Comments on: Case of the Shrinking Abercrombie Clothing Sizes

By: aberzombie

aberzombie — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 04:16:51 +0000

yeah, wtf abercrombie. i have several shirts in L that fit me well. today I went and their XXL didnt fit me anymore…

they seem to narrow down their clientele to the 14-16 year olds…

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:13:39 +0000

There is an agenda.

The next gen guys are midgets and dwarfs. They don’t feel like men in size S and M. The industry figured this out and thus changed the scale to accommodate these little men.

I’m a 35 at 6’1 183 and look the same as I did when I was 18 and I no longer where size L. It’s getting to the point where I’ll have to shop at big and tall stores.

The little 5’9 160 pounders are taking over!

By: Robot Shlomo

Robot Shlomo — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 22:48:34 +0000

I was starting to think it was me. But after stepping on the scale at work, and noticing I have been the same weight for the last five years, I can say with some certainty that the clothing industry is trying to cut corners by skimping on material. I recently bought a Champion XL t-shirt from Sports Authority. I brought it home, tried it on and to my surprise I nearly “Hulked out” of it. After buying an Addidas NY Knicks shirt from Model’s, I noticed that shirt wasn’t a “winner” either. The new Russell Athletic shirts still fit well right off the rack.

There’s three possible things going on here;

1) Much of the garment industry has been largely shipped overseas, and there’s no quality control anymore, so you have a mish-mash of sizes.

2) The industry is cutting corners and using less material

3) Both 1 AND 2.

The other possibility is that this is the latest “trend” in the industry. Screw trends, just give me something that fits!

By: JH

JH — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:31:53 +0000

I would like everyone reading this to not simply assume that you have put on a little weight or gained some muscle mass since you last shopped for t-shirts. Please note the following.

I have a few Fruit of the Loom XXL t-shirts I purchased about 3 years ago and have worn and laundered them repeatedly since then.

I went to the local Wal-Mart and brought a pack of the same FOTL XXL short sleeve pocket t-shirts. Suspecting more games from the retail sector, I opened the package and compared my old T to one of the new fresh out of the pack Ts. The new T was visibly smaller when placed on top of the old T. Using a measuring tape, the new T measured 1 1/2 (one and one half) inches narrower across the chest than the old T. Tired of being toyed with, I then laundered the new T as I have the old T. The new T was now 2 1/4 (two and one quarter) inches narrower. I returned them to WM and exchanged them for a pack of XXL Hanes pocket Ts for generalized brand comparison. The Hanes were also smaller out of the package than the old FOTL, but about 1/2 (one half) inch wider than the FOTLs. I did not bother to launder them but returned them and got my money back. I will take my money elsewhere.

Now, have you ever noticed that some retailers will charge slightly higher prices for XXL or XXXL shirts?

I do not like being taken for a fool and am getting tired of the “slight of hand” games being played on consumers.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:44:33 +0000

By the way, this isn’t just at Abercrombie, this is at Old Navy, American Eagle, all of those chain stores as well as the big stores like sears, wal-mart etc. Everyone has jumped on this shrunken size trend. So guys who were XXL 6 or 7 years ago are forced to go to the Big and Tall stores now even if they haven’t gained any weight.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:36:41 +0000

I’m from Canada and I’ve also noticed this, but I am the opposite… back in 2003 I had lost a lot of weight and I was a L but bought XL just cause I liked the loose fit at the time and good thing cause I got off my health kick and gained a bit of weight just in time for the snugger look to come in style so the XL was alright, but then in 2004/2005 I hadn’t gained anymore weight at all and there was no way I was fitting in an XL, and had to go into an XXL and before that the XL was still a bit lose on me from the 2003 collection. And this was in 2004/2005 that I had to get XXL even though I hadn’t gained any weight. Now over the past 6 years I have gained some weight but not that much, sizes have shrank again… in 2003 I could probably fit in a XXL but because cloths sizes have shrunk so much I am forced to go to a Big and Tall store to buy XXXL shirts because of how much they have shrank the sizes in the shirts, it’s rediculous, they didn’t just shrink the arms, they shank the gut area as well. It’s pathetic. You would think in a nation like North America where the obesity rate is so high that they would keep sizes normal and not shrink them and the ppl who buy smalls if they want them tight can go get hte largest kids section clothes and the ppl who were XL’s now can go to a L or a M for there tight look and let us have our dignity back and not have to go shop at the big and tall stores.

By: Ricky B

Ricky B — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:23:10 +0000

I just bought a whole bunch of $hit from that store online and it’s supposed to arrive tomorrow! I’m already prepared to be disappointed though.
Yesterday I went to a store that actually had what I ordered online. I was stoked to try on my new gear, but then I looked in the mirror in one of those dark fitting rooms and to my surprise I looked like stuffed tamale!!
A few years ago I wished they made XS shirts because back then I was still a “twink” but now I’m a little thicker and the S seem to fit just fine.
I’ll probably end up returning everything I ordered back to a store and keep my money since they won’t have more sizes to exchange. I’m a compulsive shopper and probably didn’t need to spend all that hard earned cash anyway!

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:25:01 +0000

Are you guys serious ?!? Fisrt of all A&f is supposed to target well build guys so if you wear large or extra large size, beside if your a bodybuilder, well, maybe you should try to slow down on carb and hit the gym for a bit ! I’m 5’9″ and 160lbs muscly guy and I found that even Small clothes are a bit too big on the belly side and a bit too long !
A&F should really run smaller for people who like their clothe to be tight to the body !

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 06:11:37 +0000

I agree. I have large t-shirts that I bought a year ago that are larger than the xl ones they sell now. I tried on an xl henley and thermal and they were way too tight across the chest and in the arms but the arms were too long. I lift weights but I’m not huge by any means. I don’t even bother shopping there anymore.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:32:09 +0000

It is pretty ridiculous, I’m a bigger guy but by no means fat (I played football in college) and have more muscle than most any other guy that shops there. Having said that, even their XXL shirts feel like I’m wearing a cut off since the sleeves barely cover my shoulders. Even the coats are muscle cut. They should be like almost every other store out there and give customers the option of which kind of cut they want.