Vanity Sizing Plagues MEN'S Stores

Vanity sizing has been charted in women's stores for some time now--as the Times UK noted in April, at Gap, "in 2008 a size 14 garment would be 37in at the bust, 29in at the waist and 39in at the hip. Today the size has grown to 37.5-29.5-40."

But what about menswear? Esquire's Abram Sauer charted his actual waist size (36 inches) vs. his size in trousers by Gap, cK, Dockers and more. He found that "the temple for waisted male self-esteem is Old Navy."

Sauer laments:

I enjoyed many of these pants, as I mentioned, but I'm still perturbed. This isn't the subjective business of mediums, larges and extra-larges -- nor is it the murky business of women's sizes, what with its black-hole size zero. This is science, damnit. 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?

Here are Sauer's exact results:

For more, hit Esquire.

Comments

[Dbos]

11:39 PM on 09/12/2010

As krammer used to say "make sure there is room for the boys'

[DScaletta5]

05:26 PM on 09/12/2010

I had to laugh when I read this story. It's been a pet peeve of mine for at least 5 years now. I'm a lucky guy in that I have good genes when it comes to wearing jeans. I can wear the same pants that I bought over 20 years ago. I still own but would never wear acid-wash jeans from the 80's. Back then I was a 32X32. I was always considered a M (medium) when I'd buy things like underwear. Today, I am down to buying 28 inch waist and even these are baggy on my waist. I have to buy size S (small) for underwear because they now make M's so large around the waist, they won't stay up. The same with shirts. I used to comfortably wear Ms for T shirts. Now, I have to buy S or else they hang off me like I am shrinking as I age. The big problem is that most stores only carry 1 or 2 items in the S sizes. But they'll carry 10 or more of each of M, L, XL, and XXL. It's pathetic that the US is so over-weight, clothes had to lie about the ever-increasing obesity epidemic.

[anothervoice]

08:22 AM on 09/12/2010

You mean six inches isn't six inches?

[Telemachus]

04:58 PM on 10/12/2010

Sorry to break the news to ya ... but look on the bright side! It's OK to park farther from the curb!

[leftheaded]

09:50 AM on 09/10/2010

Americans are fat. Some don't look fat only because they are surrounded by the obese.

[writergal28]

08:04 PM on 09/09/2010

I am NOT surprised that vanity sizing has hit guys' clothing. Yeah, and to think that women are jealous of you guys for having better sizing. Nope, not at all.

[TheAntiOkie]

09:57 AM on 09/09/2010

Maybe we should applaud Gap - maybe guys who continue to buy the "same size" they bought in HS and just push them down below that big ugly beer gut so they can get them on will pull them up where they really belong and stop showing their crack when they bend over.

[Linda Williams]

07:39 PM on 09/08/2010

Hmmm. I knew that dress I bought for a wedding this summer was an awfully small size. And, I was right. Thinking I'm in a 'smaller' potato sack should make me feel better? Well, the scale didn't change its mind.

[anothervoice]

07:24 PM on 09/08/2010

38.5 is the new 36.

Who knew?

[HerrMonk]

05:57 PM on 09/08/2010

What's H&M and where's Levis?

[WoodsideCraig]

03:32 PM on 09/08/2010

Something vanity won't fix: No matter what the size is, if your pants are getting too tight, you're gaining weight.

[TaiJi2]

01:27 PM on 09/08/2010

Yah, pretty sure they use those same tapes to measure below the belt!

[TaiJi2]

01:28 PM on 09/08/2010

Oh, wait, did I get that backwards!!!!

[TaiJi2]

01:29 PM on 09/08/2010

Either way, there's just no honesty about how long an inch is.

[edgraham]

01:56 PM on 09/08/2010

At least the article got you talking to yourself again.

[gevan]

12:06 PM on 09/08/2010

So hard to find a good 31"-31".

[OMGDally]

03:57 PM on 09/08/2010

I have a friend who needs 30"-34"s and they simply do not exist. Haha.

Thankfully, finding 28"-30"s is easy enough for me. :)

[2garen]

02:43 AM on 09/09/2010

Penny's some of the time,
Macys' never any more they used but.
My husband was that size forever,it was a read adventure to find him pants

[SF TKF]

03:08 PM on 09/09/2010

It's all about the special order. My brother needs a 26"-40", which is pretty much impossible to find on the rack.