A Tale of Two Button Down Shirts and a Pair of Jeans

Stores drive me nuts. Specifically girl/women stores. It seems boys have it pretty easy. They pull out a tape measure, figure out how wide their waist is, how long their legs are, how broad their chest is and occasionally, how round their head is. Then they go into the mall, find a store that seems to have a style they like and 10 minutes later come out with a new wardrobe where everything fits perfectly and they didn’t try one thing on. Women on the other hand have to figure out exactly what the different between a 3/5 and a 4/6 is. Then the length of the pants. XS in Aeropostale is completely different than XS in Misses in Macys and many things are “one size fits all” but let’s be honest, we all know people that would NOT fit into those things. So that’s complicated but it’s something most of us have learned to live with. We grew up watching our mothers and grandmothers face this battle and therefore knew what we were getting into. I don’t know about you, but my mom did NOT warn me about what I’ve now faced in two stores.

Example One

Ever since I found out that Old Navy was not actually a store FOR people in the Navy (I was a kid, give me a break!) I shopped there. I loved the colors. I loved the simplicity. I loved the price. I loved the comfort. And, I loved the jeans. In high school I bought a few pairs of jeans that fit great and were a great price (since it was the ’90s ‘fit great’ actually meant incredibly baggy but still fit around the waist). In college I bought a pair of curvy jeans which fit perfectly and were a great price. After college I bought a pair of bootcut short length jeans and I was in heaven. Best pair of jeans I’ve ever owned. And, they were a great price. So WHY is it that I go into Old Navy now and the “curvy jeans” do not fit AT ALL. Same name. Same label. Same look. Same price. Different cut. The bootcut jeans no longer come in the cut I had either. So Old Navy…great price, no jeans for me. So unfair.

Example Two

In college I used to like looking at NY&Company clothes. My mom shopped there and I couldn’t wait to be able to dress up for work every day (haha boy I’ve changed!). I also couldn’t wait to make money so I could afford to shop there and dress up every day. So imagine my excitement when I got my first internship outside of college and I had to dress up for work! So, excitedly my mom and I went shopping and I bought a ton of clothes. I was no longer an extra small in juniors clothes but in this store I fit perfectly into the tiniest size they had (what an ego boost!). Over the years my work wardrobe looked like the store racks. Their clothes fit amazingly…a dream come true for a girl. Polos, button down shirts, dress shirts, skirts, dress pants etc. So why is it that NY&Company pulled an Old Navy on me and changed everything? They’re ruining my quick “I’ll just pick something up at the mall” ideal. The dress pants that I still wear comfortably to work are the only pants with the label NY&Company that fit. I haven’t bought a good pair of pants in a year now. And all of this brings me to today, how this ranting blog came about. I need a short sleeved button down shirt to complete my newest outfit for the show in NYC that I leave for this week. So I went in good ‘ol NY&Company, grabbed 2 of my usual button down shirts in 2 different sizes and to my surprise, neither fit. One was too tight in certain areas and the other was huuuge. I was annoyed but assumed maybe it’s just my body changing. BUT. Lo & Behold – I went home and tried on a completely similar button down shirt from last year’s line and guess what – it’s a smaller size than either one I tried on today and it fits perfectly. So unfair.

So back on the search I go – for that perfect store that has clothes that fit me perfectly. *sigh* So disappointing. I would love to find out why companies change things when they have loyal customers who finally found their peace in the chaos of shopping in their store. I guess I’m back on the market and those Express jeans are looking awfully nice..pretty ironic that Express is owned by the same company as NY&Company isn’t it? I guess the monopolies and oligopolies of the consumer-driven market is another blog in itself. And maybe even a bit too nerdy to admit I understand.