Men's items as "unisex"

[ferretface]

Just that really. Surprises me that this is still a thing in 2020 (well maybe it doesn't)

I did the London Marathon virtual earlier this month and everyone is receiving their t shirt and medal - cue a lot of confused women asking why they have been sent an item that is clearly labelled men's and being told in response "oh they're unisex". No, designed for an average male body is not unisex, unisex would be an item where the fit is adapted to accommodate both average male and female bodies as much as it can, not an item designed for men.

Would love to see the reaction if men were given clothing or equipment (bike saddles etc) specifically designed for women and told oh it's fine, it's unisex, we just made sure you got the larger size range.

What do people do to call this out? I guess I'll email them once they're no longer swamped by enquiries about where people's medals etc are but their comms is pretty shocking so I doubt I'll get much of a response. Maybe the kit sponsor (new balance) would be a good port of call as imagine they don't like getting caught up in complaints.

It's always a one way street. Society allows women to wear stereotypically masculine clothes but men musn't wear stereotypically feminine clothes, too degrading to be associated with the penetrated type of people. Same as people will call a mixed sex group of people 'guys' but wouldn't dream of calling them 'girls' except as a jokey slur. Neutral or unisex defaults to male, hence the T shirts. I think there is discussion of this in Criado Perez's book.

Does reminds me of the wonderful Man Who Has It all twitter account twitter.com/ManWhoHasItAll . I'm sure somewhere it describes the T shirts on sale as ordinary ones or slightly more expensive ones which are specially designed to fit the tricky male body shape lol.

Oh and well done for doing the marathon!

My daughter's school shirts, under female uniform, arrive named boy's shirts. Unisex supposedly, but labelled boys.

I presume the people making the decision are men and just don’t see the issue. It’s really bloody annoying.
All the kit for my old cycling club - men’s. The committee - all men.
My DDs football team kit is all men’s. I’ve asked the (all male) coaches if next time they order they can get the girls women kit. They seemed surprised by the request but have taken it on board.

I generally prefer men's tech tops, they are generally a much more sensible length, despite the need for a women's top to accommodate boobs...

Not seen much shaping on my women's specific running tops either.

I bought dd1 some unisex school shirts as she has to wear blue and I was trying to avoid the 15 pound marks ones.

What can be wrong with a shirt I thought...

We besides the buttons being the "wrong way" which I'm.sure she would have git used to. It was really boxy, and swamped her...

Not a good fit at all...

I have a unisex buoyancy aid. Well withing the weight/size range. Definitely not designed for breasts...

DH and I both have uniform shirts. For some reason, his is made of a thicker material and has a longer body. Plus baggier sleeves. Not sure why the women ones need thinner material.

I do taekwondo and have to buy about three sizes up to fit my hips into the uniform.

Apparently they made a ladies version but instead of lovely strong durable thick cotton, it was made made from flimsy lycra and they tried to make pretty.

If I had the money then I would start a business in creating sports things that work for women too.

Oh this pisses me off no end; has done for years.

High School uniform is especially annoying. A 5’ girl with a 36” bust is a very different shape to a 6’ boy with a 36” chest (for example). The sleeves are always far too long on the sweatshirts for girls.
My very slim DD was annoyed at the bagginess of the polo shirts, so, being handy, adjusted it with her sewing machine!

It’s not so bad if something is designed to be unisex - though those things aren’t brilliant - but when it’s a case of “let’s just use men’s for everyone” that is so annoying.

Does clothing that is designed to fit both men and women actually exist? I'm racking my brains but the important stuff like tops and trousers are going to need be shaped so differently I can't see how it would work.

Kilts maybe?

Can I ask what changes you would make to the shirt to make it more unisex?

Or are you talking about the sizes? Did they only offer men’s sizes because that is annoyingly common.

At my children’s school they wore blazers

Obviously’unisex’ which probably explains why dd stayed in hers for 5 years and the boys had about 4 blazers each

Dds was massive on her from the start

It worked well for her cost wise I suppose

I guess with unisex it should fit both equally badly.

So enough tailoring to be annoying for the men, but not enough to fit properly for women.
Body length too long for women, too short for men.
That kind of thing.

I was going to say buttons on alternate sides, but that wouldn't work.
Really buttons should be the 'mens' way as those are designed to be done up yourself iirc.

