"We're seeing...clothing brands...throwing out or incinerating clothes"
December 12, 2019 8:16 PM Subscribe
"Do you order different sizes of clothing online, knowing you can return the one that doesn't fit? Did you know the ones you return are sometimes sent straight to landfill?"
Yep, likewise with two coffee machines I had. Breville sent me a new one each time, didn't even bother asking for the old ones back. We waste so much shit. I ended up buying a stainless-steel French press when the last one they sent finally died - it'll probably last me until I die.
I try to only buy things that'll last, these days. A one and done kind of philosophy. The initial expense trying to live by that philosophy is somewhat prohibitive on certain items, though.
posted by dazed_one at 9:47 PM on December 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
I try to only buy things that'll last, these days. A one and done kind of philosophy. The initial expense trying to live by that philosophy is somewhat prohibitive on certain items, though.
posted by dazed_one at 9:47 PM on December 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Please Lord - let me live to see a carbon tax one day that puts Old Navy and H&M out of business.
posted by benzenedream at 10:29 PM on December 12, 2019 [17 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 10:29 PM on December 12, 2019 [17 favorites]
I got onto the consignment/thrift/rental clothing trend in the last 5 years and it's significantly lessened my clothing load, laundry loads, and has become a bit of a hobby. I have a friend who is so overwhelmed and drowning in "fast fashion" that her house is becoming borderline scary. We don't need all of that stuff, and the implications of not realizing that go far beyond the waste.
posted by lextex at 2:11 AM on December 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by lextex at 2:11 AM on December 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
Lol, this summer there was an episode of Disney's Andi Mack where the gang discovered that a clothing store was throwing away perfectly good clothes. So they dumpster-dive them and set up a free clothes space. They then proceed to get arrested and having to do community service picking up trash for their trouble. Even a tween Disney show has covered how obnoxious this sort of thing is. Sigh.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:53 AM on December 13, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 2:53 AM on December 13, 2019 [12 favorites]
This is coming right when I am having to slightly upgrade my closet for a new job. Something told me to start by going through everything and seeing what I had first, and organizing my closet into "things I can wear to work" and "things for the weekend". (I am blessed with a walk-in closet in my bedroom - there's a REASON I've been in the same apartment for nearly 14 years now - so that helped.) I also browsed a couple of those websites that talk about "capsule wardrobes" for outfit ideas, to see how the things I had would work.
Turns out that I pretty much just need to buy like two sweaters and a pair of shoes and that I have everything else I need.
Many of us have more than we need and sometimes we don't even realize it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:26 AM on December 13, 2019 [13 favorites]
Turns out that I pretty much just need to buy like two sweaters and a pair of shoes and that I have everything else I need.
Many of us have more than we need and sometimes we don't even realize it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:26 AM on December 13, 2019 [13 favorites]
No, I don't buy multiple sizes. If what I order doesn't fit, that says that he maker can't do sizing right. I return the item, and remember never to buy from them.
If someplace refunds my money for some non-trivial item but doesn't want it back, that says they are charging much more than the item is worth. So I stop buying from them, too.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:49 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
If someplace refunds my money for some non-trivial item but doesn't want it back, that says they are charging much more than the item is worth. So I stop buying from them, too.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:49 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
If what I order doesn't fit, that says that he maker can't do sizing right.
I'm convinced nobody does sizing right. I have a document on my phone that shows which sizes to buy from which brands, because it varies so much.
But some brands are worse than others -- I have three pairs of jeans from the same brand in the same size and style and they all fit differently, though some version of "close enough."
I just don't buy clothes online anymore unless it's something very forgiving, like socks or a hoodie (and even then I check reviews to see what people say about how they fit).
posted by Foosnark at 4:24 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm convinced nobody does sizing right. I have a document on my phone that shows which sizes to buy from which brands, because it varies so much.
But some brands are worse than others -- I have three pairs of jeans from the same brand in the same size and style and they all fit differently, though some version of "close enough."
