Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[Carol the Dabbler]

And/or you could try a white-noise generator.  If you set that between you and the window, it should mask the "party" noise fairly well, but still allow you to hear your $#@&% alarm clock.

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I'm currently volunteering at a music festival for a non-profit. The current temp is about 30C and feels like 34C (aka mid-80's F) with a high humidity. I'd much prefer mid 70's F and low humidity.

[T.o.b.y]

My newest conspiracy theory: The fashion industry is trying to make me buy more stuff by flattering me. I have a day off for once (how did that happen? :lol:) and decided to tackle the task of buying a pair of jeans. And I noticed two things:

 

 - I look much slimmer in changing room mirrors than I do in my mirrors at home

 - The size I am used to buying is now too big for me

 

Now, theoretically, it could be that I have just gotten thinner. I know however that this is not true, because I weigh the same as ever (plus a little, natural effect of growing older) and my old clothes still fit or have become slightly tighter. So my conclusion is that the people trying to sell clothes are deliberately trying to make me feel thinner, because thin is considered pretty and desirable, and I guess they think that if I feel better about my body, I will buy more of their products.

 

Nice try... Didn't work, though. :lol:

[J.P.]

The mirror trick is officially confirmed*. The size trick - I think - also. Is it a conspiracy theory when it's true?

 

*still I seem to look fatter in the changing room mirrors. Maybe my mirror at home does the trick?

[T.o.b.y]

The mirror trick is officially confirmed*. The size trick - I think - also. Is it a conspiracy theory when it's true?

 

*still I seem to look fatter in the changing room mirrors. Maybe my mirror at home does the trick?

Yeah, maybe your own mirrors are just even more distorting than the ones in shops... Or you simply feel more comfortable at home and that effects how you see yourself.

 

You are right, "conspiracy theory" was probably not the right expression. I just tend to think of my impression that everyone out there is trying to screw me over as slightly paranoid.

[Arcadia]

I seem to remember reading a few years ago that the industry was indeed changing what size the sizes were, if you see what I mean. In other words, they were, shall we say, building more room into a size 12 than they used to. And yes, it was to make women feel better about themselves (and I assume yes, so they would buy more clothes. :p ) But I assumed that was only in the States, land of the ever expanding waistline. Perhaps not?

 

If you want a rant, get me started on how they make the waistbands of jeans now. Used to be, when you bent over in a pair of jeans, the jeans bent with you; the waist stayed on your waist. Now the waistband stays parallel to the ground, so that when you bend, you bend right out of them, revealing, ah, regions you'd rather keep private, thank you.

 

At first I thought this was a problem just for overweight people, but then I noticed the exact same thing happens to my skinny-as-a-rail sister. So apparently jeans manufacturers think this is a feature we desire? What ARE they smoking??!?!?!?

 

 

[sittything]

How they keep changing sizes drives me crazy.  Pretty soon I'm gonna be sized right out of adult clothing, and I'm not getting any smaller over here.  Grrrrrr.....

[Arcadia]

There's some stores I can't shop in anymore (Target, Land's End) because they use what they call the "modern" sizing system, and without trying on every size, I have no idea what size to try. (And of course the 10 or so I did try didn't fit.) I used to love Land's End jeans too, they fit me perfectly.

[T.o.b.y]

 

If you want a rant, get me started on how they make the waistbands of jeans now. Used to be, when you bent over in a pair of jeans, the jeans bent with you; the waist stayed on your waist. Now the waistband stays parallel to the ground, so that when you bend, you bend right out of them, revealing, ah, regions you'd rather keep private, thank you.

 

:D My art teacher used to say "I feel the irresistible urge to put a coin down there" when she saw someone bend out of their pants...

 

It's even worse if you have a very hollow back (like me). Solution: long tops. Which make me look like a bag.

 

I prefer skirts, anyway. But you can't wear a skirt all the time. Well, you could, but it would be inconvenient sometimes.

[Arcadia]

Yeah, for the kind of stuff I do, skirts are highly impractical. And yes, I've bought a bunch of those long tops, which look horrible on little short-waisted me, but at least allow me to retain a little dignity. Grrrrr, fashion......

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sizes have been getting bigger for years, at least for American women, which I confirmed by looking back at some old (40's and 50's) Sears catalogs.  Back in the 60's, I wore a size 14, and now I wear anywhere between an 8 and a 12, even though I'm spreading the same weight over a bit more territory.

 

Oddly enough, the opposite is true of shoes.  I used to wear a 9, and now I need an 11.  At first I thought my feet had spread, but then I found my old pair of 9-1/2s and they still fit me fine.

 

Alex used to wear a men's medium, but now he has to buy a small, and even that's plenty roomy.  Like sitty says, pretty soon he'll have to shop in the boy's department (though I've never seen a boy with muscles like his, so maybe that's not a solution either).

