What part of clothe shopping annoys you most?

I'm really annoyed how little consistency there is in sizing terminology. One brand's 'XL' might be too tight for me while another brand's 'XL' could fit me like a garbage bag. Makes shopping online a real hassle for me. I always have to check measurement tables and even then it still might not fit right.

I don't understand why the inconsistency exists. If brands all agreed with each other on what exactly their sizing terms mean, wouldn't that cut down on returns?

I have a body that no clothes will fit. A very dramatic hourglass shape. If I see something cute, it definitely will not fit me.

Nothing. Fucking. Fits.

The worst part is the bras. The fucking bras!!! Why are US bra sizes so fucked?? I literally only wear ill-fitting sports bras now!!! Otherwise my tits are squeezed or wire stabs me or every other pain.

I also have stupid sensitive skin & hypohydrosis, so rashes & heat exhaustion are things I need to think about when getting dressed.

Don't worry. I am built pretty straight up and down and nothing fits me either. I think that people with good fitting clothes are probably getting them tailored.

Could you wear a well fitted sports bra instead? Can you handle Merino wool fabric? The Branwyn Busty soft bra is so very nice and temperature regulating, I can wear it doing yardwork. Any other wool I absolutely cannot stand but the soft Merino knits can be very soothing feeling and they stay dry.
Idk if you already knew about it, but check out ABraThatFits
I can see only 2 arguments for learning to sew. This and being able to add or enlarge pockets

It's hard for men. Big stores that just squeeze in a small section in the back for men. Trying 3 different items: one's too big, one's too tight, but they're all the same size.

This. Everywhere I go it's like 1:5 men's to women's and the only fashion styles you can pick from are "my church let's us dress casual", "9-5 at the law office", or "I cosplay as a meth dealer"
- Lol. Thanks for typing this. As a woman, I always had a similar appreciation of most menswear but couldn't really articulate what was about it that made it feel so off.
  
  There are a few places where there is nice mens clothing but it's usually ridiculously expensive.
I'm a lady but once I went to Target for clothes and came back with 4 bottoms all the same dimensions but the sizes were 4, 5, 7 and 9. All of those were the same size somehow.

I feel you. I'm 6'4" and the biggest hurdle is pants and shirt length. Unless they have tall sizes all shirts become halter tops if I even slightly raise my arms.

Pants are a pain in the ass too because I need at least 34" length for them to not be capris on me. Most companies just make all their pants 32".

There is a reason 90% of my clothing has come from Eddie Bauer for the last 15 years. I'm not particularly brand loyal. They just make clothes that fit me, and most companies don't.

I'm 6’2" and have a fairly long torso compared to leg length. So I'm ok on pants but shirts can be a problem. I have noticed that with T-shirts, the difference between XL and XXL is all in the width and not length. This is not helpful.
- Have you found any "Tall" sizes? I used to need 2XLT, and I know they make "smaller" sizes like that.
I've heard great things about that one company Jeff Goldblum recommends.

I have an unusually wide neck. Shirts, especially dress shirts won't fit both my neck and my arm length without tailoring. NGL not having to wear dress clothes was a a part of why I choose to do a computer science major and not a regular math major.

"So why aren't you going for a math major, we thought you had great potential"

"My neck's too wide"

Pants. I have thicker thighs, especially when compared to my waist size. I find a lot of pants are pretty tight on me because of this. I've started going for the more athletic brands as a result.

Oh I had this issue back when I was 15 or so too.
- I'm 30 lmao.
Got anything to recommend? I'm a dude with butt and thighs that cause me to size up in the waist routinely, else I get the "pocket handles" thing, or just rip stuff lol.

Edit to add, by way of skin in the game: I used to shop for denim with a "tapered" cut (Levis had / has one, for example). If anything I now think they made the problem visually worse, drawing attention to the situation. I now prefer a pretty traditional straight cut, BUT when I'm overweight enough those may as well feel like JNCOs lol. I'm just barely trim enough at the moment to where a typical straight cut doesn't feel like my ankles are swimming in fabric. Guess it's Ankle Tents or Apple Bottom Jeans for the Lads, lol. Or be less chubby, in my case.
- "Athletic fit" jeans are supposed to be designed for guys with thighs and ass. I like the Target brand ones because I need a 28" or 29" inseam and the Target brand shrinks vertically in the wash. I can't buy long sleeve shirts at Target though because those don't shrink to fit my t-rex arms.
- I've been buying a lot of Columbia stuff lately. I'm the type where I get hot easily so I've been buying their pants and dress shirts as they use a more breathable fabric. I just got used to sizing up a bit. I'm not at a point where I need to wear a belt thankfully.
- If you buying more expensive trousers then you can have the waist tailored to reduce it. I typically buy 40" and have them reduced to a 34". Obviously, this isn't worth doing if you buying half a dozen for £50 from h&m or similar budget trousers.

