Okay, someone explain womens' clothing sizes to me.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Teeshirt that's too small shows off the abs. Jeans that are too big + a good belt lets my legs move about anywhere I need them to. Comfy pair of boots or trainers means I can walk for miles and/or climb stupid shit when I'm drunk. Job done. Full outfit for 70 quid. Anyone who looks at me and thinks I look like shit? Fuck 'em.

Hanging your self image on a bunch of dumb magazines or a bunch of even dumber primates is retarded.

Well said.
I loathe anything tight around my neck though, so t-shirts are rarely comfortable.

Sucks to be you guys.  I look good in a suit.

HAWT.

I do enjoy my tailored suit and shirt. Not only do they feel great, but people treat me like royalty and call me "sir," constantly.

I need more excuses to wear it...

[Cainad (dec.)]

Teeshirt that's too small shows off the abs. Jeans that are too big + a good belt lets my legs move about anywhere I need them to. Comfy pair of boots or trainers means I can walk for miles and/or climb stupid shit when I'm drunk. Job done. Full outfit for 70 quid. Anyone who looks at me and thinks I look like shit? Fuck 'em.

Hanging your self image on a bunch of dumb magazines or a bunch of even dumber primates is retarded.

I'm glad you've solved the problem of poor body image and related low self-esteem among teens... you should give motivational talks at high schools and maybe open an eating disorder treatment center.

I'd have paid money for P3nT to come to my high school and tell us how we're all retarded.

Maybe not for that issue, specifically, but I still would.

[Mangrove]

Unrealistic/Impossible expectations ahoy!

(How much plastic surgery needed to be a Barbie)

FUCK YOU IMAGESHACK.

[Mangrove]

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/the-plastic-surgery-a-model-needs-to-look-like-barbie-2584798


Try again.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

It gets better: Women's sizes are not standard.  One company's size 6 is another company's size 9.


My personal belief is that it's a male conspiracy to keep women body-obsessed, shamed, and self-critical so they don't all get together and take over the world.

My belief is that women are involved, too.  But yeah, if you've ever seen the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine, the "standard" that's set is laughable.  If a woman doesn't look like a 14 year old boy, she's a fatass, right?

And people will not even try to meet a standard like that.  They'll just give up and buy a mobility scooter.

The best part?  Almost all of those images in the glossy magazines are photoshopped to "improve" the body shape and remove skin blemishes.

Makeup and moisturiser adverts on TV also frequently do this (laughably bad, in many cases, but not all of them).  So it's not even an unreasonable standard, it's actually an impossible standard they're setting.

Yep.

And there's this social proof in advertising culture that helps this strategy fester. When a CEO goes to an ad agency or runs an ad on their own, there's no guarantee about returns on their investment, so they often look at other ads that they feel were successful and mimic them. If an idea is too original then it's riskier, as the degree of confidence that it will work is more unknown. Better to do something unoriginal with a more predictable outcome, the CEO thinks. This happens millions of times resulting in the endlessly rehashed mind feces of US media culture.

[Richter]

Pants shopping makes me SICK 

Old Navy- Made for burly sailors to fit into, and be torn out of easily.
Guess- Describes the most efficient method for finding anything there that fits.
Express- The philosophy of the Thai sweat shop that produces their stock.
Most others- Rarely made for people with muscle mass to be more than a PETA spokeshead

Fuck this, when I move I'm gonna make all my damn pants myself from my own pattern

FIXT

[Suu]

Both my mom and my sister are rails. They're designed to be rails.

Unfortunately, I was designed to be a pear...

[Doktor Howl]

[PopeTom]

It gets better: Women's sizes are not standard.  One company's size 6 is another company's size 9.


My personal belief is that it's a male conspiracy to keep women body-obsessed, shamed, and self-critical so they don't all get together and take over the world.

My belief is that women are involved, too.  But yeah, if you've ever seen the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine, the "standard" that's set is laughable.  If a woman doesn't look like a 14 year old boy, she's a fatass, right?

And people will not even try to meet a standard like that.  They'll just give up and buy a mobility scooter.

The best part?  Almost all of those images in the glossy magazines are photoshopped to "improve" the body shape and remove skin blemishes.

