Monday, April 6, 2009

Don't Judge a Shirt by It's Tag


I was invited to a clothing party a while ago. I didn't want to really purchase anything. But I decided I would go out of support for my friend who was hosting the party.


When we got there, the (very skillful) sales representative had brought lots and lots of samples for us to try on. Nothing makes a bunch of women want to buy clothes more than trying them on and having all their friends "ooh" and "aah" over how great they look. Especially when you add in some food and wine...


Two shirts and a pair of jeans later, I was still basking in the afterglow of how "awesome" I looked. However, I was brought down to a harsh reality when I was given the bill. Yikes! I could buy an entire season's wardrobe for that much!


But, hold on, says the (very skillful) sales representative. Did I see the specials? Well, I had, but it didn't really help that much. She sighed and put on her most disappointed face. She was sorry, but she understood. She tipped down her hand with the order form in it.


The (very skillful) sales representative let me just peek at the form enough to see the sizes she had written down. Whoa! I knew I had been losing weight, but that size was not even something I had considered! Wow! Okay, now I had to have those jeans!


The (very skillful) sales representative was (almost) able to conceal her smirk when she realized she had "won." I was so excited to be in such a small size, I probably would have paid double what she was asking.


Later, as I was doing my laundry, I smiled again at that little, bitty size on the tag. I hung them up to dry (lest they accidentally shrink) and stood back to admire them.


I happened to catch a look at the pair of pants hanging next to them. Suddenly, I realized that the pants were almost the exact same size as the jeans- but the pants did NOT sport the little, bitty size in them, as the jeans had. Hmph.


So, now I had a very expensive pair of jeans that were just as big as my pants- that just happened to have a little tag in it... As I looked a little closer, I noticed that next to the little, bitty tag said, "Made in China."


This made me giggle. The poor, little, bitty Chinese people who were making these jeans must think we Americans are completely off of our collective rockers!


Really, the Wal-Mart clothing (also made in China) is not much better. I think I actually own a couple of Wal-Mart pants that are like a 4/5. I can only imagine the confusion around the manufacturing plant: "So, the pants going to Target are a size 10, but the same pants, going to Wal-Mart, are a size 4/5... Okay..."


I guess clothiers are just trying to make women feel good about themselves. But telling someone who needs to lose weight for their health and for appearance's sake that they are able to fit into a slim, trim size, isn't helping anyone.


In fact, the only clothiers who still remain true to the sizes as they were originally intended are bridal gown houses. Talk about having things backwards! There is no day that a girl wants to feel more beautiful than on her wedding day. She wants to be the most stunning person in a three-state radius.


As she goes in to try on dresses and find her "dream gown," she is quite unsuspecting that whatever gown she chooses will have to be at least two full sizes larger than what she thinks she wears. What a way to totally shatter a dream! "Yes, dear, the dress is beautiful. You, however, look like a float from the Rose Bowl parade."


I guess when it's all said and done, it doesn't really matter what size tag is in your garment. In fact, my kids pull all the tags out of their clothes as soon as they get home. They say the tags are "itchy." (The only snag to this is while this is probably very good for their self-esteem, it makes it impossible to consign any of their clothes...)


I suppose if you eat well, exercise regularly and don't do too many bad things for you, the size of the clothing doesn't matter as much as how it ultimately looks on you. But, I still have to say, those jeans I got with the little, bitty tag still make me feel prettier than my pants with the "correct" tag. Hey- maybe I just need a Sharpie marker... Now, there's a thought...

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