I just don't buy clothes online anymore unless it's something very forgiving, like socks or a hoodie (and even then I check reviews to see what people say about how they fit).
posted by Foosnark at 4:24 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Cool cool cool. I'm taller than average and stores never stock my size in the brick & mortar locations so I have to order online. Glad to know my only option is the terrible one.
posted by haileris23 at 4:37 AM on December 13, 2019 [23 favorites]
posted by haileris23 at 4:37 AM on December 13, 2019 [23 favorites]
Like yes, we should be mindful of not buying a ton of clothes we don’t need, and buying used is a great choice when feasible. But I don’t like blaming shoppers for a choice the company has made. Especially not when a lot of places have moved their plus-size ranges to online-only, so you don’t have any option to try on in store.
posted by snowmentality at 5:07 AM on December 13, 2019 [41 favorites]
posted by snowmentality at 5:07 AM on December 13, 2019 [41 favorites]
Like yes, we should be mindful of not buying a ton of clothes we don’t need, and buying used is a great choice when feasible. But I don’t like blaming shoppers for a choice the company has made. Especially not when a lot of places have moved their plus-size ranges to online-only, so you don’t have any option to try on in store.
I love thrift stores, but I can because I’m the size designers think is average. If you’re bigger than me, thrift store shopping is even more of a nightmare than regular shopping. My partner ends up crying in the thrift store dressing room every time they need new pants. Thrift stores are not a solution for many people.
posted by brook horse at 5:21 AM on December 13, 2019 [36 favorites]
I love thrift stores, but I can because I’m the size designers think is average. If you’re bigger than me, thrift store shopping is even more of a nightmare than regular shopping. My partner ends up crying in the thrift store dressing room every time they need new pants. Thrift stores are not a solution for many people.
posted by brook horse at 5:21 AM on December 13, 2019 [36 favorites]
Especially not when a lot of places have moved their plus-size ranges to online-only, so you don’t have any option to try on in store.
^ This. I like shopping. I’d prefer to buy at a brick and mortar but it’s often impossible at places that tout expanded sizing, but carry none of those expanded sizes in their actual stores.
posted by thivaia at 5:24 AM on December 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
^ This. I like shopping. I’d prefer to buy at a brick and mortar but it’s often impossible at places that tout expanded sizing, but carry none of those expanded sizes in their actual stores.
posted by thivaia at 5:24 AM on December 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
If what I order doesn't fit, that says that he maker can't do sizing right
yeah I don't even know if there is a "right"
posted by thelonius at 5:28 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
yeah I don't even know if there is a "right"
posted by thelonius at 5:28 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
thelonius: yeah I don't even know if there is a "right"
Didn't the old Sears catalogue way involve you making multiple measurements of your body using standard units like "inches" or "centimeters"?
If they don't even have the money to have someone take a glance over returns, though, maybe they don't have someone to actually measure what they're selling, especially if they're part of the reshipping merry-go-round that was described in the FPP from a few days ago.
posted by clawsoon at 5:36 AM on December 13, 2019
Didn't the old Sears catalogue way involve you making multiple measurements of your body using standard units like "inches" or "centimeters"?
If they don't even have the money to have someone take a glance over returns, though, maybe they don't have someone to actually measure what they're selling, especially if they're part of the reshipping merry-go-round that was described in the FPP from a few days ago.
posted by clawsoon at 5:36 AM on December 13, 2019
I try to only buy things that'll last, these days. A one and done kind of philosophy. The initial expense trying to live by that philosophy is somewhat prohibitive on certain items, though.
AKA the Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness:
AKA the Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness:
The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.posted by Gelatin at 5:39 AM on December 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
When I'm God-Emperor, I'm gonna make it so that all clothes are sold with sizes in inches and centimeters for whatever measurements are appropriate, such that if you buy an item that matches your relevant measurements you are guaranteed to achieve the intended appearance of the item. Coupled with a requirement that all models wear the sizes indicated by their actual measurements.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:43 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:43 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
As a larger person, I have the convenience to have a place I can go buy clothes just an $11 Lyft ride away (I don't drive and the one cab company in the area I live in is, I assure you, possibly able to be called at 9 AM and not get me a cab there until the store closes at 9 PM).
