One of the great things about when I lived in Japan was that all the stores had clothes that would actually fit me. Here in the states, it’s a lot harder to find the proper fit. I’d describe my body type as short n stocky, and I have found that if I want a pair of jeans that don’t drag on the floor, I need to get kids’ sizes. Mervyn’s actually has “husky” Levi’s that fit me, plus they are only $19 or so. But the Mervyn’s near me has closed, and so yesterday I find myself at the more well-known sister store, Target. I went looking for some long-sleeved t-shirts for my morning runs (it’s getting cooler here in TX) and I see they have them, at only $6.95. Alright, I think! But of course, the S size is frickin’ huge! What a waste, I think… and there is no way that shirt is going to shrink very much.
On the brighter side, the casual collared shirts fit me nicely (medium, even) so I have a place for those. I did end up buying a pair of Levi’s regular fit there, sized 31×30, and while they do drag on the floor when I am bare-footed, they look ok when I am wearing my boots. They have a decent “fall”, to use a term that my friend Billy mentions in his blog, and I like the dark-blue “new jeans” look. And surprisingly, they were only $19!
But what is up with the Levi’s sizing? I mean, when I was growing up in the 80’s, I wore 501’s all the time, and my size was 30×30 and the length was perfect after washing. That was kind of confusing but cool at the same time, because you had to get an inch bigger in the waist and two inches in length, and after you washed and dried them, they would become their true size. Sorta unique. Then there was the pre-shrunk era, when you could just try them on and know they would fit. I think that was when I couldn’t find any lengths that were short enough to fit me well. I heard that they stopped selling shorter jean sizes here in the states because people would buy a shitload of them and sell them abroad for a shitload of money. (hey, two uses of the S word in one sentence!) My belief is that they did the old switcheroo with their sizing standards right then. But now, a 30×30 is way too long, whereas it used to be perfect. Oh well… on a side note, I have never worn jeans that weren’t Levi’s. I love them.