some practical clothing questions

[placeholdername]

Just got some new stuff in the mail and I have a few random questions:

1) I got this neat cami which looks great and feels great.  There's just one odd thing: at the top of the side seam underneath the underarm there are these thin plastic loop things.  They're like what I imagine invisible straps would look like, except theyre in such an odd place, and they look kind of flimsy and cheap.  Has anyone else ever had a cami with things like that?

2) Got my first pair of girls shoes and they sort of almost fit -- length is perfect but my toes feel a bit scrunched.  For guy's shoes, this is always a big no no and means you need wider/longer etc.  Except these are girls shoes and so I'm wondering if some toe scrunching is just normal?  I'm planning on ordering some shoes that are a bit fancier so I want to make sure I get the sizes right.

3) Got 3 new skirts (actually my first skirts whatsoever).  They're all the same size (6) -- one fits great (and looks great), but the other two seem a little large  I mean they kind of hang on my barely existent hips and they're not going to fall off, they just seem a little loose or something.  I'm not really sure how they should fit...

[Jeatyn]

I'm pretty sure the plastic strap things are for hanging purposes

shoes shouldn't smoosh your toes unless they are those super pointy toed ones, i cant see how they could possibly be comfortable ever

for the fit it just depends how you want to wear it, try a size lower and see how it feels/looks? (obviously keep the one that fits nicely)

[Osiris]

Another thing about women's clothing, SIZES ARE TOTALLY MESSED UP!

Seriously, mens clothing is simple, a 34x30 pair of pants will be the same no matter what brand you go to. In womens if you wear a size 8 in one brand it's a size 6 for another or a size 10 petite in another. It makes no sense!

[placeholdername]

Yes, I realize women's sizes are fubared.  Have to look for the sizing chart on every website I check (and I check a lot of them ).

As for the shoes -- the ones I got are size 11.  The length seems okay.  Should I try for 12 or try to find 11 wide?

[Osiris]

11 wide should be perfect for you.

But remember with different kinds of shoes comes different sizes. Boots fit differently than dress shoes so sometimes you'll need another size.

[vanna]

the inner loops are just for hanging your clothes nicely

yes the size difference can be annoying i bought u.k size 10 jeans last week and they are way big so i need to go back and change for an 8.
mens clothing was much simpler i agree

for shoes, find wider fitting makes or buy a half size bigger than your current confirmed size, again though shoe sizes are crazy difference sometimes

[sd]

Another thing about women's clothing, SIZES ARE TOTALLY MESSED UP!

Seriously, mens clothing is simple, a 34x30 pair of pants will be the same no matter what brand you go to. In womens if you wear a size 8 in one brand it's a size 6 for another or a size 10 petite in another. It makes no sense!

And that style in your size, will most likely be sold out.

[Osiris]

oh yeah there's another thing. Even in the same brand, if it's a different style it's probably a totally different size. lol

[Janet_Girl]

Womens clothing are not standardized at all.  In Gloria Vanderbilt, I wear a size 6.  In Levies, size 8.
House brands, anything from a size 6 to a size 11.  Go figure.

Mens, size 28 x 30.  Period.

Shoes depends on the way it is cut.

[MarySue]

3) Got 3 new skirts (actually my first skirts whatsoever).  They're all the same size (6) -- one fits great (and looks great), but the other two seem a little large  I mean they kind of hang on my barely existent hips and they're not going to fall off, they just seem a little loose or something.  I'm not really sure how they should fit...

As others have said, dress sizes aren't exactly standardized.

But skirts have an additional problem: namely whether the designer intended the skirt's waistband to be at your natural waist, or hang low on your hips.

Most women have hips that are 8-10" larger than their waist. I gather you don't. Surprise! Join the club!

As a result, if the designer wants the skirt to ride low, he/she will make the waistband much larger than "standard" for that size. The difference could easily be several inches. That might explain why those two skirts seem to fall off your hips.

[Cindy]

One trick that may help if you are out shopping but don't want to try skirts on is to know the length of your best fitting skirt waist on your arw. Holw the skiot in your hand fingers just bent ove so the waist starts at for example your knuckles. Stretch the waist along your arm and determine where it ends. Either memorise that spot or put a piece of tape there. I'm lucky my waist is from 1/2 way along my fingers to the crease in my elbow.

That way you can pick up a skirt and measure the waist on you.

As thers have said female clothes sizing is a joke.

Cindy James

[sd]

One trick that may help if you are out shopping but don't want to try skirts on is to know the length of your best fitting skirt waist on your arw. Holw the skiot in your hand fingers just bent ove so the waist starts at for example your knuckles. Stretch the waist along your arm and determine where it ends. Either memorise that spot or put a piece of tape there. I'm lucky my waist is from 1/2 way along my fingers to the crease in my elbow.