I do this because one time I ordered jeans on Amazon. Three pairs. All the same size, same brand, two blue and one black.
They were all effectively a different size.
One was so tight I couldn't even get my thighs in, one was so big that when I belted it it looked like a drawstring bag, and one was close enough to be wearable. And then trying to do the return was insanely difficult (it had to be dropped off at one specific location in the area that was inconvenient to get to and open when I was at work and no other time). So I go to the store instead because it's easier (and, to be honest, the people there are really very nice, much nicer than any other store I've gone to for clothes - not sure where DXL gets these people, but it's astonishing to walk in, have someone give you what looks to be a very genuine smile, a hearty Hello, and then when you're looking for shoes they ask about what you're going to wear them with and - I swear this happened - the gentleman said, "No, what you have on won't really work with that, try these," and it was a cheaper shoe that did look much better.)
But Thrift stores and Burlington Coat Outlet (the local go-to for cheap stuff) don't serve my needs or my size, so I do what I need to, and sometimes it's beans-and-rice-and-salsa-packets-from-Taco-Bell for a few days.
posted by mephron at 5:48 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
I do this because one time I ordered jeans on Amazon. Three pairs. All the same size, same brand, two blue and one black.
They were all effectively a different size.
One was so tight I couldn't even get my thighs in, one was so big that when I belted it it looked like a drawstring bag, and one was close enough to be wearable. And then trying to do the return was insanely difficult (it had to be dropped off at one specific location in the area that was inconvenient to get to and open when I was at work and no other time). So I go to the store instead because it's easier (and, to be honest, the people there are really very nice, much nicer than any other store I've gone to for clothes - not sure where DXL gets these people, but it's astonishing to walk in, have someone give you what looks to be a very genuine smile, a hearty Hello, and then when you're looking for shoes they ask about what you're going to wear them with and - I swear this happened - the gentleman said, "No, what you have on won't really work with that, try these," and it was a cheaper shoe that did look much better.)
But Thrift stores and Burlington Coat Outlet (the local go-to for cheap stuff) don't serve my needs or my size, so I do what I need to, and sometimes it's beans-and-rice-and-salsa-packets-from-Taco-Bell for a few days.
posted by mephron at 5:48 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
By the way, I ordered a T-shirt from an online clothing company in size L, but the one that arrived was a M. Their customer service insisted I prove to them with measurements the shirt didn't fit (I sent them a photo of their shirt on top of a size L and a tape measure) before they would replace it -- with an XL, as the L was out of stock (which is probably why they sent the M in the first place, and at least it fits better).
They said I could keep the size M as a "gift." I won't buy anything from them again, of course. But I gather that restocking is viewed as prohibitively expensive in many retail stores, even brick and mortar ones, so much is simply thrown out.
posted by Gelatin at 5:50 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
They said I could keep the size M as a "gift." I won't buy anything from them again, of course. But I gather that restocking is viewed as prohibitively expensive in many retail stores, even brick and mortar ones, so much is simply thrown out.
posted by Gelatin at 5:50 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
It wasn't that long ago you could actually rely on sizes to be more accurate at many brands - Levi's, for instance, had significantly better quality control right up to 2009 or so. H&M won this garbage race.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:28 AM on December 13, 2019
posted by aspersioncast at 6:28 AM on December 13, 2019
Because the list of reasons i never want to buy anything needed to get longer . . .
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 6:48 AM on December 13, 2019
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 6:48 AM on December 13, 2019
Im American but have lived in Europe last few years. I do shop fast fashion bc my size has changed a lot the last few years. I have tried on the same size cut and style of jeans from one brand in two different countries and they were inches apart. Inches.
I am trying to phase out of fast fashion and into more quality pieces which is easier now bc I work from home. If I had to wear office clothes still I’d be hard pressed to do it. I’ve never ever had luck at thrift stores for anything other than t shirts :-(
I’ve been trying to support some designers from Etsy which has been interesting. I buy larger than I think I’ll need and plan alterations.
