Esquire has revealed the result of its investigation, and it is this: many manufacturers of men’s pants routinely mislabel their products’ waist measurements, representing waist sizes as less, and sometimes considerably less, than they really are. Old Navy, by far the most outrageous of the size-liars, sells pairs of trousers with a 41 inch waist band as a 36. Other companies, like Hagar and The Gap, play the same game, though not as egregiously.
The practice is intentional, apparently, and even has a name in the industry—“vanity sizing.” The theory is that pants with smaller waist measurements make men feel better about their pot-bellied bodies, and thus have a competitive advantage over truthfully labeled pants. All other things being equal, a man is more likely to buy a comfortable pair of jeans that have a 36″ label on the waist than ones with a 38″ label.
It was interesting listening to CNN and local news outlets giggle through this story, as if it was one big harmless prank pulled by the garment industry. The labeling practice is a deceptive one designed to mislead consumers. It uses a lie to induce consumers to spend money on a product that they otherwise might not buy. It also misleads men about the state of their own fitness, and hence their health.
I accept the psychological appeal of this scam: I once changed doctors from one who did nothing but scorn my physical condition and warn me that the end was near to a doctor who was less abusive and who even let me skip weigh-ins with the confession, “Yes, I’m fat as a pig. Let’s talk about something else.” Still, neither was lying to me. A doctor who told me that I was a wonderful physical specimen with the fitness of a man half my age would make me feel good about myself, perhaps, but he would be leading me to a slab.
I also confess some admiration for the cleverness of this dishonest practice, because it has several potentially persuasive rationalizations to back it up. The manufacturers can argue (and have, to the TV reporters) that the waist label measures different things with different styles; that it is the consumer’s responsibility to get a good fit; that the label is irrelevant to the decision to buy; and that if there is a deception, it is a harmless one.
If it is harmless, why do they do it, then? For fun? This is a lie for profit. By definition, it cannot be “harmless.” This kind of lie is especially pernicious: it makes truth-telling disadvantageous, and forces everyone to cheat to compete. The FTC has been a hawk on truth-in-labeling lately, but clearly missed this. If a man can fit into a 36″ waisted pair of pants, he should be able to be confident that he actually has a 36″ waist. If he is being lied to, the liar should pay a penalty, not be rewarded with a sale.
Ethics Alarms 
For years women have known that the more expensive the garment, the lower the size. So for years a $350 dress would fit me as a size 6, whereas if I bought a knock-off it would have been a size 8 or size 10.
The female fashion industry admitted this years ago. They cater to the affluent, and know that those customers would rather buy something marked at a smaller size than the “real” one. So now we have women wearing size 2s and size 0s (!), and it is pure nonsense. Will we soon have women wearing NEGATIVE sizes?
As far as I’m concerned, this is part of a real illness in our society. Men and women together should be able to deal with the size they are, period. Change your body if you want to, or if your good health demands it, but BE HONEST and don’t let clothes manufacturers help you lie to yourself.
Along with this, this mindset is one of the reasons we have an epidemic of anorexia and bulimia among girls and young women, as our “image” of the perfect women becomes more and more unreachable. And by the way, over the past decade anorexoia has become a major problem teen BOYS as well. (See the great press about the model who had a 17 inch waist… really, even Scarlett O’Hara couldn’t have a 17 inc ist without the assistance of a corset that didn’t allow her to even breathe normally…)
What is the break between the lithe, athletic woman — whom we are supposed to admire in this day of liberation — and the rail thin, anorexic runway model, whom we continue to hold as the epitome of beauty?
It may sound like a disjointed argument, but the fact that clothiers want us to believe we’re thinner than we are relates directly to the generally held concept that “thinner is better,” or “you can never be too rich or too thin.”
It has nothing to do with health.
Having said all this, it is a true irony that we are an obese nation, and that this is a major health (and health insurance) problem. Here we are the richest nation in the world and the poorest among us are the most obese. (Junk food being far more affordable than fresh, healthy food, etc.)
I am amused and appalled by Michelle Obama’s health kick, but because she has no impact on us (really), it is more appalling that the clothiers are trying to help us think we’re thinner than we are. We all need to face the truth, and one if is comfortable being 20 pounds overweight and is nevertheless healthy, so what?
But a concerted effort by clothing manufacturers to help us lie to ourselves is unethical and a general disservice to the population.
Jack,
It’s especially troublesome for shoppers like myself who buy things at their “correct” size, only to take them home and discover they’re far too big (made more irritating by the fact that a large percentage of my shopping is often done online). Moreover, I’m confused as to how someone could buy pants that had a significantly smaller waist size and not wonder where all their extra girth went ..
I guess it’s self-deception in action.
-Neil
I think the real problem is when someone is gaining weight and their pants remain the same size, masking the gain. I gave up scales long ago (once I started needing a derrick), and depend on the clothes test. This development is alarming.
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry admits to his beautiful girlfriend that he’s not a 31, he buys a 32 and scratches out the 2 and replaces it for a 1. She promptly dumps him. But not for lying, because he’s too fat as a 32…she has standards.
This could well be the only episode I have never seen.
You know what? It’s the end to the “Sponge Worthy” episode. Does that help?