Makeup and moisturiser adverts on TV also frequently do this (laughably bad, in many cases, but not all of them).  So it's not even an unreasonable standard, it's actually an impossible standard they're setting.

Yep.

And there's this social proof in advertising culture that helps this strategy fester. When a CEO goes to an ad agency or runs an ad on their own, there's no guarantee about returns on their investment, so they often look at other ads that they feel were successful and mimic them. If an idea is too original then it's riskier, as the degree of confidence that it will work is more unknown. Better to do something unoriginal with a more predictable outcome, the CEO thinks. This happens millions of times resulting in the endlessly rehashed mind feces of US media culture.

I think there is also a degree of take what works and do it bigger/brighter/louder.  So say when one add campaign seems to succeed due to thin models then that means out ad campaign will succeed more with thinner models.

[Juana]

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/the-plastic-surgery-a-model-needs-to-look-like-barbie-2584798


Try again.

Still failin', Mang.

Also:
Unbearable Weight by Susan Bordo talks about this - the ridiculous, impossible body image set by pop culture. I haven't finished my copy yet, but what I have read is pretty good.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

Some people are just small, like Nigel's friend.  I'm glad she brought it up because there seems to be this thought that if you're tiny everything should be okay.  But when you have people saying things about how tiny girls look like little boys or the ever so hilarious eat a hamburger quips, it takes its toll.  Women can be beautiful curvy or petite or whatever, and it's just as unfair to either side to disregard that.

If I had a nickel for every time someone in high school asked if I was anorexic or if I ever ate I could fucking retire.
Assholes.

[Eater of Clowns]

Some people are just small, like Nigel's friend.  I'm glad she brought it up because there seems to be this thought that if you're tiny everything should be okay.  But when you have people saying things about how tiny girls look like little boys or the ever so hilarious eat a hamburger quips, it takes its toll.  Women can be beautiful curvy or petite or whatever, and it's just as unfair to either side to disregard that.

If I had a nickel for every time someone in high school asked if I was anorexic or if I ever ate I could fucking retire.
Assholes.

Yeah, horrible consequence of the body dysmorphia awareness crusade.

Rather than health being equated with a person's individual, natural weight, it pretty much just said skinny is anorexic and called it a day.  So now more than one group can feel inadequate about their bodies!

[AFK]

Both my mom and my sister are rails. They're designed to be rails.

Unfortunately, I was designed to be a pear...

I think there is a joke in here somewhere about touching the third rail but it is eluding me. 

[Reginald Ret]

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/the-plastic-surgery-a-model-needs-to-look-like-barbie-2584798


Try again.

Still failin', Mang.

Also:
Unbearable Weight by Susan Bordo talks about this - the ridiculous, impossible body image set by pop culture. I haven't finished my copy yet, but what I have read is pretty good.

That link works fine for me,
Maybe this pic works for you?

[Jenne]

http://static.oprah.com/images/201111/omag/201111-omag-better-than-beautiful-600x411.jpg ~> the image Mang' alluded to...article came up fine for me in the link he sent.

Well, all I know is, best advice is to keep active and eat in moderation (though now "they" are saying not EVERYTHING can be EATEN in moderation--fuck them, tho...I'm sticking to my late-90's/early 2000's rhetoric thank-you-very-muchly).  Because once you round the corner after your early 30's...the paunch hits ya.  Usually in the gut.  And if you aren't already active, you'll just lose that muscle mass (fat OR thin!), and it gets harder to keep your body in shape--you breathe harder doing simple things, you sweat more for no apparent reason, you tire out after half the time it takes to do something rather than later on down the road when you've only gotten 3 hours of sleep...etc.

The last few years of my life have been a sinkhole where I stopped giving a shit for the most part and put my energy into things other than taking care of myself...and now I'm paying the price--I'm 38 and have a laundry list of shit wrong with me that for the most part can probably be fixed by losing 30 lbs.  Not that that is the magic bullet per se...but I know it would help.  And wouldn't you know it--just as I get off my ass and move it more...I get knocked up. 

Ah...me...

Anyway, sizes are suck ass in general--if you can't sew, find a brand that fits your body and stick with it, $$ or not.  Or tailor the cheap stuff.  Both  of those are the best advice.