 

Last spring I discovered that Lands' End had some turtlenecks in size small tall, which actually fits me.  Unfortunately, they were just closing them out for the year, so the good news was that I got them on sale, and the bad news was that now I have to wait till they start stocking winter clothing again and hope they'll still carry small tall.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Used to be, when you bent over in a pair of jeans, the jeans bent with you; the waist stayed on your waist. Now the waistband stays parallel to the ground, so that when you bend, you bend right out of them, revealing, ah, regions you'd rather keep private, thank you.

 

Umm, yeah.  I think it's all part of the "boy style" thing, which I've never understood.  If I wanted jeans that fit me like a boy's jeans, I'd by gum buy boy's jeans!  Nowadays everybody seems to sell jeans with the "waistline" somewhere around one's belly button, if not lower, meaning that shirts won't stay tucked in -- and even if they do, the poof out and make your waist look huge.

 

I finally found some jeans at L. L. Bean recently that at least claim to have the waist at one's natural waistline, and I guess they do -- but if I buy them the right size for for my hips, the waist is far too generously sized.  If I try to make the waist fit by wearing a belt, it puckers like mad.  So instead of being able to look good with my shirts tucked in, I need to either untuck them or else wear a vest to hide my waistline.  So what's the advantage of having the waist at my actual waist?

[Caya]

I hate those "boy style" jeans with a passion - like you said, Carol, if the hips fit the waist is way too wide and sticks out. Main reason I've switched to jeans with elastic waistbands years ago. Pure cotton might be more comfy to wear than cotton/elastics, but I'll gladly take that in exchange for not looking like a bike stand every time I bend my waist .

[Van Buren Supernova]

If you want a rant, get me started on how they make the waistbands of jeans now. Used to be, when you bent over in a pair of jeans, the jeans bent with you; the waist stayed on your waist. Now the waistband stays parallel to the ground, so that when you bend, you bend right out of them, revealing, ah, regions you'd rather keep private, thank you.

 

 

:D My art teacher used to say "I feel the irresistible urge to put a coin down there" when she saw someone bend out of their pants...

 

 

Main reason I've switched to jeans with elastic waistbands years ago. Pure cotton might be more comfy to wear than cotton/elastics, but I'll gladly take that in exchange for not looking like a bike stand every time I bend my waist .

Coin bank... bike stand...

Thanks for the laugh quota.

Thought I am the only one who hate the back-southern exposure.

My way beside long top is using one hand to pull down my top, squat instead of bend, wear a backpack, or tie jacket/scarf around my waist. Bloody tedious but I don't wear skirt or like other type of pants for daily wear.

[Arcadia]

And I was worried about getting ME started on a rant about jeans!!! Amen to everything you ladies said. Who do we blame for this situation and what's the best way to get rid of them? (Where's that consulting criminal when you need him?)

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've seen ads for something they refer to as "not your daughter's jeans."  Admittedly, judging by the woman they show, the daughter must be about twelve -- but of course they can't show an old woman in an ad for jeans!  :P  Has anyone tried those out?

 

Martina, glad to hear I'm not the only one who resorts to elastic waistbands.

 

I would be quite willing to assume that jeans were intrinsically that way -- if I didn't remember the wonderful Lee's Lady Ryders that I used to get (with boot-cut legs, yet).

 

[Arcadia]

Exactly. I have very clear memories of jeans that FIT.

[T.o.b.y]

And I was worried about getting ME started on a rant about jeans!!! Amen to everything you ladies said. Who do we blame for this situation and what's the best way to get rid of them?

 

I vote for blaming the fashion industry, one of my favorite things to complain about anyway. I do like clothes, but I dislike this notion that what was pretty last year is hideous now, and that we should all look the same. No solution I can think of, though, other than taking really good care of the nice things I did manage to find so that I can weather phases like now when absolutely nothing in the stores looks good or so much as fits my body type. I guess I could waste a lot of energy petitioning companies to consider how different we people are built and make a wider variety of fits, but I doubt that would achieve very much.

 

I wonder how my mom does it, but for all the time I have known her, she has managed to always look good. She has her own style, which is simple, timeless, practical, attractive and dignified, and somehow, she always manages to find pants and shirts that fit her shape, which is even more unusual than my own. I think she does a lot of mail-ordering. She also tends to buy pretty expensive things, but because she then wears them for decades and they last for ever and a day, she ends up spending less on clothes than I do. The fact that she can sew helps as well, I guess. If something isn't quite right, she can take it apart and make it fit. I wish I could do that. I was taught, but I never really caught on.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

 I guess I could waste a lot of energy petitioning companies to consider how different we people are built and make a wider variety of fits, but I doubt that would achieve very much.

 

Maybe because it's not economically efficient for them to do so. The business competition is crazy, nowadays I keep looking at plethora of all various different products and brands and wonder whether there are enough users for those, and ironically like you all said, it seems more and more difficult to find cloths that fits, nice and comfortable.

 

 

Below is not a rant, but embarrassment. We don't have embarrassing thread, so..