Ps. Some of my longest still worn pieces are from The Limited, White House Black Market, and Ny&co. I feel like quality really went down hill my last few years in US tho. My Limited Blazer is almost 10 years old but newer stuff I got from there just before I left didn’t last long at all.
posted by affectionateborg at 6:49 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
I am trying to phase out of fast fashion and into more quality pieces which is easier now bc I work from home. If I had to wear office clothes still I’d be hard pressed to do it. I’ve never ever had luck at thrift stores for anything other than t shirts :-(
I’ve been trying to support some designers from Etsy which has been interesting. I buy larger than I think I’ll need and plan alterations.
Ps. Some of my longest still worn pieces are from The Limited, White House Black Market, and Ny&co. I feel like quality really went down hill my last few years in US tho. My Limited Blazer is almost 10 years old but newer stuff I got from there just before I left didn’t last long at all.
posted by affectionateborg at 6:49 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've also had companies tell me to keep the item I wanted to return for whatever reason. That seems like a good solution because I can take it to goodwill, where someone else may be psyched to find something brand new for cheap. Certainly a better option than having it thrown in a dumpster.
posted by pangolin party at 6:54 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by pangolin party at 6:54 AM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
A recent episode of the unladylike podcast talks to a woman who is repurposing fashion waste. It does a great job of talking about the scale the waste of fast fashion. Episode 71: How to Take Fashion Seriously
posted by Gor-ella at 7:00 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Gor-ella at 7:00 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
So, I sell stuff online for a living. Mainly electronic parts, on eBay. I deal with returns. Sometimes it's a defective part, occasionally it's shipping damage, more often it's either buyers who didn't read the listing, didn't really understand what they were buying, or just changed their mind about something.
Returns are a HUGE time-sink. Just dealing with the emails is bad enough, but waiting to get the product back, checking it, sending the refund, it's just a lot of time and stress. I can usually relist things after I get them back, but I can fully understand how a big company would have no interest in trying to somehow resell returned items like clothing.
Clothes are much worse to resell than normal returned items. Think of all the possible ways things could go wrong:
Bedbugs
Fleas
Pet hair
Cigarette smoke
Perfume
Body odor
Stains
Holes
Missing tags
People returning the wrong item
etc, etc, etc
And if they're buying a shirt online, most people won't want to be buying something that had been returned, possibly after being worn, at least not at full price. Hiring people to resell this stuff at a discounted rate is often not worth it for the company, and if you're trying to cultivate a classy image then selling scratch-and-dent items is the exact opposite of what you want to do.
Many companies take a very different approach to reselling returns, actually. Amazon, Target, lots of big companies will get all their returns together and sell them by the pallet or by the lot. You can buy pallets of Amazon returns online, at surprisingly high prices. A lot of Target stuff actually gets sold (yes, sold) to Goodwill, who resells it at their stores.
Sure, some of this stuff does get discarded, but I am guessing that it's a fairly insignificant part of the waste stream. So much stuff is wasted that it's pretty much unfathomable. This is just a drop in the bucket.
posted by Slinga at 7:21 AM on December 13, 2019 [7 favorites]
Returns are a HUGE time-sink. Just dealing with the emails is bad enough, but waiting to get the product back, checking it, sending the refund, it's just a lot of time and stress. I can usually relist things after I get them back, but I can fully understand how a big company would have no interest in trying to somehow resell returned items like clothing.
Clothes are much worse to resell than normal returned items. Think of all the possible ways things could go wrong:
Bedbugs
Fleas
Pet hair
Cigarette smoke
Perfume
Body odor
Stains
Holes
Missing tags
People returning the wrong item
etc, etc, etc
And if they're buying a shirt online, most people won't want to be buying something that had been returned, possibly after being worn, at least not at full price. Hiring people to resell this stuff at a discounted rate is often not worth it for the company, and if you're trying to cultivate a classy image then selling scratch-and-dent items is the exact opposite of what you want to do.
