Vanity Sizing

I just read this .. " With vanity sizing, the inseam size on pants are fairly accurate, but when it comes to the waist, all bets are off. Designers skillfully size their pants to boost your ego, causing a rise in your attitude toward their brand and enticing you to buy more. This ends up leaving the consumer with a skewed perception about not only the size of their pants but also their bodies.

This trend has become rampant in the U.S. as well as the U.K., which are both in the top 5 countries with the most obesity according to Reuters. So, all those times you thought you were maintaining your slim college waistline or maybe even reducing to a better self, there may be a chance your pants’ true size has just been growing with you. Vanity sizing has put us all on an unsolicited “fashion diet” that many of us were not aware of . Though we are familiar of the woes of body image with women and how difficult it is to find the proper fit in women’s jeans, the less observed men’s body issues have actually grown more with recent times. This is evident by the new emphasis on men’s fashion and grooming, both industries that are on the rise, as well as the new “fitspo” revolution. Living up to the ideal can be arduous, but retailers have found an outlet to indulge men through tweaking sizes.

This has had an interesting effect on online retailers. Since you are not able to try on the multiple sizes it takes to find the one that fits just right, ordering pants online is quite risky with a high chance of return. Though most sites provide a sizing guide, this guide usually also leaves out any actual true measurements to reference. Instead of reverting back to true-sizing, online stores have accommodated. Bonobos, a men’s online-only retailer, have recently opened physical stores called Guideshops that don’t sell any product but allow you to try on their online products in person to find that elusive perfect fit.

Now, as you attempt to find your fit within the sea of vanity sizing, you can feel slightly less burdened with confusion and second-guessing. We are simply at the mercy of these skewed size labels and if anything, you can go forth with an accurate depiction of your body size based on measurements."