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Comment by zenocon | Hacker News Reader

Couldn't part of this be mitigated by having the user input their exact measurements? That's the first thing that happens when you visit a custom clothier. Having this input, it would be possible (not necessarily easy) to match this with the clothing. The harder problems to solve like this are the better ones to go after, b/c they are hard to replicate, and indicate a willingness to go the long mile to make the service more useful.

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A custom clothier has years of experience (and sometimes even a special school of though) what and how to measure.

IRL, you get people who miss their measurement unit (cm or inches seem to be complicated). Or they misunderstand instructions and thus just enter 10 cm while they should enter 10.5 cm.

However, there are online stores for custom made shirts (with lots of measurements) and it sometimes works, depending on the dedication on the user's side.

I've had good luck with online stores for custom shirts as long as I've had someone else assist with measurement and been careful to follow instructions. Generally it's best to stick with one of tailors who asks for a more detailed (but, not necessarily more complicated) set of measurements.

Also, try doing the first few shirts individually (typically there are discounts for buying 4-5 at a time). You may need to have 1-2 great-but-not-perfect shirts first. But once you nail the measurement, it's easy from there on out.

It doesn't work that way. You go buy clothes that are as close as possible to your fit, then you take it to a tailor and have that last inch brought in/up etc...

Believe this: tailors aren't just for fancy clothes and they aren't expensive. I take all of my jeans to my tailor and have them hemmed to the exact length of my legs because not a single clothing manufacturer makes clothing that fits my length!

Unlikely. The problem is at the source. Sometimes the "size charts" are off by as much as 4" in the waist size, based on my observations.

Read this waist comparison recently. Apparently even the most accurate brands are not correct.

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/pants-size-chart-0...

I've done similar things with women's clothing. Gap/Old Navy are by far one of the most 'generous' with the concept of ease, especially in what they consider to be plus sizes (anything over a 12, from what I can tell). Any good tailor will put an inch or so of ease into a garment. It is as the term implies, a bit of room to keep your garment from tearing when you move around. What's even more interesting is how women's sizes are scaled. Between the smaller sizes, the measurements go up half an inch to an inch. When you get to the larger sizes, where the waist is above 28", the delta between the sizes can be as much as four inches. To wit, if you are small, then you get more choice in how much ease you prefer. If you are larger, you get either too tight or too loose.

So it doesn't surprise me that there's "vanity sizing" in men's trousers. Not even a little bit. This, too, makes for a tough call when it comes to getting dressed. Camel toe or saggy butt? Hm.

(eta: sorry for devolving this discussion into a rant on ready to wear clothing)

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