Something for the Ladies

Along with other age-old questions like “Is there a God?” and “Why does Donald Duck cover himself with a towel after showering when he doesn’t even wear pants?” I have always wondered why women’s clothing sizes vary so much from brand to brand. You can be a size 4 at Express and a size 10 at Old Navy. Wear a small at H&M and a large at American Apparel. In addition to leading to massive fluctuations in self-esteem, this also makes is nearly impossible to shop online or in catalogues.

Well, some bright young thing out of North Carolina felt my pain. A 22-year-old named Melissa Adelman (I hate it when they’re so young) formed a company called Size Me Up, which designs a computer application that allows you to compare sizes between different brands. Let’s say the pants at Banana Republic fit you perfectly: you can use this to figure out which size that corresponds to in Levi’s and Calvin Klein and all those other brands you promised yourself you wouldn’t throw your money away on this year.

I wasn’t clear by this article if this program is up and running yet, but I hope it will be soon. I’m tired of having to carry 4 different sizes of the same shirt into the dressing room every time I want to try something on.