The Story Behind T-Shirt Sizing
Have you ever wondered how t-shirt sizes came about? Well, the current sizes we are familiar with apparently date back to the 1800’s. That was when clothing shops were established and you could purchase items that had a uniform sizing to them. Before that time, clothing was custom made to fit.
However, over the years sizes have somewhat shifted and a large t-shirt in the United States will likely be somewhat larger than a large t-shirt in an Asian country. There’s also the variation in sizes that result from brand to brand and different manufacturers. Here are the three main factors that can impact the size of an ordinary t-shirt.
1 – Standardization
Believe it or not, there are organizations in the world that have strict guidelines related to t-shirt sizes. The best known of these groups are the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the CEN (European Committee for Standardization). Both have designed standards related to measurements of clothes in relation to the age, gender and use of the garment wearer. Although these standards are popular and do keep sizes in perspective, not all member countries comply.
2 – Vanity
There is something known as vanity sizing. Essentially, a clothing manufacturer purposely mislabels clothing, including t-shirts, to be one or two sizes less than they actually are. In other words, if you typically wear a large t-shirt, a vanity sized one will be medium. The idea here is to make you feel good that you can fit into clothing smaller than you used to – although the garment is in fact not any smaller.
3 – Demographic
Some t-shirt brands are targeting certain demographics for their products. In order to make this work, they will actually cater to the body shape that they want their clothing to appear on. This is why you may find some types of specialty athletic wear labeled sizes larger than they actually are. It is a lot like vanity sizing but with a brand that is higher end than others, this re-sizing trick actually creates a status symbol related to the clothing.
4 – Geographic
There is no doubt that the body shape of people in North America differs from that of some other foreign countries. This is why you may find a t-shirt that is manufactured off shore as fitting a little too snuggly even if the size it is labeled is the size you typically wear. These t-shirts are measured to fit the general population of the geographic territory the garments are being produced for.
Ordering a T-Shirt Could Not Be Easier
At YayPrint we are always ready and waiting to help you get the best quality t-shirts available online. All you have to do is download our app. After you do that you will be able to access our online design tools. With them you can design a new t-shirt with your personal message. If you need inspiration, you can also scroll through the various designs already uploaded to our app program.
There’s also a section showing trending t-shirts so you know what others are ordering. Plus, our online store never closes so you can design and order t-shirts anytime you want. You can also have them shipped anywhere in the world. It couldn’t be any easier than that. Our t-shirts are high quality and sized to fit you. Why not get the gang together and order a bunch of new t-shirts? We can help you with that!