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Dress distress
I just got back from my first time buying clothes in a long time. It was profoundly unpleasant, and not just in the "oh, guys don't like to clothes shop" way (though I do admit I like a whole lotta things better than shopping for clothes).
First off, the only place at the Sycamore Mall that sells men's clothes, now that Austin Burke has closed (and dammit, I was hoping they'd still be open because their going-out-of-business sale was actually pretty good!), is a ritzy department store called Von Haur. Think a more upscale Dillard's or Jones Store - they had a live piano player playing while I was there, to give you an idea of the ritziness of it. And then of course I stroll in, all sweaty from the half-hour walk to the mall and dressed in typical ratty student wear.
I, of course, had just thought it was a mildly upscale department store, like the aforementioned Jones. Nice, but not ridiculously pricey - and I was figuring I could pick up a nice pair of khakis for $30, maybe $40 max. Then I discovered that the cheapest pair of khakis they had were $50, and the second cheapest were $70 (it just went up from there). Ouch.
Anyway, I'd left it till the last minute (I needed them by tomorrow morning) and didn't really have time to check somewhere else, so I picked up a pair in my size and a pair the size up (because men's clothes have gotten less standardized in recent years, and occasionally I find myself wearing a size smaller or a size larger in certain brands, though more usually the latter) and went to try them on.
Neither of them fit.
Okay, I thought. That's weird, but I guess I'll try the next size up.
Those fit as long as I didn't try to move.
What the hell, I thought. I know I haven't gained THAT much weight since the last time I bought pants (which was only in September).
So I try on the next size up - three sizes larger than any of my other pants, and the largest size the store carries in these khakis, which was making me start to worry - and finally found a pair that fit and allowed me to, y'know, walk.
So I left with my expensive pair of pants that are three sizes larger than I usually wear (which did wonders for my self-esteem), feeling frustrated and depressed. And then I realized that from what I've heard, this is pretty much what women go through whenever they shop for clothes.
So, my female brethren (sistren?), I feel your pain, even if only to a very small degree.
First off, the only place at the Sycamore Mall that sells men's clothes, now that Austin Burke has closed (and dammit, I was hoping they'd still be open because their going-out-of-business sale was actually pretty good!), is a ritzy department store called Von Haur. Think a more upscale Dillard's or Jones Store - they had a live piano player playing while I was there, to give you an idea of the ritziness of it. And then of course I stroll in, all sweaty from the half-hour walk to the mall and dressed in typical ratty student wear.
I, of course, had just thought it was a mildly upscale department store, like the aforementioned Jones. Nice, but not ridiculously pricey - and I was figuring I could pick up a nice pair of khakis for $30, maybe $40 max. Then I discovered that the cheapest pair of khakis they had were $50, and the second cheapest were $70 (it just went up from there). Ouch.
Anyway, I'd left it till the last minute (I needed them by tomorrow morning) and didn't really have time to check somewhere else, so I picked up a pair in my size and a pair the size up (because men's clothes have gotten less standardized in recent years, and occasionally I find myself wearing a size smaller or a size larger in certain brands, though more usually the latter) and went to try them on.
Neither of them fit.
Okay, I thought. That's weird, but I guess I'll try the next size up.
Those fit as long as I didn't try to move.
What the hell, I thought. I know I haven't gained THAT much weight since the last time I bought pants (which was only in September).
So I try on the next size up - three sizes larger than any of my other pants, and the largest size the store carries in these khakis, which was making me start to worry - and finally found a pair that fit and allowed me to, y'know, walk.
So I left with my expensive pair of pants that are three sizes larger than I usually wear (which did wonders for my self-esteem), feeling frustrated and depressed. And then I realized that from what I've heard, this is pretty much what women go through whenever they shop for clothes.
So, my female brethren (sistren?), I feel your pain, even if only to a very small degree.
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That's okay, friend -- my waist is a size 15 and my hips are a size 18. I can't fit anything without a hardware belt that weighs about 5 lbs. I feel your pain. :D
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(yet another reason the fashion industry sucks monkey cock.)
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My worst clothes experince I've ever had was after I gained a ton of weight and not really realizing it and I went to buy summer clothes and all the really cute clothes I wanted were way to small and I got stuck buying some really ugly plus size clothing. I was crying at one point and never wanted to go clothes shopping again. I totaly felt shitty. Though I have to say women's plus size clothes choices have gotten better with Lane Byant and Torrid but at a deparment store it's much harder to find anything all that nice.
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Setting: Krusty's Clown College
Krusty: Homer, these pants are supposed to be baggy. BAGGY!!!!
Homer: Oooh, I've never had a better fitting pair of pants.
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(Anonymous) 2006-06-09 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
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Also while I was in Duluth this weekend I saw a rerun of the "family of seven" episode of WNTW on motel cable. XD
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i dunno, what is a "standard" body size, anyway? from all the people i know and even all the people i observe and have never spoken to in my life, i think what most clothing manufacturers think is "standard" clearly isn't.
i got upset not long ago cos i found out that this cheap-but-decently-made French mail-order catalog place was offering its stuff in the US now, and i really dug some of the designs. and the prices were nice. so i ordered a few things, and since i'd never worn their clothes before, i erred on the larger side of the range of sizes i tend to fit into.
when the clothing got to me, i was quite pleased at the finish, as even though they were really inexpensive, they were made really REALLY well, and the clothes were really cute.
did they fit? OH NO. in fact, from this, i have gleaned that French women clearly do not have boobs. :P so while they're cute, i can't wear any of their stuff. :P
i actually have been enjoying buying a lot of things mail-order, because it's less frustrating. doesn't work when you need an emergency outfit, but i've found some really cute stuff that way and spent as little time in an actual store as possible. XD
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And I know that my mom's been considering going to mail-order because so many plus-size clothes are made for, like, 20-year-old hoochies, and it's hard to find decent but attractive clothes in that size range.
But I just can't imagine doing it for myself, because seriously it would be quite difficult to check for fit. I think I'll stick with "normal" stores (Target, JCPenney's, etc.) though instead of trying to go anywhere ritzy (better for my pocketbook too!).
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and don't get me started on petites, which is also where i usually have to get my clothing from unless i want to let it sit in a pile for months while i work up the mindset to fight with my sewing machine long enough to hem the items in question. XD
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...okay, not really. My jewelry is pretty much limited to a bracelet I wear every day that I inherited from my dad; I don't even wear a watch anymore. XD
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