That way you can pick up a skirt and measure the waist on you.

That is a very neat trick.
Probably good to know waist and hips that way.

[Cindy]

Sorry about the spelling! I didn't review it and my keyboard is having a bad hair day

CJ

[sd]

Sorry about the spelling! I didn't review it and my keyboard is having a bad hair day

CJ

It's okay, I have dyslexic fingers and I am fluent in typonese.

[placeholdername]

Most women have hips that are 8-10" larger than their waist. I gather you don't. Surprise! Join the club!

Actually, I sort of do.  I'm not 100% sure where the 'natural' waist is.  If i measure the thinnest part of my abdomen its 28 and my hips are 37.  My man-jeans fall somewhere below the 28 and I usually wear 30x30.

[Constance]

Another thing about women's clothing, SIZES ARE TOTALLY MESSED UP!

Seriously, mens clothing is simple, a 34x30 pair of pants will be the same no matter what brand you go to. In womens if you wear a size 8 in one brand it's a size 6 for another or a size 10 petite in another. It makes no sense!

I've found that men's sizes do differ, too. In Levi's/Dockers, I'm a size 38 waist. In most other brands, I'm a 36 waist. I'm a 35 or even 34 in some off-brands.

I have 1 pair of women's shoes so far. They're 11-wide, and my big toes seem a bit scrunched. Unfortunately, I was not able to find 11.5 at the store I was at, and the 12's were too big. The thickness of the socks/nylons seems to help. My men's socks make the shoes more uncomfortable, but women's sock seem to help.

[MarySue]

One trick that may help if you are out shopping but don't want to try skirts on is to know the length of your best fitting skirt waist on your arm. Hold the skirt in your hand fingers just bent over so the waist starts at for example your knuckles. Stretch the waist along your arm and determine where it ends. Either memorize that spot or put a piece of tape there. I'm lucky my waist is from 1/2 way along my fingers to the crease in my elbow.

Cindy James

*Chuckle* Great minds think alike! I use the same trick.

But my mark is about an inch down from the inside of my elbow. Yours is halfway down your forearm? Great zot, Cindy! You must have an incredibly tiny waist.

Either that or you have arms like a gorilla! 

[Cindy]

Hi Mary Sue

I'm a 30" waist. So half way of the skirt waist is from my finger joint to my elbow crease. I'v just measured it as 15"! Validation.

Does that make me a gorilla or an orangutan 

LoL
Cindy James
Post Merge: March 14, 2009, 02:06:44 AM
Oh, another thing

I find shoe sizes to be pretty accurate. Know a days I just go to the shoe store and try them on. And usually I'm dressed as Cindy and never had a problem. If you are nervous go to one of the self serve stores and find your size. In my expreience the size stays pretty close throughout brands. But boy size and girl size are not equivalent. For some reason boy shoes are designed to make the foot look bigger, girl shoes to make them smaller.

Mmm sexist shoes

Cindy James

[MarySue]

Cindy,

Sorry -- I misread your post. I thought you said that half your waist size -- eg, a skirt folded over on a hanger -- was from your finger tips to halfway up your arms. That would have given you a 15" waist. Yikes!

My mistake. You're just a regular primate, like the rest of us.

Alas, I don't go shopping as Mary Sue. For a gal, I'm only slightly larger than average -- 5-8, 31" waist, 140 pounds -- but I'm balding, I have a lot of body hair (talk about gorillas!), and I have heavy beard shadow. The first I can solve with a wig, and the second with long sleeves and high necklines (although they're not in style, damn it!). But covering up my beard is beyond my meager makeup skills.

I've been doing the "size it against my arm" trick for years without anyone realizing what I'm doing. Or least no one has ever called me on it. If I do it carefully, it just looks like I'm checking for damage.

It works for dresses, too.

Oh yes, I've also discovered that shoe sizes are pretty consistent. The size numbers are different, of course. Generally your gal-size is one or 1.5 higher than your guy-size. I take a men's size 8, and I normally fit into a women's size 9. But I avoid shoes with a toe-box that looks narrow and pointed. Odds are my foot will be too wide for it.

  -- Mary Sue

[snowy]

One trick that may help if you are out shopping but don't want to try skirts on is to know the length of your best fitting skirt waist on your arw. Holw the skiot in your hand fingers just bent ove so the waist starts at for example your knuckles. Stretch the waist along your arm and determine where it ends. Either memorise that spot or put a piece of tape there. I'm lucky my waist is from 1/2 way along my fingers to the crease in my elbow.

What a great tip! Thanks!