Getting Fit at St Johns Bay!
Apr 10 '07
The Bottom Line I've discovered a fit for the Standard Mature Scandinavian Male Configuration!
I am offering here a biographical anecdote, rather than a review, although it concerns a product and service that I rate highly. It is but one of a very wide range offered, and I have little experience with their other products and services. I think the specific product and service I will address may be of interest to others who may have experienced morphological transmogrification,as did I. (I LOVE that word! It so PERFECTLY describes----what it describes!)
For the first half of my adult life I was genetically blessed with a somewhat standard morphology that I could easily accommodate with off-the -shelf, ready-made clothing with at most minor alteration. An average height and waist, a flat behind, and slender thighs and legs, were unspectacular but easy to fit.
As I've grown older my body has transmogrified into what I have sometimes called the "Standard Mature Scandinavian Male Configuration." Everything remains as it was except that my waist has gradually expanded to a size 6-8 inches larger than it was when I was eighteen. Not enough to give me extreme dismay at my image in the mirror, but enough to give me considerable difficulty finding pants that fit properly.
During winter months in the desert---and for much of the rest of the year---my standard daily retirement "uniform" consists of khaki pants and a golf shirt. Ready-made khakis from nearly every manufacturer are available in two basic styles: Pleated with Cuffs or Plain Front with Hems. Most manufacturers offer one or both of these two styles in three fits: Classic, Relaxed and Loose. Enough options, one would think, to fit any body!
With my present SMSM configuration, any ready-made khaki that fits my waist is ridiculously over-generous in the seat, thighs and legs; even in the more trim Classic fit. The Relaxed and Loose fit are like a tent, and are utterly unwearable for me.
I can get by with Classic fit, but I have discovered an even better alternative: custom-fitted khakis offered on-line by under the brand name St. Johns Bay. They offer custom-fitted jeans, khakis and dress pants, but my experience is with the khakis.
Standard ready-to-wear khakis are offered in waist sizes in two-inch increments---30, 32, 34 inches, etc. Inseam lengths are offered in one-inch increments. The ordering screen for SJB custom khakis allows selection of both waist size and inseam length in 1/2-inch increments. More importantly, you can select from four seat and thigh configurations, from Slender to Full. AND, any of these variations can be ordered with pleats or plain front, and with either hems or cuffs!
The order and the custom size information are transmitted instantly to a factory in Thailand, where I envision a throng of thirteen year old seamstresses who begin immediately to put in 16 hour days at thirty cents per hour cutting fabric to my special patterns, and sewing them into pants to my exact measurements. Well-l-l---maybe more likely, the data is entered into a computer; fabric is unreeled from a giant roll, cut and sewn to my exact measurements by computer-controlled equipment. But---however it happens---in three weeks I receive my custom-tailored khakis!
So---I can at last get the precise waist and inseam size I need, and I can get it in the slim/slender seat and thigh configuration I need in order to fit my transmogrified SMSM configuration! The cost is about 30% more than comparable ready-made khakis. I just ordered my third pair, and I've never been happier with the fit of my pants---so for me the slightly higher cost is well worth it!
AND---there's the satisfaction of knowing I'm helping to employ that throng of thirteen year old seamstresses in Thailand---or maybe it's just a single thirteen year old technician who feeds the order into a computer! But doing my bit for the Thai economy, in any case!
Note: This service is available on-line at the JC Penney web site www.jcp.com---under the subpage men/ pants/custom.
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Epinions.com ID:
gaviidae
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Member: Gavia Immer
Location: Minneazona, Arisota, USA
Reviews written: 178
Trusted by: 67 members
About Me:
"---temporarily retired.
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