It just about figures that just when I have a little extra time to sit at the computer and write a bit for the blog, the mechanism that holds my laptop on the computer stand at the right angle goes wonky. Typing with my laptop actually on my lap is a challenge. But the show must go on…
It’s been quite some time since I watched an episode of What Not to Wear, but I’m pretty sure that if they got a look at my closet, the hosts would not approve of much in there. At the top of list of things that don’t look great on me would probably be my Twins jersey collection.
I was thinking about this recently after stumbling upon a few posts around the blogosphere discussing the new MLB clothing line for women being sold by Victoria’s Secret. You can find better insight than I’m likely to provide here, here, and here.
Before I go on, I want to mention that if you’re digging the MLB clothes at Victoria’s Secret, or any of the other offerings I’m not into, that’s totally cool with me.
When I first heard about this new women’s baseball clothing line, I didn’t think about it much beyond “Gee, it’s great that the Twins are one of the teams included, but Victoria’s Secret doesn’t sell anything that fits me, so there’s no point in checking this out further.” The fit problem isn’t exclusive to Victoria’s Secret by any means, but when I read what others had to say, I starting thinking about how it’s harder for me to find clothes that look decent on me to wear to games than it is to get tickets to Target Field in the first place.
My problem with what I’ve been able to find so far at the Twins Pro Shops isn’t necessarily that the offerings for women are pink or glittery or have things written on them I wouldn’t want to wear on a shirt, though I totally understand and agree with those issues, but rather that even if I wanted to wear these things, they aren’t offered in a size even close to what I wear.
Sure, I could stand to lose more than a few pounds, and though I don’t plan to generally talk about personal stuff like that on this blog (heaven knows I don’t really to care to talk about it most of the time anyway), the fact is there are lots of women baseball fans of all shapes and sizes, and we should all have at least a few good options. I like my jersey collection just fine, but I’d like it even better if I could get them in a fit more suitable for a woman. I have to get a men’s XXL to really be comfortable at all and be able to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt underneath in cooler weather, and I mostly feel like I’m wearing an unflattering box of a shirt that’s ridiculously too long. If I don’t feel good in it, I very much doubt I look good in it. And I’m sure Stacy and Clinton would disapprove of the look.
There is a replica jersey for women available in the online Twins shop, but I can’t find any information about the sizing. There’s an XXL available? Great! But what is the equivalent in real sizes? (Note: I did eventually find a link to sizing information with a different item, but it only went to XL, and it didn’t look promising for me.) And putting aside the sizing issue, why only one style for women? Shouldn’t 45% of baseball fans have more options than one style in a narrow range of sizes? I counted four replica jerseys for men, plus several other jerseys, like the batting practice one or the Cooperstown one.
One thing I noticed while browsing the online shop is that there’s actually a Plus Size category under Women’s. Hooray! Except the only thing there is a tank top. Boo! I might have to get the tank top, though. It might be nice to have the option for hot summer days at Target Field. But it would be nice to be able to purchase it at a Pro Shop where I get a lovely season-ticket holder discount. UPDATE: Since I originally wrote most of this a week or two ago, a few more items have been added to the Plus Size section of the online store. The tank isn’t available in my preferred size, but there’s a jacket I might have to pull the trigger on since I received a 20% off code the other day.
While at a Pro Shop recently, I was happy to see more women’s styles in regular team colors, including a sweatshirt I’d love to have for early spring and later fall games, but none looked at all like they’d fit me. So I’m relegated to the men’s clothes and yet another long box.
I feel your pain. I would like some shirts that have subtle enough Twins logos to wear to work (where I’m not allowed to wear sports-related items). They only make that in the “thin girl” size, which I am not…
My last experience on the women’s racks in a Twins Pro Shop was. . . weird. I found one sweatshirt in a M that was far too big, and another style in a M that was far too small. Sadly, neither offered an alternative size choice, and my only other sweatshirt options were, yes, sparkly and/or in no way indicative that they were associated with a baseball team other than the fact that their swirly, girly text said “Minnesota Twins.” There’s no rhyme or reason to any of that stuff; I don’t get it.
I appreciate that there is an effort to create clothing that doesn’t operate under the assumption that women are simply smaller men. However, there’s still a long way to go before they realize that neither are women simply waifs who like everything to be short, clingy, and pink.