Measuring- Questions, Answers and Comments
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Anyone know of a good place to get chain stitching alterations in San Jose, CA? Thanks!
Self Edge in SF?
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G goosehd moved this topic from Measuring - The Iron Heart Method on
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For everyone on the fence re: sizing. Why are you not using the sizing charts that IH publishes prior to purchase and instead of going with your normal size?
In my opinion, the greatest resource/best thing about IH customer service is their measuring standards and publication of those measurements in advance to selling the items.
Really would like your feedback on this.
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@goosehd Not sure if this was meant for me, but thought I'd weigh in anyway. Personally I always use the sizing charts. Indeed one of the great things with IH/IHUK.
With shirts that tends to work out to be XXL for me in most cases. One exception being CPO shirts where I seem to be 50/50 XL or XXL, if I have the option.
For jackets it typically varies a bit more, between different jackets and different batches. For instance in the latest 526L batch I got an XL, but in the previous batch the XXL would have been a better fit. No problem, as you can always rely on the sizing charts.
There are times though when more than one size would work. This is pretty common for me at least, with IH offering 8 (!) sizes for a single shirt. And I'm also not that particular about sizing. In these cases a specific measurement (like the length, shoulder width etc.) may sway me one way or the other. The fabric can play a part as well (heavy and/or stiff fabric = I would typically lean towards more generous measurements), and also how you plan to wear it (personal preference, layering etc). Chances are I'd be happy either way.
In this case both XL and XXL would probably work well for me (even the XXXL if I wanted room for layering), but @Oaktavia specifically mentioned it could be fairly tight in the armpit area, which is one thing I can find rather annoying. I appreciate that bit of insight, and went with the XXL.
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@JunkPants Thank you for the feedback and not intended for anyone in particular. I've been noticing a trend of where people are buying more clothing based upon other people's experiences instead of relying on the posted measurements.
I will say this until I'm blue in the face that 2 people who weigh pretty much the same and are of the same height can have dramatically different body compositions and measurements. I love the analogy of what weighs more...1 pound of bricks or 1 pound of feathers...
Someone basing their purchase on someone else's size will not always work.
The constant exchanges and returns costs everyone money and time which at some point will break the system and need to be repaired. It is also a detriment to someone who may have missed out on a purchase because due diligence wasn't done and incorrect sizes took it from someone who may have been able to make it work.
IHUK does and goes out of their way to make the purchases as easy as possible, and I think we need to all do our part to make it easy on them.
@Giles I may be off base here and would love to know your thoughts on the topic as well.
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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...and once again, not directing this to anyone and more of a general observation of a trend that I'm seeing across the board as of late.
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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I would say though that I tend to listen if several people report shrinkage when washing that is more pronounced than the product description seems to indicate... Sized up in the Lefty Type 3 for that reason and glad I did ...
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@goosehd I always use the size chart and mix it with what people do about their sizing. Because fabrics or cuts can affect how a shirt or jacket feels or should be worn. So I like to have some references of people who have experience
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I went usual size with this one. All my XXL IH western shirts work for laying or just a tee— a real unicorn fit for me personally.
I’ll admit a few years ago I was stuck on tag size and for some reason ( psychological maybe ) I never deviated. Size charts are my go to now though : ). Looking forward to seeing what everyone does with this piece.
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@Salted-Racer I feel you, certain sizes give you the impression you look like an XS or even XXXL but in reality it does not tell anything about your looks. I lost 50kg some years ago and was so happy to buy M or L at the stores now I buy XXL but it don't make me feel bigger than I am. (Even though I might have gained a kilo or two)
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Damn man same here !!!
I went through similar weight lost and had like block or something. I’d Wear a size M even if it looked like shit cuz it was a medium lol
@FlavourFade -
@goosehd said in IHSH-409-IB - 19oz Selvedge Denim CPO Shirt - Indigo/Black:
@Giles I may be off base here and would love to know your thoughts on the topic as well.
Thank you Dennis.