Many companies take a very different approach to reselling returns, actually. Amazon, Target, lots of big companies will get all their returns together and sell them by the pallet or by the lot. You can buy pallets of Amazon returns online, at surprisingly high prices. A lot of Target stuff actually gets sold (yes, sold) to Goodwill, who resells it at their stores.
Sure, some of this stuff does get discarded, but I am guessing that it's a fairly insignificant part of the waste stream. So much stuff is wasted that it's pretty much unfathomable. This is just a drop in the bucket.
posted by Slinga at 7:21 AM on December 13, 2019 [7 favorites]
I've had the same experience with sizing just this month. All my jeans are 5 to 10 years or even older, and wear and tear had whittled down the numbers drastically, so I thought I'd pick up a few more. I had a terrible time finding a style that wasn't cut ridiculously -- I just want plain jeans that cover my ass completely, don't fall off my hips, and don't dig into my waist! -- and I found a pair that fit just right, so ordered a bunch. And what I got was just *random*. Things that were supposedly just different colors of the same jean had entirely different fabric makeups and cuts, jeans that were the same color and size were actually wildly different sizes. It was bizarre. Things didn't use to be like that; I brought all my previous jeans online as well and had a normal experience where if you ordered several of a size they were the same size and cut.
And apparently when I send them back they'll just be trashed, so that's great. Sigh.
posted by tavella at 9:35 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
And apparently when I send them back they'll just be trashed, so that's great. Sigh.
posted by tavella at 9:35 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
And, like others, buying in person is impossible, neither shops nor thrift stores have much I can wear.
posted by tavella at 9:36 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by tavella at 9:36 AM on December 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
This is the stuff that used to be sold at the outlet stores. The stores at the outlet mall closest to me (North Branch, MN) are closing. However, the other two nearby (Albertville and Woodbury) seem to be just fine. Most of these stores have shelves full of brand new items that are clearly not overruns or returns.
posted by soelo at 10:11 AM on December 13, 2019
posted by soelo at 10:11 AM on December 13, 2019
Last year, I found jeans that actually fit me at Costco. Then, when I went back, they'd stopped having that brand (Urban Star). They still had some online, so I ordered some of those. They also fit.
As for outlet stores, they are reportedly a giant bait-and-switch scam. The "name brand" items they sell are cheap copies made specifically for the outlet stores, with none of the quality that the full-price items have. If you're OK with getting shoddy goods that have a name on them, go for it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:16 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
As for outlet stores, they are reportedly a giant bait-and-switch scam. The "name brand" items they sell are cheap copies made specifically for the outlet stores, with none of the quality that the full-price items have. If you're OK with getting shoddy goods that have a name on them, go for it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:16 AM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Two issues with this:
(a) Ordered a sweater from TipsyElves, they sent me the wrong one and then told me to keep the wrong one. I do love that extra sweater with the humping reindeer, lemme tell ya. Would not have bought it for myself necessarily but it brings delight and joy to all who see it.
(b) Recently I ordered the Captain Marvel Christmas sweater from Merchoid while I was on vacation/in a car. I started an order, then didn't finish it because I wasn't sure what size to order and reordered it smaller. Somehow I got both sent to me anyway. I didn't bother to try to send one back though, I guess there's no point in that now.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:11 PM on December 13, 2019
(a) Ordered a sweater from TipsyElves, they sent me the wrong one and then told me to keep the wrong one. I do love that extra sweater with the humping reindeer, lemme tell ya. Would not have bought it for myself necessarily but it brings delight and joy to all who see it.
(b) Recently I ordered the Captain Marvel Christmas sweater from Merchoid while I was on vacation/in a car. I started an order, then didn't finish it because I wasn't sure what size to order and reordered it smaller. Somehow I got both sent to me anyway. I didn't bother to try to send one back though, I guess there's no point in that now.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:11 PM on December 13, 2019
And what I got was just *random*.
