I Almost Forgot to Write This Important Letter

[queerbychoice]

Dear Fashion Designers,

I was intrigued to discover yesterday that you've opened a huge new line of skirts for men. Of course, it would have been nice if you'd openly acknowledged them as being skirts for men, instead of just designing them so that they don't fit right on any post-pubertal woman on earth, and then filing them in the women's section anyway; but I commend you nonetheless for your progressiveness. Yes, I just love trying on size "small" skirts (which nearly always fit me) and being shocked to find out that they're not wide enough to pull over my hips - and then switching to a "medium" only to find that (a) the hips are still ridiculously tight, and (b) the waist is about eight inches bigger than mine and doesn't stay up at all.

Of course I do not doubt that experienced professional fashion designers such as yourselves would be well aware that the average female does have hips about ten inches wider than her waist, just as I do; my measurements could hardly be any more typical for a female than they are. So clearly the fault cannot be yours. Instead, the naive teenage salesladies working at the store clearly failed to recognize that these progressive skirts were designed for men, and foolishly misfiled them in the women's section. Though I must admit to being a little confused as to how that could happen in a store that doesn't actually have a men's section, but rather carries an entire storeful of clothes which all claim to be designed for women, every single item of which turned out upon further inspection to have been obviously designed to fit male bodies only.

Yet I suppose these things happen. But please do contact your retailers and correct the misfiling problem, because otherwise your reputation will surely be tarnished in the minds of ignorant consumers who, like the teenage salesladies, foolishly imagine that just because it's a skirt, it should naturally be designed to fit female bodies.

Sincerely,

Gayle

Comments

[noog.livejournal.com]

*laugh* Oh, Gayle, I think I love you.

You know, the reason so many women I know (including myself) have body image issues is precisely for this very reason-- they can't find clothes that fit their female bodies. I usually feel fairly confident when I look in the mirror-- and then I go clothes shopping only to discover that all the clothes were made for people without breasts or hips, and come back feeling terrible. I know the market thrives on making women feel insecure about themselves, but it's reached beyond ridiculous proportions. You should send this letter to the fashion designers. :)

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Well, considering that my waist is vastly smaller than the only sizes that I can manage to get up over my hips, the obvious conclusion is that I'm just so skinny they can't possibly imagine that anyone would have such a small waist. :)

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

That doesn't make any sense. Why would women be demanding skirts that don't really fit them? I can't imagine that any woman faced with skirts that fit as badly as those did would react any differently than I did, which was to walk out of the store and not buy any - despite the fact that except for the size problem they were unusually well-matched to my aesthetic taste, and I was not happy about not being able to find any that anywhere near fit me.

[tikarass.livejournal.com]

maybe i'll be able to find skirts or dresses that fit better now ;) but then again my hips are more curvy than those of most "men," so who knows...

clothes are terrible in general i think. they're not made for real people. i can never find shirts small enough but with long enough arms of pants tight enough but long enough. it's all about aliennation, perhaps...

[elfbabe.livejournal.com]

My issues are all with shirts. They are NEVER long enough in the waist unless they're way too large around.

*complain complain complain*

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Wonderful!

[lm.livejournal.com]

Pants are what bother me. Like you said, hips too narrow, but even worse--thighs. Especially any pants with the Mudd label. The thighs are always way, way too tight, and then below the knees there's this huge flare. It's like they've got our leg shapes all backwards.

And then there's the fact that it's nearly impossible to find petite sizes in clothes that aren't made for old ladies. I'm five feet even, and ever since I outgrew kids' sizes, I've just had to live with all my pants, long dresses and long skirts (although at least you can roll those up at the waist) being too long. Or go to thr troble to tailor them. Urgh.

[inkstained.livejournal.com]

Yes! I agree! Always the hips are way too tight and to get a waist size that fits they sodding legs come down to about a foot below my ankles. I mean I'm completely average weight for my height, so I just cannot understand this. This is why I hate going shopping, because I always wind up having to get clothes adjusted. If I ever get rich I'm going to have all my clothes tailor made.

Gayle, you crack me up.

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