals- all those dudes WANTING pants to grasp their banana hammocks. Shirts that outline their nips.

I say we go back to hammer pants. Please, don't hurt 'em.

banana hammocks

[citizenx.livejournal.com]

That was wonderful.

[switchstatement.livejournal.com]

i have the opposite problem, and the problems others have mentioned. i'm a very small person and can never find clothing small enough for me, except kids clothes which are just a tad TOO small. i also own several pairs of pants which are the same size, make and model and which were purchased at the same time, but which are drastically different in actual physical dimensions. i.e., some fit to varying degrees, one pair is way too big, and one pair doesn't even cover my ankles.

[cowboyjoey.livejournal.com]

I've got your same problem. Most of the stuff that's labelled as "Small" is too big for me still. But that's what I get for being asian in North America :P

[frobisher.livejournal.com]

I find that the line between XL and XXL is a complete mystery. I'm convinced that no two clothiers have the same size concepts. I just got a pair of shorts that fit, but those at an adjoining island of clothing in the same size did not.

I'm just winging it at this point.

[amorpoeta.livejournal.com]

Be thankful you don't have boobs or a big ass to deal with.