Take time to figure out what size is likely to work when you shop for clothes online

Since I’ve been busy, I made my birthday list hurriedly. Although I’ve lost some weight recently, I’ve been a size large for decades.

For the nightgown I wanted and a hoodie from The Evergreen State College, I just said “large” on my list.

The results were way off. The nightgown was huge and so was the hoodie. I mean … huge, huge, not even close to the correct size.

When I went back to look at why I made such big mistakes, the website for The Evergreen State College had no information on sizing. Apparently, the hoodies and t-shirts are unisex.

Although it took about a half hour to drive out to the college, the exchange was easier than for the pink nightgown.

The nightgown came from Wittmann Textiles. It’s on the East Coast and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I left two messages and found out that the pink checkered nightgown is no longer in stock. It was from another company, so was a limited edition.

For sizing, the Wittman Textiles website says: MEASUREMENTS: Our Ladies Flannel nightgowns are all made in the USA by the same company and have the above measurements (before shrinkage – shrinkage would probably be 1 inch across, Armhole to Armhole, and 2 inches in length.

A sizing chart indicates that a large is sizes 14-16 and a medium is sizes 10-12. If I’d taken the time to read the size guide, I might have been O.K.

Hopefully, I can exchange the pink checkered nightgown for the ladies cotton flannel nightgown cherries on cream colored background.

In addition to reading the information on the website carefully about sizing, here are other tips for buying clothing online:

Take your measurements. Sometimes websites list what the measurements are for its various sizes.

Read what the reviews say about sizing and other information. Reviewers often have valuable information such as runs large or small. In addition, they’ll indicate whether the garment is good quality or is thin or flimsy.

Buy from retailers you have experience with. If you shop at a retail store such as Target, Macy’s, or H&M, for example, you may be familiar with how their clothing is sized.

Don’t buy two sizes just in case. Some influencers suggest this. It’s not a good idea because you’re likely to end up with unreturned items, which cost you money.

Look for information on fabrics. Rayon, also called viscose, and linen wrinkle and need to be ironed. If you don’t want to iron, look for cotton-polyester blends. Wool and wool blends are warm. Cottons are cool for summer wear. Look for the percentage of fibers in the garment. Fibers are different from weaves. Terms such as broadcloth, satin, taffeta, gingham, canvas, crepe, poplin, twill, flannel, denim, gabardine, corduroy, velvet, and brocade are weaves.

Compare prices. Lots of choices are available online, so you may be able to save money by checking several websites.

Find out what the return policies are. Make sure you can send the item back if it doesn’t fit. Also determine if you’ll have to pay the return postage and how long you have to return an item.

Print out your email receipt. It will be helpful to have it handy if you need to return the garment.

Try on an item as soon as it arrives. You don’t want to miss the deadline for returning it.

I hope these tips will help you get the right size and avoid time-consuming returns.

Comments

[Carol Cassara]

Truly good advice, Rita.

[Laurie Stone]

I get a lot of tops from Amazon these days. I normally order Large, mostly because they're made in China and Asian women are tiny. If I need to switch to Medium, I will. Needless to say, sometimes I'm busy returning things!

[Rita]

Fortunately, Amazon returns are fairly easy.