The Problem with Women's Clothing

I was in Target today for no good reason, as usual. I just go in there and see what calls my name... which is everything. But today, I gravitated toward the clothing. You'd think I'd have more summery clothes and bathing suits, seeing as I live in South Florida, but I don't. I wear jeans pretty much all the time, and I've been comfortable in them until this month. June-September is going to be No Jeans Season, I guess.

So there I was, rooting through their sundresses and bathing suits, all of which were buy one get one half off. I'm a sucker for deals, aren't you? But unfortunately for my self-esteem (and luckily for my bank account), nothing fit right.

When you go shopping with someone who is "normal-sized" (meaning they can pull something off the rack without trying it on, bring it home, and it looks great), you start to realize how messed up women's clothing sizing is.

I am 5'2", have a really small ribcage and waist, and a chest and hips that clearly give away my Italian heritage. Most days, I don't mind how I look. I take care of myself. I play with kids and my dog, I go on walks, I try to eat somewhat healthy, but I still enjoy junk food for my mental health's sake (which is just as important as physical health!). I'm generally small, but I'm not small all over, and that makes it really difficult for me to find "trendy" summer clothes nowadays that I feel confident in, or that I don't need to pay to have altered. Everything is crop tops and maxi skirts and bikinis with clasps in the back. Nothing fits me. Nothing looks good on me.

I know there has to be an average with size and shape, as there is with everything. Of course, most clothing will be made in those sizes, because those sizes are what sell most. But just once, JUST ONCE, I want to walk in to a store and buy a pair of neon printed jeans or a maxi dress that doesn't need to be hemmed, or a bathing suit that fits around both my ribs AND my boobs, or, for god's sake, a shirt that covers my belly button and flatters my hips, please.

And it doesn't make sense that I am a small in some things, but a large in others, or even a large in the same thing in which I am a small in another brand. THIS. MAKES. NO. SENSE.

Can we just standardize women's clothing? Can we size our stuff like dude stuff, please? Like how come dudes can buy their pants in length and waist sizes? Why do I need to be a size 4 or a size 9 or a petite short depending on where I shop? Is my weight yoyo-ing that badly, or am I going insane, or is there really no rhyme or reason to women's sizing?

It makes me feel like shit. I am tired of feeling like shit when I go shopping.

In summary: Sizing need to be standardized within and among brands, and stores need to start carrying clothing IN STOCK in all shapes and sizes. Those of us that are outside the norm would like to stop special ordering our clothing online, because it's annoying, and also because we can't try it on that way, and then we get it, and it doesn't fit, because SIZING IS NOT STANDARDIZED SO WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SIZE TO ORDER ASLDGHALKSGJALSGFASLK sorry I'm done.