We cant force people to do what we think is sensible. Which in this case is carefully comparing measurements with something else that fits well (I know this is not always possible), as Dennis says people's physiology is different. The question how tall are you? is meaningless. These guys are all the same height, don't think they will be wearing the same sized clothes:
The question, my true waist size is x what tagsize should I buy? Is enough to make me perform seppuku on the spot. Not many trousers of any type these days have a waistband that sits on the waist (usually way below), so the trousers that will fit you well around the waist are a function of the measurements of the actual waistband (which we give you in the measurement charts) and how far below your waist, the waistband sits (which can be determined by a bit of math and the front rise measurement).We do our damndest to avoid returns for many reasons. Having an item temporarily out of stock means we cant sell it to someone else, we do not get a refund for the fees from the credit card company or Paypal when we refund the purchase amount. It means we have "wasted" outbound shipping costs, It means you have to pay to return. But, most importantly, we want you to open the bag and be thrilled about your purchase in every regard.
So trust the measurement charts and speak to the guys at shop@ironheart.co.uk, we want to get that sizing nailed as much as you.
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@JunkPants said in Measuring- Questions, Answers and Comments:
@goosehd Totally agree with that.
(And will say that I've returned zero items to IHUK, in large part due to the size charts).It does seem that some people have some sort of aversion to actually measuring their clothing
It really isn't all that hard.Just another question: I wonder why people feel that way. I understand buying clothing online is extremely difficult to work out your sizing, but with all of the videos explaining how IH measures it seems like it would be fairly easy to do.
Follow the video, take down the measurements for clothes that fit the way you like, and compare the measurements to the ones posted in the product threads.
How or what can be done differently to make it easier for everyone involved?
I will repeat what @Giles mentioned that after everything is done, email the crew: shop@ironheart.co.uk and ask questions. Those guys have saved me tons of dollars and time.
I can't thank them enough!
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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We try to ascertain the reason for all cancellations and returns, it helps us to be better. If we spot a higher-than-usual return on a particular product, we will try and work out why and modify our outreach to future buyers of that item.
So we have a database (well, a google-sheet) of the reasons for returns and exchanges going back years.
To your point @goosehd , here is the commentary from a cancelled order last month....
Took great offence at being asked to measure, requested cancellation
Some shit, you just cant win....
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I think your policy of reaching out to new customers regarding sizing is the gold standard as far as online shopping goes. My first few orders someone emailed and literally said "I measured this short and it is 23.75 inches at the chest. Just wanted to make sure..." I don't honestly see what else you could do.
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@goosehd I think part of it could be the: "I've been a size 32 since college and I'm still the same size goddamnit!"
Not taking into account that the tag size 32 they are using now is a vanity sized stretch denim, which started out at 33.5 inches in the waist and is now at 37 inches.
Years back I had pair of jeans (can't remember the brand) in size 33 with some stretch to the material. After a while it was falling off me and I decided to measure it, and the waist was 38 inches!
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@Salted-Racer said in Measuring- Questions, Answers and Comments:
Damn man same here !!!
I went through similar weight lost and had like block or something. I’d Wear a size M even if it looked like shit cuz it was a medium lol
@FlavourFadeAbsolutely! When I startest buying japanese made selvedge denim I made a lot of mistakes because nobody tells you. Reaching out to customers before sending the item is something that happened to me exactly one time with Statement Store in munich.
Also I sometimes have trouble with sizing because I have some lose skin left from weight loss and when I sit down shirts become uncomfortable when too tight. So I prefer a loser fit to avoid that.
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Recently there have been a number of questions and "concerns" about posted measurements of our gear, both on ours and our retailers websites.
Firstly, we measure the way we do because it is the way that the Japanese clothing business measures. In the early days, I measured like some of our then retailers, this resulted in us sending in sample requests to Haraki and when we got the first sample back, they were always "wrong". So on a visit to Japan with @Madame-Buttonfly we asked Tom san to show us the way that she and the factories measure. So now when we send in a sample request we are giving Tom san measurements that she can send straight to the workshop.
I don't know why other western purveyors of Japanese Amekaji clothing measure differently to that, but they do. I suspect it is just a result of some early adopter doing it a particular way, and that just became the "norm".
So there is likely to be a perceived variance in published sizing between us and some of our retailers. For most of them, and also Iron Heart Japan, measuring accurately is not so critical as it is for us. If you are selling something in a shop, the punter can try the stuff on and cares not what the measurements are but only whether it looks good in the mirror.
We always remeasure when a new production run is received, I have no idea whether all our retailers do this or not.
If I lived my life again, I would try and insist that our retailers measured Iron Heart like us and published the same measurement tables, but I did not and we are where we are.
But please understand that our measurements are probably the most accurate you will find, they have to be, we basically only do online. The only problem you have is not knowing which batch a retailer holds.
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This clarity, simplicity and upfront earnestness is a BIG reason why I love IH!
