Vanity sizing or mislabled?

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I'm not the least bit interested in clothing. When I'm forced to shop for clothes I buy in bulk. For years and years I've bought Levis in the same size.

I needed new jeans so I went to buy some Levis. I had on a pair of Levis when I went. I checked the size on the Levis I had on and bought the exact same size so that I wouldn't have to dick around with trying things on.

These pants are absolutely huge!

I know that many of the upscale brands use what they call "vanity sizing" so that a size 8 person can buy size 6, or 4, or whatever makes them feel happiest clothes.

But Levis!? Really?

Do you think these pants are mislabled or do you think even Levis has succumbed to the vanity sizing thing?

I may never shop again.

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For years and years, i bought Levis in size 36-34. For years and years, though, they have been steadily shrinking those damned jeans. I haven't been able to put on a pair of 36-34s for 20 years or more. I blame vanity something--but certainly not my own vanity.

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@boomerang,

There's so much variety in general. We figured this out when I'd try to buy pants for E.G. (especially jeans). I'd check the size of his favorite ones and then go get some that were the same size. Simple right? Wrong.

He also hates shopping, but the only way for him to find stuff that fits (including Levi's) is to try on about five different pairs that are all supposedly the same size. Some will be too big, some will be too small, some will be too long, some will be too short. And sometimes none of 'em work.

I'm not sure if the variety is greater now or not. I've changed sizes often enough and have mistrusted sizing long enough that I pretty much always just try something on before buying rather than going by the size on the label.

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I have clothes size 2 to 12.

Damned if I can figure it out.

Try-ons are a must. Then I buy 2 or 3 of the same thing in different color.

And I'd like to kill the person who invented that low slung fit in women's pants.

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@sozobe,

That's no way to inspire brand loyalty!

The only reason I become loyal to a brand is because it makes shopping less torture. I became loyal to Levis when Ralph Lauren quit making "boyfriend jeans" because, I guess, having something on the market for too long is somehow bad.

I've never had a problem with Levis until this pair. I'm glad they only had one pair in this size or I might have been stuck with several pairs of clown pants.

If Converse ever changes their sizing I'll shoot myself.

Okay, not really, but I'll be truly mad.

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@boomerang,

He hasn't worn Levi's in a while (he's fond of Cabela's these days) but we had that problem with Levi's occasionally (not always) from when I met him almost 20 years ago until he stopped wearing them maybe 5 years ago.

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@PUNKEY,

I'd rather have a colonoscopy than try on clothes.

I kind of like low slung pants though and that's one of the reasons I like the style of Levis that I buy.

With this pair I feel like I should tie a rope around my waist and start singing "C'mon Eileen" even though I know that's not quite right.

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@boomerang,

Whatever weight I've been or weight distribution I've had, I've always been many sizes, depending on the label/clothing company. Haven't often stuck to one label. Have long been used to the guesswork of holding jeans up to me and seeing if they seem right. I've mostly thrift shopped for decades now, so that's a real crap shoot. But, if I buy seven things, adding up to not much money, six of them will fit, but they will be sized differently.

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@boomerang,

Quote:

Vanity sizing or mislabled?

When I'm vanity sizing myself it's always up and potentially mislabelled.

1 Reply

@laughoutlood,

I'm lucky, I can fit into anything.

1 Reply

@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

That's no way to inspire brand loyalty!

The only reason I become loyal to a brand is because it makes shopping less torture.
I became loyal to Levis when Ralph Lauren quit making "boyfriend jeans" because, I guess,
having something on the market for too long is somehow bad.

I've never had a problem with Levis until this pair. I'm glad they only had one pair in this size
or I might have been stuck with several pairs of clown pants.

If Converse ever changes their sizing I'll shoot myself.

Notice how, out of DIPLOMACY,
I don 't ask your choice of gun for that purpose.

boomerang wrote:

Okay, not really, but I'll be truly mad.

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@fobvius,

fobvius wrote:

I'm lucky, I can fit into anything.

Yeah, me too, as long as its custom tailored.

David

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@Setanta,

Setanta wrote:

For years and years, i bought Levis in size 36-34. For years and years, though,
they have been steadily shrinking those damned jeans.
I haven't been able to put on a pair of 36-34s for 20 years or more.
I blame vanity something--but certainly not my own vanity.

I don 't have problems with pants (I get 2 extra pair with each suit I order),
but thay keep building the floors lower and lower every year.

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When I got married, I was 105 lbs and wore a size 5 or 7. Today I weigh more than that and I'm wearing a size 6 or 8. Every brand has their own sizing system, it seems, so you never know what the heck size you're wearing. And bathing suits, of course, are sized small, just to make you feel like a fatty, so I wear a 12.

And I hate those low slung pants, too. (Remember hipsters?) They're okay if you don't have any middle flab, but if you do, heaven help you. And somehow, I just can't get my head wrapped around the idea of a 4" zipper.

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My serious answer is that i, too, have to try things on, because you can't rely on the size labels. That's true for Levis as well as other brands, and has been for as long as i can remember.

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caveat emptor

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I suppose I've come to rely on Levis because they are sized by waist and inseam -- which you think would be the same because an inch is an inch is an inch.

<sigh>

It looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and start trying things on.

1 Reply

@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

I suppose I've come to rely on Levis because they are sized by waist and inseam -- which you think would be
the same because an inch is an inch is an inch.

<sigh>

It looks like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and start trying things on.

I wore Levi's a lot, when I was a kid in Arizona; not so much, in NY.

David

0 Replies

@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

. . . He also hates shopping, but the only way for him to find stuff that fits
(including Levi's) is to try on about five different pairs that are all supposedly
the same size. Some will be too big, some will be too small, some will be too
long, some will be too short. And sometimes none of 'em work. . .

Are saying that you find that much variability within the same brand (Levi's)?

1 Reply

Quote:

US standard clothing sizes were developed from statistical data in the 1940s-1950s. They were similar in concept to the EN 13402 European clothing size standard.

However, as a result of various cultural pressures, most notably vanity sizing, North American clothing sizes have drifted substantially away from this standard over time, and now have very little connection to it. Instead, they now follow the more loosely defined standards known as US catalog sizes. wiki

There was a time back in the 80s (I think) that US sizing for women dropped a size from what it had been previously. Your old 12s became new 10s. And, yes, it was vanity driven.

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Vanity sizing or mislabled?

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