Lying Pants, Truthful Kilts

[CDNSushi]

I found an interesting article on Esquire's fashion blog site. As the article states, women already know this all too well, but buying clothes is often a frustrating exercise due to the "vanity sizing" that goes on with so many companies. As this article makes no mention of kilts, I'm placing it squarely into the "Miscellaneous" forum, but I just thought it would be interesting to comment on the fact that as kilt-wearers, we are mercifully spared much of this kind of corporate deception.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fa...e-chart-090710

Numbers! Should inches be different than miles per hour? Do highway signs make us feel better by informing us that Chicago is but 45 miles away when it's really 72? Multiplication tables don't yield to make us feel better about badness at math; why should pants make us feel better about badness at health? Are we all so many emperors with no clothes

While most people know their body measurements based only on their clothing sizes, that may or may not reflect reality. I would say that most of us here on XMarks likely don't have the problem addressed in the article, given that just about every kiltmaker and kilt-selling retailer insists on accurate waist, thigh, and waist-to-knee measurements in order to provide us with properly fitting garments.

Conclusion: Pants lie. Kilts tell the truth.

Agree?

[artificer]

I found an interesting article on Esquire's fashion blog site. As the article states, women already know this all too well, but buying clothes is often a frustrating exercise due to the "vanity sizing" that goes on with so many companies. As this article makes no mention of kilts, I'm placing it squarely into the "Miscellaneous" forum, but I just thought it would be interesting to comment on the fact that as kilt-wearers, we are mercifully spared much of this kind of corporate deception.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fa...e-chart-090710



While most people know their body measurements based only on their clothing sizes, that may or may not reflect reality. I would say that most of us here on XMarks likely don't have the problem addressed in the article, given that just about every kiltmaker and kilt-selling retailer insists on accurate waist, thigh, and waist-to-knee measurements in order to provide us with properly fitting garments.

Conclusion: Pants lie. Kilts tell the truth.

Agree?

So we might be fat, but at least we know and accept it?

Cool article.

[Standard]

Agree. No matter your size, big or small waisted and hipped, the kilt will definately not fit properly if it is not built to your measurements. Vanity has no place in the kilt sizing world, this does not include of course the the remainder of the kilt experience.

[Tobus]

Conclusion: Pants lie. Kilts tell the truth.

Absolutely. We should burn all the pants for the liars they are!!!

Seriously, this is one issue that I never even realized until I bought my first kilt. I had no idea that my waist size was actually 34". All this time I'd been wearing size 33 pants. They were tricking me into thinking I was thinner than I actually am.

And to make matters worse, not all clothing manufacturers use the same method of subterfuge. Depending on brand, style, etc., I may wear two or three different waist sizes in pants. I guess some manufacturers take the 'lie' further than others. And the worst part is that people just put up with it, as if it's expected!

The same seems to go with shoes. Not that I think they're intentionally lying to me about the size of my foot, but I've found that there's a wild difference between makers of shoes. A size 7US isn't the same from one shoe maker to the next. It's maddening. And again, people just put up with it, as if it's expected!

Thankfully, the three kilts I've had made to my actual measurements (and another on the way) opened my eyes to the wonders of tailor-made garments. Even having custom hose made to my measurements has amazed me with the idea of buying something that actually fits me as if it were made for me! I'm now considering going this route on all my future clothing purchases, including shirts, trousers, and even boots/shoes.

[rtc872]

Well in truth, bespoke anything doesn't lie...

[sathor]

to be fair, each kilt maker has a different way to measure, partly based on how they deal with which hole on the strap they prefer to be used.

[Mike_Oettle]

Tobus wrote: “Absolutely. We should burn all the pants for the liars they are!!!”

[ggibby]

As a professional Shoe Guy in outdoor retail, I must come to the defense of
variations in sizing/perception. To explain:

We carry one brand of footwear that builds their 'last' or foot-shape pattern
for each style/size to 'Brannock' (the sizing tool we use), or true measure.

If you measure to a size 10, your toes will probably touch the end of a size 10 shoe.

Another builds to 'proper' (my term) fit, meaning that their size 10 leaves room at the front.

In the first brand, you'll be more comfortable in a 10.5, in the second, a 10.
Once you know their design/intent, the variations make a bit more sense.
Since both are consistent in this, it makes things easier.

Clothing brands are most likely following the same model.

Now, to explain why I wear a 40 suitcoat and measure to 34" waist which translates
to a size SMALL in Columbia shirts and shorts? I have no idea.
And the guys who normally shop for XXL don't believe us when we hand them a Columbia XL.

[Tobus]

We carry one brand of footwear that builds their 'last' or foot-shape pattern
for each style/size to 'Brannock' (the sizing tool we use), or true measure.

If you measure to a size 10, your toes will probably touch the end of a size 10 shoe.

Another builds to 'proper' (my term) fit, meaning that their size 10 leaves room at the front.

In the first brand, you'll be more comfortable in a 10.5, in the second, a 10.
Once you know their design/intent, the variations make a bit more sense.
Since both are consistent in this, it makes things easier.

That's all good and well, but such differing systems are invisible/unadvertised to the consumer. We never know, when we walk into a store and see 20 different brands of shoes, which size is going to be correct for us.

It's not a huge deal when you can try them on and ensure a good fit. But it makes it incredibly frustrating when buying online. It's also frustrating for those of us with a shoe size right at the edge of their production line. I wear a size 7, depending on the shoe. In some brands, that fits me. In other brands, it's too big. And they never offer a size smaller than that. Sometimes they don't even make shoes smaller than size 8.

(Sorry for the whiny threadjack.)