I went with a 32”, but also asked Speedway for some advice. I’m ok with them being roomier in the top block and overall (in fact, I upsized on a purchase I made at the beginning of the year and have grown to really like the (anti) fit…).
Which leads me to something I’ve been thinking about since a trip I took to Japan back in January of 2023 - and I’ve been wondering if any of you have had a similar experience.
With the exception of Fullcount, every shop I visited - Freewheelers, warehouse (multiple locations), flat head, Sapporo Base (when I was in Sapporo), etc - the shop employee was trying to get me to size up 1-2-3 sizes from what I would typically wear/buy. And I noticed, in my opinion, that most of the shop workers were wearing jeans well above what their actual size would/should be… I could tell from the way the top block folded back on itself and had that kind of undulation in the fabric between pockets and fly and from the rear a quite saggy bottom. I would say they just wore their jeans very differently and had an overall different idea of how jeans should fit/be worn. When I’ve tried on jeans in the US and EU, it always seems the opposite where a shop employee is trying to get me to size down because of stretch (especially 10-15 years ago…).
Dealing with temporary discomfort for a ‘perfect fit’ (whatever that means) when I was in my early 30s feels a lot different now that I’m 43 - and I have a much better sense of how I like jeans to fit now.
In any case, I found this curious, and like I said, something I’ve been thinking about and considering since that trip.
Is this an East vs West thing and our general idea around aesthetics? Or did the move towards ‘true’ size just seem to take hold in Japan earlier than the US? Or, I’m I just over thinking?
This probably belongs in the general discussion, so please feel free to move, or I can delete…