Chapter 127 Question 115

Why do women's clothing sold in the United States indicate the size according to the label size, while men's clothing directly uses the measured size? (Sally Schwartz, Sarah Kanter) In 1960, if a man with a waist circumference of 34 inches (1 inch = 2.54 centimeters) and inner leg length of 33 inches wanted to buy a pair of trousers that fitted him, he only needed to find a pair with a label that said W: Thirty-four, L: Thirty-three's pants will do.The same person who buys pants now only needs to apply the same method.However, the size labels of women's clothing (usually marked with the number ︱︱18) have no obvious connection with the measured data of women's physique.Moreover, the size stated on the clothes that fit a woman in 1960 would be too large for a woman of the same build today.Why is women's sizing so informative?

In 1958, the Department of Commerce published a set of commercial standards for women's clothing sizes.But retailers soon discovered that labeling clothes with a number smaller than their actual size could drive sales, a so-called vanity sizing trick.Deviations from the published standard became so common that by 1983 the Department of Commerce had to abandon the standard.Clothesmakers who refuse to use vanity sizing today can't expect to continue doing business.It seems that many women like to wear clothes marked with a smaller size, because it can make their figure appear slimmer.

But although clothing sizes are getting smaller and smaller, women's bodies are getting bigger and bigger.The average American woman today weighs 25 pounds more than she did in 1960.Therefore, the shrinkage of women's clothing size roughly offsets the growth of women's actual physique.As any woman who has visited a second-hand clothing store can attest, a size eight in 1960 was smaller than a size eight today.But today's size eight is suitable for women of average shape, just as size eight in 1960 was suitable for women of average shape back then. Men's physiques have also grown bigger and bigger over time.Why don't men's tailors use the same fake sizing trick?Given the growing number of men getting hair transplants and plastic surgery for themselves, the answer isn't that men aren't vain.It's just that the objective scale used on men's clothing labels is difficult for tailors to deliberately manipulate.