Why is it so hard to buy cheap, practical clothing?

[gusl]

Why is it so hard to buy cheap, practical clothing?

Because we're crowded out by fashion consumers, who are willing to pay a lot for their clothes? I'm not sure anymore, since you might say that the fashion market has nothing to do with the cheap clothing market.

Anyway, I went to the Albert Cuyp market this week, and managed to buy 6 T-shirts for 10 Euro. But I wish I could have done this at my local supermarket, instead of going to the other side of the city.

By the way, I've always been sensitive to clothing (e.g. labels rubbing on my back), and I hate finding out that models I wear have gone out of fashion and are no longer to be found (e.g. some kinds of slippers, underpants), because it means I have to readapt my skin or, if pockets are in the wrong places, readjusting my habits. I wonder if there's a market for models that are promised never to stop selling: it would suck to depend on a tailor for the rest of your life.

Ok, I'm exaggerating. It's not that bad.

What really sucks is having to look around and try things out, wasting away my time and patience. Can't I just order things the right model and size from home? Is biometrics that far from application?

ADDENDUM: MR on Vanity Sizing

Comments

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

Pah! Try being female!

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Females face the very same problem. I think you mean "try caring about how you look!".

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

No, I mean females face the same problem TIMES TEN.

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

I mean, female fashions seem to change at an even faster rate than men's fashions. My Perfect Pair Of Jeans is the Levi's junior 505s from 2001. After that it was impossible to find jeans that weren't pre-faded, adorned with ridiculous ornamentation, or low-rising. I mean, in my entire adult life, that was the only perfect pair of jeans I ever found, that wasn't ruined by some stupid fashion trend (embroidered butterflies used to be quite popular before that).

Plus, the greater variation in the female form (hips to waist ratio, etc.) makes it that much more difficult to find something that actually fits.

I HATE shopping for clothing.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

I HATE shopping for clothing.
first time I hear this from a girl. Seriously.

What about men's clothing? Are men's jeans really uncomfortable? I somehow don't imagine the big female ass being an issue... at worst they will be slack at the bottom.

[neurogirl.livejournal.com]

Females certainly face the same problem, but ten fold.

Unless you tailor your clothes, it's very difficult to find things that fit properly (meaning, tight in the right places). Take shirts for example, they usually come in S,M, or L...however women's proportions don't fit into a convenient package like that...a woman might have huge breasts and a small waist (so the shirt you buy either hangs off your chest making you look fat, or is so tight that you look like you're going out clubbing 24/7), or barely any breasts at all (hence not being able to fill out the top half of the shirt). Pants are even worse for most women for the same reason.

So, yes, women care about their looks...but it's that much more frustrating when you spend literal hours looking for a flattering pair of jeans and come home empty handed. Plus, women's clothing tends to be more expensive.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a business opportunity, don't you think? Buy a stock with specifications (bust, waist, ass), sell them through a website... you could even have a "try on" feature that fits over your picture.
To be more sophisticated, you could also make a reasonable 3D model of yourself with just 2 or 3 digicam pictures.

[neurogirl.livejournal.com]

There are supposed clothing lines that cater to different body types. Jennifer Love Hewitt just started her own line to suit women like herself.

~Sounds like a business opportunity, don't you think?~

Definitely, and I think it's largely being filled by tailors because I think it would be too expensive for a business to custom fit clothing to exact(ish) specifications while keeping the cost low enough that women would actually buy them.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

I think it's largely being filled by tailors because I think it would be too expensive for a business to custom fit clothing to exact(ish) specifications while keeping the cost low enough that women would actually buy them.
My idea is that you wouldn't need to custom fit. You could buy or make them in bulk in a 3rd world country, for each BWH (bust-waist-hip) combination: I think 100 size types for T-shirts should cover >99% of women pretty well (10 bust sizes x 10 waist sizes). So 3 (S,M,L) is not enough, but 100 should be.

[jbouwens.livejournal.com]

Isn't there a Wibra or Zeeman in your area?

[(Anonymous)]

Spot on. I find the fact that you can't always find the colour you want very irritating. I'm looking for a dark red long sleeved shirt, but this summer light green and white seems to be in fashion. But I don't care. White doesn't suit me! Why can't I have dark red?

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

First of all, sorry for taking five-thousand years to respond to this. I can't believe how long I've neglected the contents of my inbox.

The thing about men's clothing, and maybe I should be more open-minded about it, but (1) it's harder to find zipper flies, and (2) it's nigh impossible to find jeans made from stretch denim. I have to admit to a weakness for stretch denim. But actually, now that I think about it, it seems that a lot more men's jeans these days have zipper flies, and maybe the lack of girly accouterments associated with women's jeans will make up for the lack of stretch denim.