Men's Clothing Size: Why So Confusing
Hi!
I'm Antonio Centeno, the founder of Real Men Real Style.
Today we're going to be talking about men's clothing sizes, why are they so confusing?
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Having said that, let me go ahead and jump right into the question.
So I got Steve and he emailed me this.
"Antonio, I understand that clothing should fit.
I'm concerned though that if I buy a slim-fit, it's a trendy choice that won't last.
I'm looking to present and build my core wardrobe.
Putting that out of the way, why are looser fits described as regular, classic, or loose
versus slim or super-slim?
Thanks.
Steve."
Okay.
So Steve has a good question.
He's out there.
He finds something that fits him.
He thinks it looks good but then he sees super-slim or skinny and he's instantly thinking, "Okay.
Is this a trend?
I want to build an interchangeable, classic wardrobe, a wardrobe that's going to last
for a long time."
So what do these labels mean?
Those labels are there, gentlemen, to sell.
There is no regulation here.
Skinny doesn't really mean that it's a very loose general term because what is skinny
one place?
In fact, a good example is go to Europe and then go to the United States.
If you try on a medium or a small in Europe, actually a medium or a small in Europe is
easily a small in the United States and it's really bad in women's clothing.
My wife came here.
She's a medium over in Ukraine.
She comes to the United States and smalls are almost too large.
She usually looks for an extra small, usually a little bit longer.
But sizing is all about sales and getting you to buy.
Understand that if it looks good, if you know the rules, you can put together a classic
clothing.
Unless it says maybe super-skinny or matchstick or something, be careful there.
There are no rules.
There are no regulations.
Let's talk about regulations.
Where do you see regulations in the clothing industry?
Well, whenever something says 100% cotton, it doesn't have to actually be 100% cotton.
There's a 3%, in my understanding, variance that it could have a few other things and
they can label it 100% cotton.
If something has a label "Made in Italy," "Made in the United States," that doesn't
necessarily mean it was made in the way.
Each of these rules and regulations, they often have things written in and I know the
"Made in Italy," there's a lot of the big fight going on in Europe because basically
a lot of things are being assembled in China, they're importing it into Italy and then they're
piecing it together.
So where was it technically made?
Those are questions.
You're going to find that's harder and harder especially as we look -- as a merchant, I
can tell you it's really hard.
In fact, it's pretty impossible to find good suiting fabric made in the United States.
All the mills, they're in Italy.
They're in the U.K.
They're over in China.
They're not in the United States.
When you wear a suit, even if it was handcraft designed and cut in the United Sates, it's
technically not fully made in the US.
Understand that.
Okay.
We got a little bit off topic.
Back to sizing.
Vanity sizing.
This is something it gets to sales, they find especially in women's wear and it does apply
to men, if something says "regular" or "classic."
And you're a little bit larger versus if you have the same option and it says "loose" or
"baggy," what are you going to go with?
You're going to go with the regular or classic.
Well, many men are.
Some guys just want everything loose and are going to go with the loose, but you're going
to go with what sounds best to your ears and flatters your ego.
Makes sense, huh?
How can you get past this?
How can you make all of the sizing irrelevant?
I'm going to give you two tips.
1.
Know Your Measurements
Number one, know your measurements.
Wearing a tailored suit, I've got a measurement guide.
You're going to find them.
I know Art of Manliness has one as well.
Collect your measurements.
When you know how many inches your shoulders are across, that doesn't change much.
You may gain a little bit of weight and it may change a little bit but from shoulder
point to shoulder point, that's pretty consistent.
When you know that, you can shop better for shirts that should fit you from shoulder point
to shoulder point or suits that should fit you.
The shoulders should fit you right there.
2.
Measure your Best Fitting Clothing
Tip number two is to take your best fitted clothing.
I know you've got a shirt in your wardrobe or you've got a jockey, you're got a pair
of trousers, a pair of jeans that you love, that fits you perfect.
Well, you know what?
You should record and measure those.
So when you're out shopping, you don't have them on.
Or even if you do, you're going to actually just ask for a tape measure.
You've got this information perhaps on your smartphone somewhere and you know that your
outseam on those trousers needs to be this, the inseam needs to be this and the rise,
basically, the crotch measurement, needs to be this.
When you know that, it's going to be much easier to purchase and you can ignore the
label.
Makes sense, guys?
Okay.
If you want more information about men's style, you know I've got that free eBook.
In addition, I've got a pretty darn cool course called A Man's Guide to Style.
This is my home study course, self-study course, whatever you want to call it.
Within 24 hours, I guarantee it, you will have a solid foundation because I hit it with
audio; I hit it with great articles.
We've got tons of bonuses.
I give you how-to buy guides.
If you go out there and this saves you from buying one bad shirt, one bad pair of trousers,
one bad suit, this will have paid for itself multiple times over.
So gentleman, invest in yourself, always a smart investment.
Okay?
It sounded like -- was it Ben Franklin that said that?
Okay, guys.
I'll see you in the next video.
Take care.