The Maze of Inconsistency

Navigating The Labyrinth Of Retail Clothing Sizes

By: Ezrema Vasilibrè-Ullah

A few days ago I was privy to school holiday so I took myself to my favorite mall in the greater Orlando area, The Altamonte Mall in Altamonte Springs, Florida (well I admit it is tied with the Oviedo Mall, but this one is much larger and has much more clothing stores to browse). After parking my mini-cooper in the parking lot I first got a cup of coffee at the Barnes and Noble Cafe and strolled through the magazine section. After glancing through a few copies of fashion and decor magazines I decided to wander through the other areas of the mall before committing to a purchase.

Upon exiting the Barnes and Noble I was bombarded with a plethora of apparel retailers, being indecisive as I usually am when it comes to picking one and with no other obligations hounding me that day I choose to explore each one so I choose to explore the first one to my right which was J.C. Penney.

With no need of a particular outfit or occasion I was free to pursue whatever my eye fancied… with that in mind I first explored the dress section and pulled a few pretty dresses off the rack from various brands, that I had no knowledge of, from the xxl section and then since I have been studying dance and therefore been losing some weight I pulled a few from the extra large section has well, and a medium too, a girl can dream can’t she?

Unfortunately the medium I pulled was too tight to pull over my tummy but felt well under my waist — not everything is like the colorful mondrian inspired block print sundress I picked up from the second hand shop years ago in New Jersey but it isn’t fair to compare the two dresses since the second hand one was worn before and therefore stretched a bit.

Now both the extra large and double x were able to fit over my tummy, which some people have asked if I’m pregnant (I wish!) While all the double x’s were too baggy at the top and flapped too much in my underpits the extra larges were not much better. The necklines were more flattering and didn’t expose much of my chest like the double x’s did. But the lengths of dresses weren’t to my liking… they barely covered my knees.

After my foray I exited the dressing room and my try-ons on to the return rack and headed out to the next store Q fashion. It was not as large as the J.C. Penney store but was exclusively dedicated to women’s fashions unlike the larger emporium which had men’s, children, bedding, mattress and other home furnishings in addition to women’s apparel.

The patterns, designs, and colors were much richer than in my last spot but now here everything ran small so I had to try on a triple x which while fitting, was not self confidence enriching so I put my outfit back and walked out to the next boutique which happened to be named Release but their specialty were tee-shirts and sneakers, two things I’m not interested in so I moseyed along to Macy’s and tried on same pants and to my surprise 18w was no longer my go to size. A few brands 18 fit much better than their W counterpart, some the numerical sizings were too tight so instead of moving on to a 20 or 20w I moved on to stretch waists which were much more comfortable and while I could squeeze into an L an a few different brands they were not loose enough for the unmentionable area, so much for them. The extra larges were much better but some were more snug than others.

After getting lunch in the foodcourt from a burger joint named Hardee’s and purchasing an Enya CD from the F.Y.E. media shop I went into Dillards where I went bra window shopping. Now I didn’t compare sizings there many because I love my Olga brand ones but also because it is so easy to get lost in all the embellishments, trims, prints, that sizing becomes the last thing on anyone’s mind.

After my time in lingerie land I decided to go back to the Barnes and Noble bookstore and look at the magazines again but along the way I made another stop at a much smaller clothing shop

Then I came to called Hot Topic, which was a spooky teen/adult gothic emo type store selling t-shirts and television and film inspired merchandise, not being my to interests I stepped out as soon as I stepped in and continued my way to the bookstore where I picked up a few magazines, one on ghosts, another one on crystals but printed in Britain, and one for date night.

P.S. The “W” in 18W does not mean wide. It means woman, which is a nice way to say plus. I get it can’t be labeled “P” because that is for Petite, but can’t there be something more clear?