Morgane l’a fait !Aug 21, 2024
Sini Tuulia

Probably relevant life and body positivity tip from a sewist, pattern drafter and seamstress:
The clothes are the problem. Please try to remember that you are not the wrong shape, size or dimensions. If the shirt doesn't button closed the shirt is too narrow, you're not too wide. If the dress sags at the back it's the dress pattern, not your ass. Absolutely nobody makes clothes that are Actually Your Size unless you custom order or make them yourself. Even then fitting is a skill and an art!

You're not the problem, the clothes are.

Aug 20, 2024 at 11:05pmWeb
Show threadSini TuuliaAug 20, 2024
This has been a two in the morning thought. I don't know if I should put some kind of content warning on there, I didn't think so, but please let me know if I should and I'll do it in the morning!
Show threadFemme MalheureuseAug 21, 2024

@sinituulia All that. It used to be that clothes were handmade to fit the person. It wasn't cheap but we respected our clothing more and it looked better on us; it was more sustainable consumption, too.

I can't think of a vintage photo of persons before mass manufacturing of clothes in which clothing didn't fit well save for laborers who dressed for their jobs and comfort.

Show threadSini TuuliaAug 21, 2024
@femme_mal A lot of people would also buy second hand, but all in all they'd own less and use it until it wasn't wearable any more. Sometimes it didn't look very nice, but certainly much more sustainable.
Show threadFemme MalheureuseAug 21, 2024
@sinituulia I think of Japan's boro with sashiko repairs as an example of extending use even beyond wearability. Old items became patches, beautified with stitching. No waste, only wabi-sabi.
Show threadJennieAug 20, 2024

@sinituulia A big issue I often have as a chubby short person, is that clothing manufacturers either assume that if you're short then you are skinny but if you're fat then you are 11 feet tall.

I just got a shirt today that fits great around my body, but it's so long! I'm going to try and hem it and hopefully it'll look fine.

Show threadAngelaAug 20, 2024
@simplebadger27 @sinituulia as a tall leggy woman, I get the impression most "women's clothing" is designed for 5'2-5'7 bodies, that only get broader, never taller, and 26 inseam max
Show threadCavyherdAug 21, 2024

@seawall @simplebadger27 @sinituulia

I'd be grateful if I could FIND clothes for my inseam + waist circ. It's so frustrating that I went for years making my own jeans.

Show threadSini TuuliaAug 21, 2024
@cavyherd @seawall @simplebadger27
@MissConstrue It's cheaper to only make sizes that people can fit inside, not bothering with if it fits them! I'm quite short, have a small waist and tiny ribcage, wider shoulders and very very wide hips in proportion... Add a sway back, scoliosis and a bunch of other things and there is very rarely anything that fits. Which is why I started modifying and making my own clothes as early as the teenage years. Actually learning pattern drafting and fitting explained SO MUCH about why nothing ever looked good. Learning about the history of pattern drafting and garment manufacture then also made me angry!
Show threadCavyherdAug 21, 2024

@sinituulia @seawall @simplebadger27 @MissConstrue

Also, economies of scale apply. Basically, "create sizes that 80% of the population can sorta kinda make work, & call it a day."

There's a reason why the whole upscale men's suits thing has a tayloring step betw purchase and delivery.

Show threadPwassonchat the enby catboyAug 23, 2024
@seawall @simplebadger27 @sinituulia definitely not 5'2. I'm 5'3 and everything is way too long on me. The height range these clothes are designed to fit is even narrower than that.
I do realize that I can shorten some clothes and you can't possibly lengthen them, though.
Show threadCavyherdAug 21, 2024

@simplebadger27 @sinituulia

We get one (1) aspect ratio, either enlarged or reduced to fit (of necessity) the equatorial dimension.

::sigh::

—signed, a person with disproportionately long waist & short legs.

Show threadeena meena meAug 20, 2024
@sinituulia every time i go shopping for clothes that need to cover my arms i get upset / disappointed, even when i go shopping for sports which you'd think would cater to long armed freaks like me
Show threadCavyherdAug 21, 2024

@meena @sinituulia

I've given up & buy oversize men's shirts. (I actually like having extra sleeve to lop over my hands.) I don't recall the last time I bought women's shirts.