Shoes. They might fit in the store, they might fit at home when I walk around with them for 5-10 minutes, but once I take them outside and they get dirty, suddenly it hurts everywhere.

For me it's that everything today is made out of some flavor of shitty plastic. Call ot whatever you want - "Active Wear", "Cool Breeze", "Dry Tech" - it's polyester, it feels terrible, and amps my BO up to 11 even if I'm just sitting still.

lol sorry about that. Polyester definitely doesn’t have that effect on me and unlike cotton, 100% polyester is pretty much unaffected by wash + dry cycles.

Cotton wears out stupidly quick in comparison.

So when buying off I’m interested i don’t even check sizes, I go straight for material. If it’s less than 70% polyester I won’t even consider buying it.

The apology is because stores do seem to be shifting towards folks like me. I love it.
- Yup. Polyester feels way better on my skin than cotton, especially if I sweat at all. Also easier to maintain. I won't buy anything cotton these days.
I thought it was just me! I almost never have BO, unless I'm wearing polyester. Sitting for 8 hours in a football shirt is like equivalent to me not showering for a week.

I don't understand it.

I'm an Asian size Medium. American sizing puts me in an awkward middle of S and M. US Small fits best on my shoulders and arms, but the torso is too tight. On the other hand, US Medium fits well on my torso, but the shoulders are too wide and the sleeves too large.

Same here as a European. Small shoulders but medium torso. Luckily it's not too bad.

I've got a fat ass and thighs so all my bottoms are 2xl while my tops are just L. Makes it almost impossible to get a dress that fits comfortably and as soon as you enter potientialy fitting territory the price magically doubles

Well atleast you have the dream physique as compensation.
Not to be rude but if the clothing is almost double the fabric a cost increase is reasonable. Although double might be a bit too much since fabric really isn't the main cost of clothing.

My autism manifests heavily on the side of hating certain feelings and very much hating anything tight on me. Anywhere. Makes it difficult to wear anything. Especially bras. Which is very bad as it's very obvious I am not wearing one.

So instead of trying to find one that works I just have up caring.

Still trying to find comfortable clothes but if I find that, I care little how it looks. Usually. Until the anxiety manages to come screaming in.

Especially bras

Excuse if I am mistaken but isnt it the whole point to be snug while not being too small and bordering on squeezing you?
- Yes, which is why they are absolute hell for my brain.

Mostly the "shopping" part.

I'm short, so regular pants are always like 9" too long and the waist of dresses always hit in the wrong spot. I'd wear petite clothes, but the selection is aimed at women in their 70s. It sux.

Children's clothes?
- I wish! There is a difference in size, shape and style (I have to be able to go to work).

Look in your area for a shop that does ready-to-wear clothing alterations. Sometimes dry cleaners will offer those services. Altering a dress shirt to fit you better is a relatively inexpensive service and then you don't have to worry about this anymore. As a 6' tall woman, this is literally one of the reasons I learned to sew.

Sizing and needing to calculate.
Luckily I found a shop (online) that is nice to wear and has no bs sizing.
And it shows the real employees wearing the stuff.

34" inseam is too long 32" is too short. Thick legs compared to waist size so if I don't go up a size the legs are too tight.

Paying of course.

When I've decided something I bought a few months ago is perfect even after several washes, I try to buy another one, but that product is sold out and will never be seen again.

Yes! I hate this!! There seems to be an industry wide practice of never carrying any product consistently.

I understand that if something had to be put on clearance even in-season that they’re not going to buy more of it. But surely bringing back best sellers would be profitable?

Or even providing some mechanism for ordering previously-stocked items online? I don’t need to try it on and will order many units/variations because I already know I love it. Seems like an easy way to make money. Low to no returns too.

