Usually when I’m caught commenting to a friend that “that shirt looks like my baby nephew threw up on it and then tossed glitter on it” by a store associate, I cringe. Because they work for that company and I just said something awful. But at some retailers, like Zara, sales associates actually take that kind of feedback to the powers that be so they can make clothing customers will want to buy. Fancy that. [More]
clothing
Study: Shoppers Might Avoid Buying American-Made Clothing To Save A Few Bucks
By 11.7.12
America! Born in the USA! We love America and the products we make on our own soil, but one study says that blind affection might not be deserved when it comes to clothing, and could actually be preventing us from buying American items. Researchers say that just because an item bears the “Made in America” tag, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re buying the best value or will have to shell out big bucks. [More]
Forever 21’s Vicious Rivets Attacked My Car’s Seats
By 10.4.12
Sam thought he would try shopping at discount clothing emporium Forever 21. He found this nice pair of pants. Well, he thought they were nice, but they turned out to be vicious. He tells Consumerist that the back rivets were so sharp, they scratched up the leather in his car interior. Imagine the horror if he owned a leather couch or recliner, too. [More]
Should Clothes For Larger Children Be Called 'Plus-Size'?
By 9.7.12
People come in different sizes. This is particularly true for children, whose bodies are constantly growing and changing. Standard sizes meant for all kids don’t fit all kids, especially with an increasing percentage of overweight children. Boys’ clothing cut larger with the designation of “Husky” have been around for a while, and some kids and parents find them embarrassing. But what about girls? Some retailers of children’s clothing have introduced larger cuts of clothing for girls as young as 3, but have designated these clothes “plus size,” just like clothes for larger adult women. [More]
Woot Changes T-Shirt Sizing Without Warning, Is Still Totally Awesome
By 4.18.12
Wendy is a fan of deal-a-day site Woot’s shirt-a-day site, and owns quite a few of their shirts. She wrote in with two purposes: first, to warn other people who love the company’s shirts that the sizing has changed, and also to praise the site for sending her out a shirt in the correct size with no fuss. [More]
How To Make Your Shoes Last Longer
By 3.12.12
Your shoes are probably the single most expensive piece of clothing you wear every day, and are undoubtedly the garment you put under the most stress and expect the most out of. Take care of them and you can get some extra mileage out of your clothing budget. [More]
Turn Your Hands Into Washing Machines
By 1.30.12
Maybe your washer is broken and the repairman can’t come for a week. Maybe you don’t have the time to waste at a laundromat this week. Maybe the label says “hand-wash only.” Whatever the case, all you need to wash your clothes is a basin, some soap and a pair of hands. [More]
Why Women's Clothing Sizes Will Never Make Any Damn Sense
By 1.26.12
Women’s clothing sizes vary over time, by manufacturer, and sometimes from one clothing design to another in the same store. Why is that? Was it ever different? Has anyone ever tried to impose order? Back in 1958, the National Bureau of Standards tried to apply standardized sizing to the pattern-making industry, and optionally to ready-to-wear clothing vendors as well, but the standards didn’t take. The very sizing system we grumble at today is based on these 1958 numbers. Loosely. [More]
How To Fix Those Darn Socks With Holes In Them
By 1.16.12
When you find a sock that’s holier than a game-winning touchdown drive by a Bronco quarterback, natural reactions include suffering with the added ventilation or throwing it away. The alternative is to resurrect the sock through the age-old tradition of darning it. [More]
"Booty Cam" Presents Firm Evidence That Your Butt Looks Big
By 11.9.11
Coming soon to your changing room is a device dubbed the “Booty Cam,” a closed circuit electronic eye that’s strategically set up to give you a live feed of your butt. Developed by the founder of American Rag jeans company, the device is already inside upscale Industrie Denim stores in San Francisco and Scottsdale, with more locations expected to open next year. [More]
Woman Banned From Abercrombie & Fitch For Excessive Purchases
By 8.11.11
What happens when you’re a huge fan of Abercrombie & Fitch, spending at least a thousand dollars there per year, but don’t have a retail store nearby? Why, you shop online, then get banned from making any more purchases from them. Of course. Wait, what? [More]
Analyst: Material, Labor Costs Increases Will Inflate Clothing Prices
By 2.15.11
Clothing prices have dropped for years thanks to cheap overseas labor, but increases in those labor costs as well as an increase in the cost of materials such as cotton could cause prices to rise. [More]
What's Your Magic Shirt Number?
By 1.12.11
Unless you’re blessed with a photographic memory, it’s tough to remember exactly which clothes you have, and thus too easy to over-buy when you’re out shopping. If you maintain such a program, you can end up with a closet full of stuff you didn’t even know you had, riddled with duplicates. [More]
Upgrade Your Outfits Without Downgrading Your Net Worth
By 11.21.10
With a little creativity, those ragged clothes that fill your closet don’t have to define the way you look. You can class up your wardrobe if you’re willing to put in enough work to shop for steals at the right places [More]
Buy Your Jeans Now Before Cotton Prices Go Up
By 11.4.10
It’s been a bad year for cotton-producing regions in India, China and Pakistan and the price of cotton has skyrocketed since the summer. So before retailers begin tacking this cost of materials increase onto the consumer, the forward-thinking people at SmartMoney.com have put together a list of what items you should stock up on. [More]
Sorry, Your $80 Brooks Brothers Shirt Is Only Good For Two Years
By 10.6.10
The phrase “unconditional guarantee” gives the impression that a product has a guarantee, and that it’s unconditional. B. writes that at Brooks Brothers, “unconditional” seems to mean “as long as you don’t wash or wear articles of clothing.” Is he out of line to expect the company to stand behind frequently worn and laundered items like dress shirts? Or is Brooks Brothers’ use of the word “unconditional” in this situation misleading? [More]
This Gap Manager Doesn't Want Your Groupon Coupon
By 9.7.10
Alex and his wife bought into a Groupon offer for Gap, where you could buy $50 worth of merchandise for $25. Everything was going great until they ran into a manager at their local store who refused to even ring up the pants they’d chosen, saying anything already discounted wasn’t eligible for the offer. [More]
Stashitware Turns Your Underwear Into A Man Purse
By 8.25.10
Hey guys, do you know what will really sex up a special occasion? First, take off your pants to reveal your enormous crotch bulge. Then reach into your underwear and pull out a 2 liter bottle of Coke. [More]
