This one puzzles me a lot. The place I work recently ordered a bunch of shirts for everyone who wanted one in the dev team. The sizes went up to XL, and their "XL" was the same size as an "M" in some stores. Fully half the devs in our shop couldn't fit into the largest size offered.
Here's a tip, as someone who likes wearing t-shirts: buy larger sizes. Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL", but the reverse is very much not true.
To be honest, as a smaller man (5'9") who prides himself on having a little style, the difference between giving me an 'L' and giving me an 'M' is not wearing it but feeling a little more comfortable, it's the difference between wearing it and not wearing it. I refuse to look that unattractive on purpose.
Also, if your T-shirt looks good and is really well designed (high quality, maybe fitted, good graphic design and color work) I might actually wear it other places, even though I don't usually wear T-shirts.
I am about 6ft 4 so I never dry anything but socks or towels because even when I dry something (like boxers or plain white tee) on low or medium heat I notice shrinkage. And as to high quality, I've had Gitman Bros. shirts shrink in the dryer over time because that's just what happens.
Cotton does shrink in the dryer. Yes, higher quality dryers cause this less, but they all cause shrinking to some degree.
I'm loving that I got downvoted for stating something as obvious as cotton clothing shrinks when dried in a dryer. This is why HN is getting worse, a bunch of random fuckwad trolls who downvote people for no reason.
I never said it would take one wash, it could take 5. I'm just saying giving out a shirt that's larger makes more sense than one that is too small, seeing as how clothing only shrinks once you own it.
> Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL", but the reverse is very much not true.
It's that thinking that leads to skinny people (like me) having a lot of large t-shirts that they don't fit into. Just because it can physically go over your body doesn't mean that it "fits."
Agreed, there are always way too many M's, never enough S. Offering a one-size-too-big shirt is a great way to get someone to take the shirt but never wear it because it looks sloppy.
As another data point, I'm a pretty small guy (5'8" and about 150 lbs) and I can't stand wearing L shirts - I feel like I'm wearing a dress. Given the choice, I'd much rather a S than a L.
A short friend of mine complains that even the small American Apparel shirts end up looking like dresses on him. "It feels like I'm wearing a mini-skirt" he says.
He didn't say only buy small shirts. But not everybody is fat and male, so you need to have some. And by the way, it's not 1993 anymore. T-Shirts should fit.
This goes double if you're going to a convention. Give a petite girl a men's large and chances are it will never make it over her head once. Be the only booth at the show that gives out fitted women's gear, though, and suddenly you'll find them on every girl in the place.
>Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL"
Sure it is physically impossible, but that person will end up looking like a slob. Fit is the most important factor in style, so if you're going to "brand" your employees at least do not force them to swim in the clothing you give them!
Might be true for guys, but if you give me an L or and XL, I might use it to sleep in, but the chances that I'll wear it out in public are essentially zero.
When I see at least some smaller sizes (and I'm not a petite woman), I feel like at they least they were thinking of people like me.
Programmers come in two main sizes: too skinny, and too fat. If your engineering team is mainly "seasoned pros" you want to avoid american apparel altogether. If it's fresh grads you have a few years worth of size medium before 14 hour days and free soda catches up with everyone.
It's different if you are buying shirts as schwag. I once worked for a startup where the t-shirts were more popular than the product and the most important sizes were mens and womens size medium.
There are way too many variables for that to imply "programmers get fatter over time."
1) Maybe t-shirts sizes themselves are not the same between 1999 and 2008
2) Maybe the average age of the attender has not changed, so there's really no age component
3) Maybe a different demographic is now attending the conference
4) Maybe all Americans are fatter on average and programmers are just part of that trend
Interesting data point, but it doesn't support the thesis that programmers get fatter the more they've programmed unless you can show the attendees at the Linux symposium are older/more experienced now than in the past.
You'd probably also want some external data as I'm pretty sure people as a whole are getting fatter.
Right, and that's what the topmost poster meant by "buy small and women sizes" -- if you really care, you won't have to say "we don't have anything smaller than a large."
People used to hearing that line really appreciate when you go the extra mile:
That Webstock t-shirt is pretty nice. I think you could take it a step further and make a stylish / designer / funky t-shirt that a reasonably large subset of people will actually want to wear. Not just a blatant ad for your company.
excellent idea however this too has a way of failing.
T-shirts are listed not by inches or cms, which would tell you exactly what you getting.
hence the recent posts of different definitions for different sizes by different mfg. If they listed the actually sizes like they do with most suits. Then you have a reasonable chance of a good fit.
the thing of it is, most places charge you one setup fee... you don't have to pay extra for getting more sizes, so there is no reason not to get the XXXL and the XS. I know developers come in both sizes, and as so many other people in this thread have said, people, generally speaking, have a preferred T shirt fit, and if the T shirt doesn't fit that way, they won't wear it.
If you are buying for employees, it's easy enough to ask employees what their preferred sizes are. We all have a few tradeshow T-shirts at home, so we know how the various sizes of various brands fit us.
Buy some extra; some people will want two, if you have leftovers, mix them in with the next iteration, or leave them on the 'free' shelf in the break room, you know, for when your employees feel like upgrading out of their old copy that has developed holes.
If you are buying for the general public, well, you plan to run out, right? it doesn't really matter if you run out of the big sizes before the little sizes. keep track of what runs out of last and adjust accordingly next time.
If you end up taking home leftovers, mix them in with the next batch of shirts you give away.
Yeah this has always puzzled me. Everytime I order an AA t-shirt (I live in Australia) I get warned to order a size up because they trend slim. After getting bit once or twice by this, I just order my regular size or even one smaller now and have no issue.
That's especially a problem if you follow the "buy American Apparel" tip. Their women's sizing is miniscule; my wife tends to wear medium-to-large shirts in other brands, but has to go up to their XXL before they'll fit her.
Why not buy sizes in some proportion to the sizes of actual employees? There's really no other answer unless the company has grown to the point where the size curve approaches a normal distribution. If you plotted sizes where I work now it would look nothing like a normal distribution (our plot would be a lot flatter).
Some people (myself included) look awful in anything bigger than an M. Clothes are about more than just covering one's skin, and conferences and businesses are about more than just one body type. They should buy all sizes, and they should make sure all the sizes look good.
The PBS TV series "Independent Lens" had an episode ("T-Shirt Travels") about groups in Africa that import American thrift store t-shirts by the bushel and resell them. Very interesting (and economical).
I don't get it, are you saying become some groups might misuse the clothes donated to the Salvation Army or Goodwill I should never donate my clothes and that I should just throw them away? I really don't understand what point you're trying to make. Donating clothes to thrift stores helps people everyday if you don't believe me just go hang out at one in Chicago during January or Minnesota, people would literally die in these places without thrift stores.
I agree that people should donate clothes they no longer need or want. I was referencing the documentary about Africa as an example of just how far the benefit of donated clothes can reach.
This one puzzles me a lot. The place I work recently ordered a bunch of shirts for everyone who wanted one in the dev team. The sizes went up to XL, and their "XL" was the same size as an "M" in some stores. Fully half the devs in our shop couldn't fit into the largest size offered.
Here's a tip, as someone who likes wearing t-shirts: buy larger sizes. Someone who can wear an "M" can just as easily wear an "L" or "XL", but the reverse is very much not true.