Like many women, I find shopping for jeans almost impossible — and BuzzFeed's “Women Try on Jeans in One Size, Different Brands” video shows exactly why so many of us are in the same ill-fitting, denim-clad boat: Sizing varies so dramatically from brand to brand that none of us have any idea what will or won't fit us anymore. And you know what? It's nuts.
There. I said it. The fashion industry is batshit.
In order to figure out exactly how much disparity exists between brands, BuzzFeed writers Kristin Chirico and Candace Lowry each tried on jeans in the same size from six different brands. As Bustle's Tori Telfer and her sister discovered last summer, how well a pair of jeans fits does vary somewhat from store to store — but just in case you weren't aware how much it varies, this video puts it in no uncertain terms. Even if each pair of pants bore the same number on its label, some of them were way too tight; others were way too large; some fit in some places and not in others; and one even managed to be both too large and too small at the same time. An impressive feat, no?
I honestly don't understand why there isn't some sort of industry-wide regulation when it comes to clothing size. I mean, I would argue that if two pairs of pants are both labeled with the same number, and yet one is drastically larger or smaller than the other, then that defeats the entire purpose of labeling items by size in the first place. The numbers are supposed to be able to help us find what fits us, not trick us into thinking we wear a size we don't. To hell with vanity sizing — most of us don't give a damn about the number attached to our pant size. We just want to be able to go to a store, pick out the size we know we wear, and have the damn things fit.
But hey, I suppose at least there's a silver lining in this extremely odd shopping cloud: None of us are alone in our shopping struggles. So the next time it feels like nothing fits, don't worry — we all feel like nothing fits. What's more, it's got nothing to do with us and everything to do with the bizarre alternate universe from whence most sizing conventions seem to spring.
Here a few highlights; scroll down to watch the whole video.
J Brand:
Says Lowry, “I got 'em zipped… but then I'm also like, 'freshly baked muffin tops for sale!'”
AG Alexa Chung:
This quote from Lowry says it all: “They're $235 dollar pants… and they fit very poorly.” Yikes.
Target Mossimo
This is the pair that, according to Chirico, is “simultaneously too small and too big.” There you have it: Nothing is impossible. These pants quite literally defy the laws of science.
Old Navy
I've never once found a pair of Old Navy jeans that fit me properly, so I'm not at all surprised that Chirico had issues, too: These things are enormous. As Chirico put it, “I've discovered I can do this”:
That's a lot of extra space. Why? Are we supposed to be able to hide entire armies down there while we're wearing them?
Watch the full video below:
Images: Giphy; BuzzFeed Video/YouTube (4)
