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Bored Panda reached out to Redditor u/TheRightEquilibrium and author of this thread on r/AskWomen who got women sharing what things about womenswear they dislike the most. The Redditor told us that he’s actually starting his own clothing brand and he needed to get a feel on how people view clothes.
“I also wanted to make the brand known in different communities so that way they get to know me and I can create my own community from the connections I’m making,” said u/TheRightEquilibrium. “The question itself came super late at night kinda randomly now that I think about it, I had asked multiple subreddits the same question hoping to get a broader range of answers and r/AskWomen was the most engaging.”
The author was very surprised with the great number of responses on the sub, “because I got very little to no replies on other subreddits, especially ones that are centered around fashion.”
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Moreover, u/TheRightEquilibrium has noticed just how much more vocal the women are about their problems with clothing. “And they actually seemed to care about the subject,” he said. “I really needed the women’s perspective on this subject because I would’ve never realized how much women struggle with size inconsistencies, having ZERO pockets on pants/skirts, shirts being tacky or crop tops being ill-fitting.”
The Redditor said that “without this information, I would’ve been continuing the same problems that already exist within women’s fashion and I believe the brand would be worse off this way; however, now I know exactly what the issues are and I can help solve and create solutions to those problems.”
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“Being a guy, I don’t experience most of the problems that women do, but I do have a wife and I notice she prefers to wear my clothing more than her own, not because she misses me, and mostly due to the fact that it is more comfortable and open.”
u/TheRightEquilibrium also said that while shopping, his “wife looks at both sections for clothes but only the men’s for shirts or hoodies, maybe sometimes sweats. She’s not a fan of crop tops, jeans, or dresses; they're just uncomfortable.”
He continued: “It seems that most of women’s clothing is form-fitting at the waist or arm hole area, but the form the clothing is targeting isn’t a form 80% of women have. It’s like most clothing is aimed for the supermodel look and if you don’t have that type of figure, you’re outta luck, which is why I think most women prefer men’s clothing (mostly T-shirts) because they aren’t clingy/tight.”
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When asked which responses he found the most eye-opening, u/TheRightEquilibrium said: “There was a comment about how clothing for women isn’t to be comfortable but it’s made so the women can be looked at, which I agree with, which is super strange and kinda rude. Also, what’s up with the no pockets thing? Just add pockets! There are a few other things, but then I’ll just be ranting,” he added.
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We also talked to Carry Somers, the founder and global operations director at Fashion Revolution, who shared some very important insights on the flaws of womenswear, which turn out to be much bigger than simply the lack of pockets. “The global fashion industry relies upon the exploitation of natural resources and people working across its supply chain, producing more clothes than people need and manipulating them into overconsuming clothing at increasingly faster rates,” Carry said when asked about the current state of the clothing industry.
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“Injustices are endemic because supply chains are fragmented and opaque, and because some people have great power while others have very little, and because the fashion industry rewards economic growth and profit above all else.”
Carry continued: “We also need to recognize the interdependence of human rights and the rights of nature, because garment workers’ right to a healthy environment depends on the health of our planet. With garment production predicted to grow by 81% by 2030, there is ever-growing demand for agricultural land to produce cotton, viscose, wool, rubber, and other natural fibers.”
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It’s no secret that the clothing industry is one of the biggest pollutants of microplastics and microfibers, both plastic and cellulosic-based, on our planet. Not only are they “hugely damaging to the marine environment and wildlife, but they are also impacting human health through the chemicals they harbor that leach into the surrounding environment, including air, water, food, or body tissues.”
“The textile industry uses over 15,000 different chemicals during the manufacturing process. Currently, we have little way of knowing what chemicals are, or aren’t, allowed into our clothing. Fertility rates are decreasing 1% a year globally due to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, with the average person in their 20s having the fertility their grandmother had in their 40s,” Carry said about the grim reality of fast fashion.
Carry concluded that those at Fashion Revolution believe that “the fashion industry’s problems are bigger than any one company’s actions, and bigger than just the fast fashion sector. It’s systemic failure. This is why we are actively working to avoid binary arguments and bring a higher degree of nuance to these conversations."
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