So, I'm not much one to talk about the inequality of things, as I feel like there is always a way to be triumphant. However, this is something that I think could be so simple, yet is made to be so complex.
If you couldn't guess it from the title, I'm talking about women's jeans.
They're something so mundane and we use them in everyday life, so most people don't even think about how their jeans can be a problem, but they really can be for women. I'm not talking much about numbers, but rather just basic logistics here.
First off, the biggest complaint I hear about women's jeans is the pockets. They're so tiny! Most of the time, I can only fit my fingers in my pockets, and occasionally I can fit my whole hand. Either way, the pockets are incredibly tiny, always! And when I looked up why this may be, the answer was basically, "because that's how it has always been done, since the 1700s". For such an advanced time period, I'm surprised we can't have women's jean pockets fit my hands in them.
My second problem is the length. There are basically two lengths to women's jeans: petite and regular. Very rare is the long jeans as well, but these aren't terribly common. Petite claims it is for 5'4" and under, but it really is best for 5'2" and under. These jeans are made to be quite short, and almost become floods on women that are 5'3" or 5'4". The rational thought would be to go to regular at that point but...
YOU THOUGHT WRONG!
These jeans are gonna go down to the heel of your foot if you're not 5'5" or above! This causes damage and fraying to the bottom of the jeans when you walk along sidewalks and other rougher surfaces. Eventually, the bottoms rip, and your nicest pair of jeans become another one of your "lazy day" jeans. Some say you can just pull your jeans up but...
WRONG AGAIN!
With women's jeans not taking into account the fact that some people have wider or narrower hips, you could wind up with jeans that fit perfectly...except for over the waist, which is the most important part. Yet, if you decide to go a size up, you typically wind up with jeans that are too big in every other part of the jeans besides the waist area. So your jeans won't fall down or give you a muffin top, but they will look saggy and baggy regardless.
The biggest thing that gets me is comparing this to how men's jeans are made. These jeans go by inches, which completely takes into account both the length and waist size of the pants, making for a much more accurate jean wearing experience. For women, it is assumed that if you are a size "5", for instance, you will have every criteria that fits the perfect size "5" body, meaning you are the perfect height and waist width to fit a five. In reality, a size "5" may have the experience of jeans that are too long, fit their legs and booty perfectly, and are too tight around the waist. If they go down to a size "7" petite, the jeans are too short, fit right in the waist, and are baggy in the leg and booty area. There really isn't much winning.
This is really causing the legging fad to be a very continuous thing. People don't want to deal with feeling stuck to a single number (rather than various numbers that show our unique body type) and still being dissatisfied, so they go to a more relative sizing, where the fabric will fit their bodies. This is still a problem, as many schools and public places don't allow leggings. In one recent extreme case, a teenage girl was kicked off of a plane for wearing plain black leggings. Many high schools, including mine, don't tolerate leggings either. So many girls who want to go to school comfortably wind up being sent to an office to find clothing that is more appropriate, despite it being much more ill-fitting.
My suggestion: We need a system similar to how the men's have for pants and jeans. It most likely wouldn't be the exact same system, but at least it would be a more accurate and detailed system. It should be a system that takes into account the idea that everyone's genetics are different, and one size truly does not fit most.
Until we can find a way to make a pair of jeans or pants that aren't absolutely ridiculous soon, we may be stuck in this phase of ill-fitting clothing, or non-school appropriate clothing, for quite a while.
