3 ms·

As a further factor, I have heard that women tend to return clothing more often than men, leading to increased costs for shops that sell to women in comparison

by Hermel 11y ago

As a further factor, I have heard that women tend to return clothing more often than men, leading to increased costs for shops that sell to women in comparison to those that sell to men only.

dragonwriter 11y ago
> As a further factor, I have heard that women tend to return clothing more often than men, leading to increased costs for shops that sell to women in comparison to those that sell to men only. Some of that is that fit is more complex for women (and sizing less consistent -- which unlike the other part, is a direct result of commercial practice -- compounding the problem.)
mdip 11y ago
I'd imagine the same can be said for trying on clothes. The more clothes are tried on, the more they are worn out, resulting in loss. Part of this problem, though, is the company's fault. To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes. My wife's closet has size numbers that vary by 5! We are almost exactly the same size, but my jeans say "30/30", meaning 30" waste, 30" length (at least, that's what I think they mean) and since my weight doesn't ever fluctuate, I have the same size jeans spanning 10 years. Her jeans, same brand, which perfectly fit me (to the point that I mistakenly have worn them) have a single number on them. I rarely try things on and I don't think I've ever returned clothes because of a bad fit. I've been the same size since High School and I know if I buy a 15 shirt and a 30/30 pair of pants, they'll be within an acceptable margin of error that they'll fit. She can pick out a 4 or a 7 and not have any idea if it's going to fit.
- Shish2k 11y ago
  > To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes Why does nobody step up and fix this problem? (See also: clothes for women with useful sized pockets). Given the amount of complaining I see, I would have thought that somebody releasing a range of sensible clothes in women's sizes would instantly dominate the market...
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > > To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes > Why does nobody step up and fix this problem? Because its a cross-industry consistency problem [0], so if someone tries to fix it, you've just created yet another set of inconsistent-with-everyone-else sizes. [0] Lying on top of a "reducing a multidimensional issue to a single variable" problem, sitting astride a "trying to avoid making people buying the product associating the negative body image feelings the fashion industry has deliberately manufactured to create the need for certain products with the products themselves by labeling some of the axes of variation in a clear manner" problem. So, you know, layers of issues...
- Grishnakh 11y ago
  > To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes. Part of it is the stupid clinging to traditional "dress sizes", the other part is that each clothing maker has their own sizing, and they can be radically different. For an extreme example, go check out a Lane Bryant store at your local mall. A "6" there is definitely not like a "6" at someplace like Express. Of course, LB does this for a reason: they cater exclusively to fat women so they have their own sizing standards. But still, given how much curvier women's bodies tend to be, it would make sense for the sizing to be more complex, just as men's pants are. >but my jeans say "30/30", meaning 30" waste Your jeans have 30" of trash?

by Hermel 11y ago

As a further factor, I have heard that women tend to return clothing more often than men, leading to increased costs for shops that sell to women in comparison to those that sell to men only.

dragonwriter 11y ago

> As a further factor, I have heard that women tend to return clothing more often than men, leading to increased costs for shops that sell to women in comparison to those that sell to men only. Some of that is that fit is more complex for women (and sizing less consistent -- which unlike the other part, is a direct result of commercial practice -- compounding the problem.)

mdip 11y ago

I'd imagine the same can be said for trying on clothes. The more clothes are tried on, the more they are worn out, resulting in loss. Part of this problem, though, is the company's fault. To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes. My wife's closet has size numbers that vary by 5! We are almost exactly the same size, but my jeans say "30/30", meaning 30" waste, 30" length (at least, that's what I think they mean) and since my weight doesn't ever fluctuate, I have the same size jeans spanning 10 years. Her jeans, same brand, which perfectly fit me (to the point that I mistakenly have worn them) have a single number on them. I rarely try things on and I don't think I've ever returned clothes because of a bad fit. I've been the same size since High School and I know if I buy a 15 shirt and a 30/30 pair of pants, they'll be within an acceptable margin of error that they'll fit. She can pick out a 4 or a 7 and not have any idea if it's going to fit.

Shish2k 11y ago
> To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes Why does nobody step up and fix this problem? (See also: clothes for women with useful sized pockets). Given the amount of complaining I see, I would have thought that somebody releasing a range of sensible clothes in women's sizes would instantly dominate the market...
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > > To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes > Why does nobody step up and fix this problem? Because its a cross-industry consistency problem [0], so if someone tries to fix it, you've just created yet another set of inconsistent-with-everyone-else sizes. [0] Lying on top of a "reducing a multidimensional issue to a single variable" problem, sitting astride a "trying to avoid making people buying the product associating the negative body image feelings the fashion industry has deliberately manufactured to create the need for certain products with the products themselves by labeling some of the axes of variation in a clear manner" problem. So, you know, layers of issues...
Grishnakh 11y ago
> To this day I can never make sense out of the "sizes" that appear on women's clothes. Part of it is the stupid clinging to traditional "dress sizes", the other part is that each clothing maker has their own sizing, and they can be radically different. For an extreme example, go check out a Lane Bryant store at your local mall. A "6" there is definitely not like a "6" at someplace like Express. Of course, LB does this for a reason: they cater exclusively to fat women so they have their own sizing standards. But still, given how much curvier women's bodies tend to be, it would make sense for the sizing to be more complex, just as men's pants are. >but my jeans say "30/30", meaning 30" waste Your jeans have 30" of trash?