Sizing Up

Some of you may have seen a facebook post I did a while ago about the difference in size of some outfits I bought from Carter's. These were one-piece pajamas that came as a set of two. After washing, one of them had shrunk so there was now a two inch difference in length. I did contact Carter's about it and after shipping the pajamas back to them (with a prepaid shipping label they emailed me), they sent me a gift card back for the purchase price (they did also offer to refund the money back, but I opted for the gift card). The person I spoke with in consumer affairs said that they would show this discrepancy to their quality department.


Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence among children's clothes, or at least the clothes I buy. It seems to be an overall problem with quality control, as it is not just limited to sizing issues. I have also noticed that baby clothes tend to pill and become very "worn" looking even though all babies do all day is just lay there. Case in point, here is a sock that has been washed (on delicate!) twice. My babies do not even crawl yet, so there is absolutely no wear going on during usage. I find this extremely disappointing. And yes, this is a Carter's sock. I'm not picking on them, I just tend to buy a fair amount of baby clothes from them. (Why, you ask, since I have such issues with their products? It's the demon you/I know. So, if I know their problems, then I can account for it.)


Frustrated with Carter's, I started buying some clothes from Gymboree, even though their sizing is weird to me (6-12mo, 12-18mo, vs. 6mo, 9mo, 12mo, etc.). Sadly, I ran into the same problem again. Here are two one-piece pajamas bought separately that are labeled the same size, but have over two inches difference in length. I know the one on the right looks like shirt and pants, but it's sown as one piece. I actually bought several of both kinds and they all have different lengths.


Expecting the "major" brands to be more consistent in their sizing, I was pleasantly surprised when I found Little Me pajamas at Costco the other day. These were selling for about $8 per piece, which is the same price I usually pay during a Carter's sale. The first picture is three different 12 month size pajamas and the second picture is three different 18 month pajamas. I didn't even have to get out a tape measure for these ones. This consistency is what I naively expected from clothing manufacturers in the first place.

Now, I know there exists all kinds of horrible inconsistencies within women's clothing. I have a range of clothes in my closet from size small to size large that all fit me about the same. When I buy jeans from a store, I usually take five pairs "in my size" into the fitting room to find the one that is cut best. One time I ordered two pairs of Silver jeans from Buckle online. I thought I was safe since Silver sizes their jeans much like men's pants, with both a waist and length measurement. When they came though, one was several inches longer. Thankfully Buckle altered the long pair for free, although it might have been faster to do a return and order a new pair. Of course, who knows how big or small the new pair would've turned out.

But, with children's clothes, and especially baby clothes, where an inch or two means another month or more of growing, I find it so irritating that the companies don't seem to control the quality of the products being sold.

In closing, I leave you with this final picture. On the left is a 12 month pajama, and on the right is a 9 month pajama. So, yes there is supposed to be a size difference, and yes, the 9 month one has been washed (on delicate!) a few times, but does Carter's truly expect my son to grow six inches in just three months? That's going to be one heck of a growth spurt!