Tagless

I was on one of my many Target runs when I found this cute t-shirt. The shirt was obviously on the wrong display rack, but I really liked it, so despite it being the wrong size I decided to give it a whirl in the fitting room.

Well, this was one impulse purchase Target would not be getting. Not today Target, not today.

I looked like a ghost white crayon dressed in a pink striped potato sack. Reluctantly, I put the shirt back on the rack and headed towards the baby food to get Shelby's formula.

SURPRISE!!!

I found an entire rack filled with the mysterious t-shirt; it had siblings! Now, remember, the shirt was TOO BIG when I tried it on. Now I found it in the GIRLS department. I ended up buying a medium and in a different color, but the sister shirt fits like a glove.

GIRLS! Who knew! Twenty-nine years old and wearing a girls size medium t-shirt.

To put my size into perspective, my waist measures 30" and I have a Jennifer Lopez butt, thighs to match. I'm 5'2" so most of my pants are dual purpose, serving as dust mops as well. Finding pants that fit is a lot like playing a game of roulette. If they fit the bum the equivalent of the Grand Canyon can be found between my back and the jeans.

Shirts, well that's a whole new ballgame. I measure 34DDD up top so the girls need space, but I like some shape. I don't want to look like a square or a pillowcase with boobs. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of shopping for clothes. Probably why I have such a love for sweatpants and hoodies.

This trip to Target has proven to me that size has become subjective rather than definitive. I used to get hung up on the letter that resided on the tag of my clothes, but as I've gotten older I've learned that size doesn't matter; it can't matter. You may be a size "S" in one brand, but an "XL" in another. Different materials will lay differently on different body types, and clothing manufactures clearly do not use a universal sizing chart to begin with.

Then there's the fact that not all of us want our clothes to fit like a sausage link stuffed inside its jacket. In fact, I often find myself sizing up simply because I like to have room to breathe in my clothing. I don't like feeling suffocate by the fabric I'm wearing.

I may not have my ideal body, especially since I recently had a baby, but whether a shirt is a size "S" or "XL" I should care more about how I FEEL in what I'm wearing than what the tag says. We all should. I might even start cutting the size tags off my clothing!!!