Don’t trust sizing charts
If your new Christmas clothes are a little snug, holiday weight might actually not be the culprit: Clothing brands’ sizing charts are not standardized, which can lead consumers to be confused about their “real size,” but this is apparently not an oversight in the clothing industry. Brands consciously try to create distinct sizing charts to give them a competitive advantage as they treat the size of their clothes as intellectual property. It makes the brand special and lets them focus on a certain customer base, according to Vox.
Luckily, there are apps to fix the problem: This Wall Street Journal video (watch, runtime: 02:35) highlights a few applications are trying to find solutions for both the consumers that are getting too-small jeans and for the stores (especially online) that are losing money due to customer returns. MySize and True Fit both take customer measurements to be able to recommend the ideal size for different brands. Shima Saki, a Japanese company that uses 3D printing machines to create clothes with very little variation in sizing. And finally, MTailor, an app that uses smartphones to take measurements using the camera and then creates custom made clothing based on the data.