Why do four different brands of shirt ...

[Kevin Finnerty]

Why do four different brands of shirt come in four different sizes of extra large?

I have four brands of shirt in extra large size, and they are four distinctly different sizes.

The smallest is Honig's, which is actually a large (I actually have to order two sizes larger for a plate shirt). The second smallest is Cliff Keen, which is large for a large or small for an extra large. The third largest is Dalco, which is actually slightly oversized for an extra large. The largest is the Official's Choice, which is generously oversized, both in the chest and length of the shirttail. It's actually as much oversized as the Honig's is undersized.

Why is this so inconsistent? And why is Honig's the farthest off in their sizing?

[Delaware Blue]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

And why is Honig's the farthest off in their sizing?

Actually, I'd say Honigs is the closest to a "normal" size. I wear a medium in a casual shirt and the Honigs' medium fits me the same as a medium "street" shirt by Dockers or Manhattan. With Honigs, I have to go up a size to get a shirt that fits over my chest protector. I believe both Cliff Keen and Dalco tell you their shirts are oversized to fit over a chest protector and to "size down" for a shirt to wear on the bases.

Shirts by Official's Choice are ridiculously huge, but then they're changing the industry one umpire at a time...except for this umpire.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I'm going by the standard shirt meter too, and of my dozen or so golf shirts, every single XL is bigger than the Honig's. Honig's are minimum a half size smaller than a normal shirt. I need a 2X to get a tighter fit than a 1X Cliff Keen.

Should it not be basic to have the shirt be the size that it says on the label?

[BretMan]

I've used 3 of the 4 shirts listed (have never had a Dalco) and would agree with Kevin's opinion on how they fit, relative to each other. The Honig's are on the tight side, the Cliff Keen's are in the middle and the Official's Choice fit like a freakin' tent! (Actually, that is one thing I do like about the OC shirts).

In the clothing world, labels like "Medium", "Large" or "Extra Large" are somewhat meaningless. There is no industry standard or benchmark sizing guide that says, for instance, a large must be 40" across the chest, or medium will be 36" long. Each manufacturer measures, cuts and assembles clothing to their own standard and the difference between different makers can be frustrating.

Sure, you can just buy the next bigger size, but the unfortunate thing is that you usually have to buy a shirt first before you know if it's going to be a little tight or a little bigger.

Do you see the same odd sizing in umpire pants? I wear a 36" in jeans or Docker-type pants and have slack at the waistband. A 36" Cliff Keene, or my old +POS pants, are on the snug size- almost uncomfortably so. A pair of 36" Fechiemer's I tried on, I could hardly even button! Another lesson learned the hard way- I now buy my umpire pants a size or two bigger than my day-to-day pants, but I had to buy those first pairs to find that out I needed to do that.

[canadaump6]

It probably depends on the stretchiness of the material.

[SAump]

Lay the shirts flat, measure the width from armpit to armpit, and multiply times two. Sizes should vary from 34-36 small, 38-40 medium, 42-44 large, 46-48 XL, 50-52 XXL, 54-56 XXXL, and up.

[zm1283]

I bought large Official's Choice basketball shirts last summer and they were generously sized, but they have shrunk some from being washed and dried. I have Dalco baseball shirts. I wear a large in a regular shirt most of the time, but my base shirts are mediums and plate shirts larges.

I have Sansabelt basketball pants and Smitty baseball pants all in 34s and they fit perfectly.