I have had this exact experience -- I bought 3 casual day dresses online, of different types. All of them were fine but one was absolutely perfect so I went back to the exact same page where I ordered that one (not two weeks prior) and ordered 2 more in the other two colors. What arrived was bizarre. One was the same material but a totally different size, and the other was made of a different material. The elastic in the waist of all three were different from each other in type and thickness. I was baffled.
Similarly, from a different (and generally well-known and trusted) company, I planned to do the thing in this article -- bought two pairs of jeans, planning to return the ones I didn't like. What was really bizarre was that the L seemed to pinch at the waist where the M didn't. I thought I must be going insane, so I measured them, and sure enough, the L actually had a smaller waist than the M I received.
I really don't understand what's happening with these manufacturers but it's pretty frustrating.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 3:49 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I have had this exact experience -- I bought 3 casual day dresses online, of different types. All of them were fine but one was absolutely perfect so I went back to the exact same page where I ordered that one (not two weeks prior) and ordered 2 more in the other two colors. What arrived was bizarre. One was the same material but a totally different size, and the other was made of a different material. The elastic in the waist of all three were different from each other in type and thickness. I was baffled.
Similarly, from a different (and generally well-known and trusted) company, I planned to do the thing in this article -- bought two pairs of jeans, planning to return the ones I didn't like. What was really bizarre was that the L seemed to pinch at the waist where the M didn't. I thought I must be going insane, so I measured them, and sure enough, the L actually had a smaller waist than the M I received.
I really don't understand what's happening with these manufacturers but it's pretty frustrating.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 3:49 PM on December 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Same here, my order was from a well-established company that I had previously ordered things from without an issue, it wasn't some fly-by-night company on Amazon. And now they are apparently just sending out random shit.
posted by tavella at 4:18 PM on December 13, 2019
posted by tavella at 4:18 PM on December 13, 2019
I had a friend who used to work at a clothing manufacture in Morocco about 15 or 20 years ago, now. And she told me that if, for exemple, they'd made a thousand pieces each of size A and size B of the same garment, but their client (a retailer) wanted 800 pieces of size A and 1200 of size B, they'd simply slap a size B tag on 200 pieces of size A garment and call it a day.
From my experience buying clothes, I have absolutely no problems believing that.
posted by snakeling at 4:42 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
From my experience buying clothes, I have absolutely no problems believing that.
posted by snakeling at 4:42 PM on December 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
“ I really don't understand what's happening with these manufacturers but it's pretty frustrating” - dealing with this is part of what I do for a living and as it turns out it’s a combination of manufacturing things with textiles being hard, making 500,000 of something in 5 different factories and assembled by hand, not robots, turn out roughly the same being hard, and the industry only just catching up with technology that other manufacturing industries have had for a long time (see above comment about lack of automation)
e.g the same fabric made in 2 mills with different climates will end up with different physical properties and you haven’t even started on the garment making part yet
posted by thedaniel at 4:27 AM on December 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
e.g the same fabric made in 2 mills with different climates will end up with different physical properties and you haven’t even started on the garment making part yet
posted by thedaniel at 4:27 AM on December 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
I keep wanting to find a seamstress and commission a few pieces to fit me exactly, but it seems like a gamble. Although, self, it's probably cheaper than playing a game of "ugh, close enough" in stores and then not wearing what I've bought.
posted by travertina at 8:56 AM on December 14, 2019
posted by travertina at 8:56 AM on December 14, 2019
> Cool cool cool. I'm taller than average and stores never stock my size in the brick & mortar locations so I have to order online.
Yup. I'm glad Tall sizes exist -- I don't think they did when I was younger -- but I don't know a single store in a reasonable distance from me that sells them. And the companies that do are often not quite "fast fashion" but are along those lines -- Old Navy, The Gap, etc -- with all the sizing issues that comes with that.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:31 PM on December 16, 2019
Yup. I'm glad Tall sizes exist -- I don't think they did when I was younger -- but I don't know a single store in a reasonable distance from me that sells them. And the companies that do are often not quite "fast fashion" but are along those lines -- Old Navy, The Gap, etc -- with all the sizing issues that comes with that.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:31 PM on December 16, 2019
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