& generally, it seems the clothing industry (at least retail) doesn't believe that anything over a C-cup exists....

Show threadKat the LeopardessAug 21, 2024
@sinituulia Big Agree here. Also, the vanity sizing really really does not help.
Show threadMoon joyAug 21, 2024
@sinituulia This can never be said enough, thank you.
Show threadSini TuuliaAug 21, 2024
@bright_helpings You're very welcome!
Show threadpetpetAug 21, 2024
@sinituulia
I boycott places where they offer small sizes only in retail shops and tell you to buy anything from L (!) in their online shop. e.g.
#uniqlo_official
Show threadMarta 🌿🍃Aug 21, 2024
@sinituulia Yeah, I'm ready for those automatically generated clothes that were promised by sci-fi writers ages ago.
Show threadSini TuuliaAug 21, 2024
@Triffen Honestly we could probably produce knitwear to people's exact measurements already. Heck, we did that at school when we were learning machine knitting: We calculated the pattern based on our individual sizes, and then did maths to translate that to stitch count and such according to a test swatch with the yarn... And onto the machines we went. True, we did it by hand and thus were the computer, but there's no reason you couldn't just let the computer be the computer!
Show threadElena ``of Valhalla''Aug 21, 2024

@sinituulia @Triffen and the technology is already here to take a number of measurements, let a computer draft a pattern for sewn clothing, and then have a human sew them the way all other mass produced garments are sewn, except they would fit significantly better (even if less than clothing that has been fitted on the body).

I think that there are companies providing that service, but I suspect mostly in the countries where most clothing are already been made.

Show threadMarta 🌿🍃Aug 21, 2024
@valhalla @sinituulia Yes, I use such generated patterns myself, but the sewing part is still lacking.
Show threadElena ``of Valhalla''Aug 21, 2024
@Triffen @sinituulia very!
Show threadSally StrangeAug 21, 2024

Relevant: wondering why your favorite actor looks so fabulous in just jeans and a t-shirt? It's because their clothes are tailored to them specifically.

@sinituulia

Show threadSini TuuliaAug 21, 2024
@SallyStrange And when they're not, they probably have an assistant or stylist or both to wade through every single available thing on earth to find the one thing that does fit and look good right away! People whose literal career it is to make sure they look good!
Show threadAviva GaryAug 21, 2024
@sinituulia All this and the comments too ^
Show threadGiselleAug 22, 2024
@sinituulia Heck yeah! Absolutely!!
Show threadSibylleDec 20, 2024

@sinituulia oh yes... and therefor I'm teaching myself to sew bras. or alter them. because "nah, we only have normal bras" when asking for something with more space between underwires or "you just can't wear a bra with wires" is just lame...

I did not have one single well fitting bra in my whole life. I'm 40.

Show threadSini TuuliaDec 20, 2024
@sibylle I make my own, these days! I do prefer them without underwires, but always put in upright short boning at the sides of the cups. It makes a world of difference in comfort and support for me, it's weird that's more of a vintage bra thing these days. I can't quite draft my own bra patterns yet so I'm happy about how many options to buy them there are!
Show threadSibylleDec 20, 2024

@sinituulia oh yes, I bought two pairs of that kind recently. they were so comfy in the shop.
in real life gravity and weight made the wiring (boning?) fold in half (and stabbing my ribs) while also folding the cup into a weird shape as a side effect.

they just used some lightweight plastic strip as boning...

I work on a spandex sports bra design right now...

Show threadSini TuuliaDec 20, 2024
@sibylle I've used synthetic whalebone in mine, the same that gets used in historical costuming corsets. (It's a carefully engineered slightly more expensive plastic.) It's not right at the side of bust either, more directly under the armpit and to the side? I've not had it warp even in long line bras that need some four to five hooks to close. If you can easily source synthetic whalebone and switch to that, you might be able to use them again!