Okay, how many of you out there have heard about or read those infamous sizing labels that claim to be “one size fits all”???? Really??? REALLY??? The thing that I find so hilarious about these labels is that one size does not even come close to fitting all…in fact, they often do not even come close to fitting a normal size human being!
I have some recent inspiration for writing about these labels. I was filling a prescription for my daughter in a local pharmacy recently when I came across the most amazing looking thermal tights. It is VERY cold here in the winter, but I love wearing skirts, so I thought these would be PERFECT. I checked the size and it was “one size fits all.” They did not have feet, so height would not be an issue…. I was excited to try these cozy things on a cold rainy day.
Today was that day. When I got out of the shower I reached for my brand-new warm “one size fits all” tights. They were cozy (the lining felt like the lining of a new cotton sweatshirt, all soft and fuzzy). I LOVED them. I loved them over my toes, and past my ankles and calves. I even loved them over my knee caps….. and then my love affair abruptly halted. I could not love them over my thighs… I was fighting and wrestling and bargaining with them over my thighs. WHAT……THE……. HELL????? I have a completely average height, weight and BMI. I am NOT overweight. I am equally proportioned… but these “one size fits all” tights were determined to hold a sit-in on my freaking knee caps.
I was determined to win this battle – slowly I inched up extra fabric from around the ankle, pulling and pulling. Eventually I did get the suckers fully on my body. They felt wonderful from the knees down and oddly shaped from my thighs to my waist. I was determined to wear them all day – and they did keep me warm, albeit with a bit of an unusual waddle to my step.
IF a manufacturer is truly going to make something “one size fits all” I believe it at least needs to fit all sizes in a healthy weight range – otherwise it should say “one size fits all skinny girls” – it seems it is false advertising.
In all fairness to the garment industry, I have seen many “one size fits all” shirts that would be huge on me. I have also seen many clothing manufacturers absolve themselves of the “one size fits all” false advertising guilt by changing the phrase to “once size fits most”.
Our society just isn’t a “once size fits all” society, and that is okay. Perhaps if we all could embrace the fact that we are a bright collage of colors and sizes and shapes then our self-esteem would not be harmed when we cannot vacuum pack ourselves into mis-labelled clothing.
One size will never fit all, and I don’t really want it to – do you?
400daystil40
Fortuitous Forty!!! 