 

I came back from work today and just realized that I wore different socks today.

It's not even identical; one is plain lime green and the other is stripe with combination of brown-white-yellow-blue stripes.

I always kick off my shoes and walk around in socks or socks and slipper but didn't notice.

 

It wouldn't be so bad if similar thing had not happen to me in the past. Actually, not similar, but worse.

My previous work place has nice area for jogging, so I liked to jog in the morning. 

One day, when I finished jogging and taking off my shoes to prepare for shower, I then realized that I wore different shoes.

Again, it wouldn't be so bad if they were identical. But no.

One is a proper running shoe with quite generous size (it looks significantly bigger because of the design and padding etc),

WHITE color.

The other is a casual shoe that is skin-fitting, very flat on the sole and it's BLACK color.

 

You would think I would have noticed since I jogged a couple of rounds, but nope.

Comfortable shoes or barefoot is my way of life, so maybe since they are both my shoes, it's comfortable until I didn't notice? XD XD

 

Safe to say I didn't meet anyone as it was early and the area was restricted, just a couple of guys on their early duty who always greeted me good morning. 

[T.o.b.y]

Below is not a rant, but embarrassment. We don't have embarrassing thread, so..

 

I came back from work today and just realized that I wore different socks today.

It's not even identical; one is plain lime green and the other is stripe with combination of brown-white-yellow-blue stripes.

I always kick off my shoes and walk around in socks or socks and slipper but didn't notice.

 

It wouldn't be so bad if similar thing had not happen to me in the past. Actually, not similar, but worse.

My previous work place has nice area for jogging, so I liked to jog in the morning. 

One day, when I finished jogging and taking off my shoes to prepare for shower, I then realized that I wore different shoes.

Again, it wouldn't be so bad if they were identical. But no.

One is a proper running shoe with quite generous size (it looks significantly bigger because of the design and padding etc),

WHITE color.

The other is a casual shoe that is skin-fitting, very flat on the sole and it's BLACK color.

 

You would think I would have noticed since I jogged a couple of rounds, but nope.

Comfortable shoes or barefoot is my way of life, so maybe since they are both my shoes, it's comfortable until I didn't notice? XD XD

 

Safe to say I didn't meet anyone as it was early and the area was restricted, just a couple of guys on their early duty who always greeted me good morning. 

 

 

Could those guys please come here and hold classes on how to react appropriately to physically active women in the wild? The things I have had to listen to while out running... Thank god my new headphones almost completely block out any outside noise.

 

I wouldn't worry about the socks and shoes. If people ask, tell them it's a fashion statement. I've been seeing lots of teenagers with mismatched shoes lately. I think it's a thing now.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Not sure what to do about mismatched shoes and socks (other than don't worry), but regarding the jeans, I suspect that the best solution is for us to find a brand (preferably available mail-order, preferably internationally) that makes jeans for actual women with actual waists, tell each other about them, tell all our friends about them, review them favorably on Amazon or whatever, and refuse to buy anything else.

 

[Caya]

Well I can highly recommend Ulla Popken (they of the elastic waistbands ), but a] I dunno if they ship internationally and b] it's a plus-size brand, and they don't offer regular sizes afaik. If you're zaftig like me, however, they're a godsend.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Oh the mismatched sock  thing is a very "in thing" right now so why not shoes?  I do it at work, just because I know no one is going to care and if they do....who cares. My sister who is turning 60 this year even does it....on purpose.....so yeah.....really.....it's no biggie.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've looked at Ulla's website, and they have a US branch -- but they don't have my size (and some of their denim is 50% polyester).

 

I've also found the "Not Your Daughter's Jeans" site (which is of course called nydj.com), and like their look -- but that "patented criss-cross panel design flattens in front" sounds suspiciously like a built-in girdle. 

 

Gotta keep looking, apparently.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Could those guys please come here and hold classes on how to react appropriately to physically active women in the wild? The things I have had to listen to while out running... Thank god my new headphones almost completely block out any outside noise.

In the wild.. :lol: :lol:

Well, this guys don't really count because they work in the same place, eventhough we didn't know each other, but it's basic courtesy between colleagues?

 

 

I wouldn't worry about the socks and shoes. If people ask, tell them it's a fashion statement. I've been seeing lots of teenagers with mismatched shoes lately. I think it's a thing now.

 

Not sure what to do about mismatched shoes and socks (other than don't worry)

 

Oh the mismatched sock  thing is a very "in thing" right now so why not shoes?  I do it at work, just because I know no one is going to care and if they do....who cares. My sister who is turning 60 this year even does it....on purpose.....so yeah.....really.....it's no biggie.

I don't mind being laughed at and it's fine when the mismatching is done on purpose,

but when I didn't do it on purpose, it makes me think about my level of sanity or awareness to outside world.

Well, if I choose to go somewhere in a sheet one day at least I want to be aware about it...! XD