As a woman? Brands that think tall ladies are just short women on stilts, so the pants are too short through the rise and shirts too short. We are not all legs! I can get a fit in pants by buying from the few places that have legit tall women's clothes and then hemming them to fit.

Very close second place is bra shopping, same sort of problem - cup size scales up with wire diameter, but in general small boobs are not small around, they are just flatter, and on the other side big boobs can have narrow roots. They need 3 measurements not 2, like band length, wire diameter and cup volume all need to be moving parts.

Tall women are attractive. So feel better. :)
- Tall women (5' 7" / 170cm +) walk elegantly and have a poise often denied their shorter counterparts.
  
  Never be worried about being tall. I wish I had been blessed. Both wives were 5'4". I'm 6' 183cm.
Your experience as a tall person and mine as a short person makes me wonder if these clothing makers have ever met a woman in real life. It's like they are designing based a description of a woman they heard 5 years ago.

I have a big head and have trouble with hats. Particularly ball caps. They are supposed to be one-size-fits-all, but apparently, I am an exception to this. Even at the widest possible setting, they are too tight.

Yep yep yep. I can find some but even they look weird on me since I'm loosening up to as much as I can
I have that problem with glasses. 56-17-140 glasses seem to fit well enough right now. But the options are limited.
- Yeah, I usually buy cheap drug store readers and break them regularly. Even the ones with spring hinges can't seem to cope with my head size. I should probably go get proper fitted glasses, but I also misplace them all the time and would worry about spending the big bucks on something I'd lose in a week.

As a fellow tall, I don't even buy things unless they are "T" sized anymore. Gave up on it a long time ago. My shirt size is "XLT". There are sometimes things like work events or other places where they are giving away T shirts and they ask for my size and I tell them XLT and they are like "How about XXL?" and I'm like "No". I don't need to add another ill-fitting t shirt to the pile of shirts I will never wear.

Kohl's has a big and tall section that is pretty reliable. The past few years I have been stocking up on Tommy Bahama clothing. I have a relative who works pretty high up the chain for their corporate office so I am able to get a discount which brings the price of their clothing down from "outrageously expensive" to "still pretty expensive". It's damn good quality clothing though. I have the Big & Tall Bali Skyline T-shirt in every color. It's probably the most comfortable thing I have ever worn.

my chest is the widest part of my body and it requires me to buy tops that are larger than my size and almost impossible to find.

getting them online too doesn't help because the measurements are never correct.

I can’t seem to find ethically produced slim fit shirts. Only regular ones which are way too roomy around my back and stomach

I don't know how price sensitive you are, but check out Asket.
- Ive got a few of their t-shirts but unfortunately they are still like i described

We have excellent online stores like Zalando that have changed my life. I order, clothes are usually delivered the next day, and returning is as easy as putting it back into the same box and driving to the postal office again. Money back within a few days.

They have perfected the clothes shopping experience for men. No more going to awkward physical shops.

My size is known by the shop, and I can order lots of variations of the same clothes, different sizes, just to find the perfect one that really fits me.

Deciding if I look a dick in the clothes I am trying on, or whether I really really look a dick in the clothes I'm trying on.

The one real advantage in going clothes shopping with a wife or girlfriend, for stuff for oneself.

I'm 6'4, hopefully I have some help. Levis jeans makes a 36" inseam, Kohl's has some tall sized clothes here and there, a few dress shirts and around the house gear, and Lands End has some tall sized stuff, though most of it makes you look like a grandpa.

The dressing room mirrors

Those are nice? Or is it the paranoia?
- They for whatever reason always make me look ugly and out of shape.

I fucking hate cloths shoping, buying cloths is the most annoying part. I actually just bought new cloths, I haven't purchased new clotheing in many many years and more than half of my current shirts have numerous holes around the arm/neck areas. I think the holes add character but I feel like I look homeless and unkept. Not that I care but I feel bad for my partner, so I bought new cloths.

I keep those as the indoor shirts

I fount some shirts that fit "tall" and they are fantastic!

Getting kicked out of occupied change rooms. Like, I thought sharing was caring

I'm fairly broad for my height and need a taped waist on tops so I'm a bit of an outlier.

I won't buy clothes now that doesn't put the actual measurements of the clothes on the listing for the item because otherwise, I have no idea what the fit is actually like.