Sizes
And what it takes to make them
It’s not just you. Sizes are hard.
Like… what size am I? In some brands I am a 12, in some I am an 8, I have even been—get this— a size 2.
But it’s not simply a matter of “Vanity Sizing.” Sizing is actually an incredibly complex art. And it relies on fit models, like Brit and Zac, who try on all your clothes before you do.
In fact, their job is trying on clothes all day. (There’s always so much more that goes into clothing manufacture than I could ever imagine)
New episode: what it takes to be a fit model and why sizes are so difficult.
So much of clothing commerce, ultimately, comes down to fit. What are the garments you reach for over and over? What are the ones you get rid of? What are the brands you trust and return to? Much of this has to do with fit.
Fit models, according to technical designer Nikki Martin, are vital to creating good-fitting garments.
And you might be able to become a fit model, if you have the right measurements. But I don’t know if you’d want to. It’s really very hard.
And yet! IF you listen to this and decide that fit modeling is for you, State Management is all ears, and looking for models of all sizes.
Oh my goddd loved listening to this.
I am the pattern maker/garment developer/tech designer at a relatively small company. My company is about 50 years old and has just in the past year decided that they want to try and have standardized fit across products. I have been in the WEEDS measuring and experimenting with our existing product lines, researching other companies measurements, figuring out what target measurements for each size will be, making tweak after tweak after tweak...
There has been so much frustration from the marketing/merchandising people that this is taking so long, that there is not an easy answer to "what is an XL?" and "why doesn't this stretchy medium garment fit the same range of people as this rigid medium garment? and why can't you make it do that?"
I wish I could sit everyone down and make them listen to this.
As always, delighted when a new episode pops in to my feed. This one spoke to me in this particular moment.
We live in Columbus, Ohio, home of a well known fashion conglomerate, and they have always advertised locally for fit models of all genders. The ads are very specific about the height and body measurements required and the need to endure long hours for fittings. It pays well so back in the day, one of my sons tried it for a minute, but it wasn’t his cup of tea, quite a grueling job.