Clothing is a landmine for me.

[Jackie]

I love short dresses and pantihose. And thick high heels. But sometimes it can be a royal pain in the ass. 

There is zero consistency in sizing in women's clothing. I can have a large dress fit me in one brand, but need an extra large in another brand, and sometimes an XX. Certain brands of pantihose tear easily and other brands stain at the slightest wiff of anything. And bras? Fagfetttabout it. I am lucky to find the ones I have. I love shopping too which is my new addiction. Most of the time I simply window shop. I have given up on online sales besides the one brand of wigs I know fit me. 

I have gotten pretty good at foundation and lipstick. I have given up on eye shadow and blush. I am just not good at that. But I really clean up and am very stealthy in the right dress and oversized round sunglasses. I get complements on something every time I go out. And yes, I have had plenty of guys talk me up, try to flirt with me too. And very helpful at big box stores or home improvement stores. 

Overall, zero regrets and I can live with the hassles. I give being transgender 5 stars on Yelp.

[awty]

I love short dresses and pantihose. And thick high heels. But sometimes it can be a royal pain in the ass. 

There is zero consistency in sizing in women's clothing. I can have a large dress fit me in one brand, but need an extra large in another brand, and sometimes an XX. Certain brands of pantihose tear easily and other brands stain at the slightest wiff of anything. And bras? Fagfetttabout it. I am lucky to find the ones I have. I love shopping too which is my new addiction. Most of the time I simply window shop. I have given up on online sales besides the one brand of wigs I know fit me. 

I have gotten pretty good at foundation and lipstick. I have given up on eye shadow and blush. I am just not good at that. But I really clean up and am very stealthy in the right dress and oversized round sunglasses. I get complements on something every time I go out. And yes, I have had plenty of guys talk me up, try to flirt with me too. And very helpful at big box stores or home improvement stores. 

Overall, zero regrets and I can live with the hassles. I give being transgender 5 stars on Yelp.

Is this what it takes to get men to believe what a pain it is for women to find clothes that fit right?  LOL

I have pants in multiple sizes that all fit me.  Years ago I knew which brands ran large and which ones ran small and also the inseam thing is largely ignored in women's clothing or it's petite/regular/long.  

There are three things I truly hate to have to shop for: swimming suits, bras, and eyeglass frames.

If you can even out your skin with foundation and can manage to put on some mascara...I have never mastered lipstick...you'll be fine.  But ask if you go to a makeup counter in a mid to high-end store.  There are people who work those counters that make more if they can show you how to use the products they want to sell to you.

[AFTT47]

I love short dresses and pantihose. And thick high heels. But sometimes it can be a royal pain in the ass. 

There is zero consistency in sizing in women's clothing. I can have a large dress fit me in one brand, but need an extra large in another brand, and sometimes an XX. Certain brands of pantihose tear easily and other brands stain at the slightest wiff of anything. And bras? Fagfetttabout it. I am lucky to find the ones I have. I love shopping too which is my new addiction. Most of the time I simply window shop. I have given up on online sales besides the one brand of wigs I know fit me. 

I have gotten pretty good at foundation and lipstick. I have given up on eye shadow and blush. I am just not good at that. But I really clean up and am very stealthy in the right dress and oversized round sunglasses. I get complements on something every time I go out. And yes, I have had plenty of guys talk me up, try to flirt with me too. And very helpful at big box stores or home improvement stores. 

Overall, zero regrets and I can live with the hassles. I give being transgender 5 stars on Yelp.

Is this what it takes to get men to believe what a pain it is for women to find clothes that fit right?  LOL

Not for me. It's hard enough for men. I was a size 10 1/2 shoe for most of my life and then suddenly that was too small. Now I need a size 12. I'm guessing it has to do with textile manufacturing moving to different countries and them adopting different size standards. You would think they would use the novel approach of using actual measurements for size. Units wouldn't matter because we can at least convert between inches and centimeters but there isn't a calculator that allows you to convert from double X in one brand to the equivalent size in another brand.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

^All of these are why I never, ever purchase clothes/shoes online.  I can comfortably wear a 13 4E shoe, but every 13 4E is different.

Boru

[Rev. Rye]

I guess I’ve been fairly lucky, but then again, it’s been donkeys since I last bothered to buy shoes (which I know are a crapshoot.)

As for trousers, I recently started to buy jeans (specifically Old Navy Loose fits) online, but after one failure with a set of the tightest loose fit jeans I’ve ever seen, I’ve learned to only buy them either in person or (if online) with specific measurements.

And T-shirts? I’ve also learned to check measurements there, although there’s a STUPEFYING level of variation in sizes (though that may be an AliExpress-specific problem.) Once I account for that (I know the half-chest size I’m looking for), it’s mostly smooth sailing unless the shirt ends up shrinking in the wash.

Formal shirts are another story, however, because I have to choose between a reasonably-sized one that I can’t button at the neck, and an oversized one that I actually can.

And here’s a story that I think is extremely relevant. About 100 years ago, the American Air Force designed a cockpit for their planes based around the average measurements of hundreds of pilots. It was a one-size-fits-all sort of deal. But this can be frustrating if, say, certain measurements of a given pilot are outside the norm. It can be extremely uncomfortable and, if the pilot really doesn’t fit the cockpit, it can get really risky. Indeed, one day in 1952, 17 pilots crashed in one day. They isolated the problem to the cockpit and the pilots who had to fit within it.

So, they measured 4,063 pilots and calculated both the averages and the middle 35-65th percentiles. How many were consistently in that middle range? ZERO. And that’s why we have adjustable seats. Now if we can find a way to apply that to dress shirts or other items of clothing.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

^On reflection I suppose I'd be ok with purchasing a necktie online, but since I already own three, I don't see that happening.

Boru

[Rev. Rye]

I’m a bolo tie man myself.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I’m a bolo tie man myself.

I’m not any kind of a tie man as a rule (too much like a noose), but some situations require one - weddings, funerals, orgies, etc.

Boru

[Rev. Rye]

I’m a bolo tie man myself.

I’m not any kind of a tie man as a rule (too much like a noose), but some situations require one - weddings, funerals, orgies, etc.

Boru

Once I bought my first bolo at 17, I not only made it my go-to for formal neckwear, I wear it as a choker when I go out, even if I'm otherwise just wearing a T-shirt. When putting it on is just as easy as opening a latch and sliding it up to your neck (contrasted with the difficulty of an Oxford Knot, which I've never been able to master even when being shown it and trying to follow in real-time), I could never go back.