So enough tailoring to be annoying for the men, but not enough to fit properly for women.
Body length too long for women, too short for men.

Yes. This I don’t get, because it then all gets into personal preference doesn’t it. i personally loathe what are sold as ‘women’s’ tshirts these days.

I guess with unisex it should fit both equally badly.

Yes, one size fits no-one.

I guess if you were actually trying to design for both, you'd need it to be adjustable, or have stretchy panels. DP and I have a similar size chest and waist (blush) - but are very, very different shapes. I can put his stuff on, but it swamps me, and he might be able to squeeze into mine, but everything is too short/too narrow on shoulders, and the trousers don't stay up as he doesn't have hips. For a hoodie, that's fine, but for a t-shirt I end up flashing everyone up the arm hole.

On the other hand, I've discovered his skinny fit gap jeans, with a belt and turnups are a lovely relaxed fit on me - with of course thicker fabric and deeper pockets! So I've nabbed them.

I get what you mean, but I prefer men's t-shirts because they are thicker, stronger cotton (without stretchy shit) and also not designed to make me into walking boobage.

Having just said that - I remember when you could get women's t-shirts like this too. But now they have to be fitted and stretchy.

@YetAnotherSpartacus

Having just said that - I remember when you could get women's t-shirts like this too. But now they have to be fitted and stretchy.

exactly!!

I still have a few remnant non lycra versions that are decades old that I wear. They were also built to last, without adding microfibres every time they were washed. I have new t-shirts too but tend to wear them under things, usually because the 'scooped' necklines are extremely impractical for my life and being small breasted, simply don't fit well.

Now the cotton t-shirts of the past are considered niche and you pay huge amounts of money for new ones. And yes, processing cotton fabric also has its environment impacts too.

@Winesalot it's men's sizes and is branded as being from the men's range.

I think I'd mind less if they said we only order men's t shirts to keep costs down rather than fobbing off with the idea that something that's cut for a guy is somehow unisex!

I know what PPs mean about women's cuts sometimes being worse though. Like just because I want one that isn't going to bag around my waist and cling to my hips, doesn't mean I want it somehow to be skimpier, tighter fitting and/or lower cut.

Aaahhh! Yes. Men’s sizes makes all the difference. If you are women’s small or petite it must be hard if you can’t get xs and xxs men’s if you need it. Ridiculous not to cater to women’s size requirements as well.

@YetAnotherSpartacus

Having just said that - I remember when you could get women's t-shirts like this too. But now they have to be fitted and stretchy.

Try lands end - the plain Pima cotton ones. They're one of my go-tos because they do petites.

I've got various company t-shirts over the decades - quite a lot are 'unisex', they serve me as summer nightshirts. Last Xmas we got a choice of items and we actually got proper women's sizes so progress is possible!

Oh yes, I hate my taekwondo kit. Available sized by height, so mine would be a comfy fit for an extremely overweight short bloke. I’ve hemmed the arms so my hands are actually visible. Have to wear a vest underneath because of the low v neck + bagginess means I would be flashing when bowing otherwise. Even though I’ve got broad shoulders I’m always having to hoik the top around to try to have it vaguely sit right as it hangs off me. There is so much material it is uncomfortable and distracting rather than just being loose enough to move freely in.Choose to wear the t shirt for most of the year but gradings and competitions require full kit..

I wish they'd specify if they're going to use men's, unisex or separate sizes when they ask for T-Shirt sizes. In a unisex running top I'm a small, medium swamps me. In women's sizes I need a medium, but you never know what the options are.

Plus at the end of the race if you aren't one of those winning stuff you might well find you've got the choice between XS and XL...

I suspect I don't care that much as fencing kit comes in very specific sizes and is different for left and right handedness, and is sized in 2 inch increments. There's even some options to shorten/lengthen for a given chest measurement. Women's kit is even cut with better chest darts than most blouses.

I'm therefore sufficiently spoilt by my fencing kit fitting like a glove (unless I ate too many pies, in which case I'm grateful for braces and buttons rather than Velcro) that the fit of a lightweight tech t-shirt and stretch leggings doesn't bother me!

Hate cotton for exercise though, gets so clammy if sweaty or rained on!