I can understand uniquely shaped clothes (halter tops, etc) but why not pants, skirts, suits, etc?
In: 603
There are a lot of things that contribute, but the dark horse reason is War.
Prior to the Wars of the Civil War era, most clothing was hand-sewn for everybody. During these war times the demand for men’s uniforms was high, and technological advancements allowed manufacturing to create the supply. America and other western countries standardized men’s clothing sizes to streamline wartime clothing manufacturing.
It would be almost another 50 years before women’s clothing started to see similar standardizing.
But unlike the standardization of Men’s clothing, which was spearheaded at the government level, the standardization of Women’s clothing was done by individual companies/manufacturers. There was a lot of disagreement, misunderstandings, and half-measures (ha).
While governments tried to organize it with various studies and edicts after-the-fact, we still can’t shake the history that served as a basis for why Men’s Sizing is so Straightforward (inches) and Women’s Sizing is so Ridiculous (women petite size 3 +).
Men’s Sizing is viewed as Necessary and Women’s Sizing is viewed as Shopping.
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