Shirt.Woot

I received my "Blending in to Night" on an Anvil WM instead of an AA WM. The original blog said ladies were being printed on AA, but I guess they ran out. Long story short they refunded my money and let me keep the shirt, so I appreciate woot being understanding on their end.

Here are photos. As a reference, I am about 5'5", 120 lbs, with an athletic build.



And a look at the "bat wings" on the sleeves. I don't know if it's obvious, but there's a lot of extra room here.



My thoughts:

- Before I pulled the shirt out of the bag, I could tell by the difference in fabric that it was printed on Anvil. It's not horrible or offensive or scratchy, but it's not as soft as AA, and I haven't worn mine for more than 15 minutes yet.

- Being that I wear an AA WM, the Anvil WM is gigantic on me. No shape, other than it's odd outward tapering at the bottom. I have hips, and they have no chance of filling that.

- Being a slave to the apartment laundry services, I probably won't be washing this for awhile, so I can't offer a unwashed/washed comparison.

So, no, I'm not a fan. If mine shrinks the way Boots' did, then I'll be even less of a fan. But as it is, I'm either going to attempt to alter this shirt, or just use it for sleeping. It's a shame, too...I was so psyched about my ninja chameleon.

agingdragqueen wrote:
WL: tight in the arms (but I played baseball for years and years, so). Otherwise great.

I dunno, I tried on the WL (the exact same WL, in case folks are curious, and I am probably ~50lbs less than ADQ), and I just didn't like it. Fit fine on the bust, hung like a tent everywhere else. Your WXL experience is what I found in WL.

Also I'm sorta the definition of "apple shaped" if that helps.

After wearing my "Too Many Cooks" since about 5:30am this morning (so about a full work day), I'm still comfy.

Your mileage may vary. Even someone with the exact same measurements as me may not like the way it looks. They may not think it looks good on me even.

All I know is when I look in the mirror I go "aw lookit you in your cute green Spiritgreen shirt", and that kind of is what gets me through the afternoon.

That and lip gloss. Never underestimate lip gloss.

I would just like to say again that the staff interaction and response in this thread has been wonderful. I appreciate you guys doing what you can to keep an open dialogue in a polite, open-minded way. You rock.

@AgingDragQueen - are you the facebook page admin, too?

agingdragqueen wrote:My current assumption on this is that the peeps that are getting samples (especially boots) are getting them in the same size they normally wear in AA. I would strongly suggest going down a size. Going with my sorta-normal WXL gave me the tent effect too, WL fits really really awesomely.

Check out the sizing charts side by side. I'm agreeing that men's sizes have stayed mostly the same (I don't see a difference in length), but ladies- we've gotten some bigger sizing happening.

But...but... that's the whole problem. We can't go down a size. I got a WS and a K10. I think that Boots got a WS as well. I'm not trying the next smallest kid's size either as the K10 was already too short.

The anvil small is really more like a medium, even compared to shirts I have from big retail stores where sizes tend to be larger than AA.

ochopika wrote:But...but... that's the whole problem. We can't go down a size.

You beat me to the punch on that one. But seriously, is no one listening??? I honestly don't even know why I keep stalking this forum. I feel like a crazy ex-girlfriend.

morgankohl wrote:You beat me to the punch on that one. But seriously, is no one listening??? I honestly don't even know why I keep stalking this forum. I feel like a crazy ex-girlfriend.

Agreed with both of you. I keep hoping to see some magical solution pop up. We need a women's XS that doesn't sacrifice even more length. Or something...

heidiruth wrote:Agreed with both of you. I keep hoping to see some magical solution pop up. We need a women's XS that doesn't sacrifice even more length. Or something...

I don't even know if an XS would cut it. I'm almost identical to Boots in size and that monstrosity is a dress on her.

agingdragqueen wrote:I feel y'all- I really do. But this is exactly what us bigger girls were facing with the limited sizes on AA. With those we went to men's sizes- have you tried a kid's size? They wouldn't work for tall n' thin, but they certainly aren't a bad alternative if you're still wanting to purchase a shirt here.

I think everyone who used to be a WS in AA who received a sample was sent both an Anvil K10 and an Anvil WS. I posted photos of the K10 awhile back. It was a belly shirt on me even before I washed it. The sleeves were really long, the shirt was wide, and my belly hung out of it. I'm only 5'2" so I can't imagine it would be long enough for anyone. Honestly, I suppose I prefer the K10 since it doesn't tent, but I'd have to wear it like an 80s cutoff shirt. And although, I'm sure I'd look way more badass than this guy, I don't really want to wear all my woot shirts like that. ;)

So, while I'm happy for the women who get to stop wearing men's sizes now, there really isn't an option for women who used to wear a WS, or many that wore a WM, or those who wore even larger sizes but don't have the body to fill out the shape of these new blanks. And it kind of hurts a little more when something is taken away from you. Like, I used to be able to wear Woot shirts, and now I can't.

I hope I don't sound too jerky or ungrateful. I really love Woot, and I'm so pleased they sent me the blanks to try out (awesome!). I just want women (especially ones that are my size) to know how the sizing works now. It should save everyone a lot of trouble that would be caused by buying and returning shirts that don't fit them.

agingdragqueen wrote: Right now! I usually wear an (AA) MM or ML.

agingdragqueen wrote: My pick was the (Anvil) WL.

See, that's kind of problem. If an Anvil WL is the best choice for someone who wore an AA ML, there's really no where for smaller sizes to go... It'd be the equivalent of you being told you now have to order an AA Men's 2XL and your belly button will hang out when you raise your arms. ;)

BootsBoots wrote:And it kind of hurts a little more when something is taken away from you. Like, I used to be able to wear Woot shirts, and now I can't.

This part right here is how I feel. It feels lousy.

trekmiss wrote:This part right here is how I feel. It feels lousy.

Agreed. I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but I don't know how being able to buy a women's size instead of a men's size trumps not being able to buy any size at all. I really don't care what the size is called as long as it fits, and that seems to be no longer the case.

We'll see, I just ordered my first Anvil tee today. If the bell at the bottom looks too horrible, I could try to bring back the t-shirt clip-tie style from the '80s I guess.

schlady wrote:Yes!! I'm quite excited about these shirts, at least to give them a try! I always wear a men's medium for t-shirts, because women's sizes, even XLs, are always way too tight especially in the armpit area and sometimes around the hips. (I have a few women's 2XLs from other tee sites, and even that's been a gamble as to whether it's a perfect fit or still too small.)

For those complaining about the size and shapeliness of the new shirts, it sounds like it's the opposite problem of what has traditionally been happening: instead of bigger ladies having to settle for unflattering men's sizes, now the more petite ladies may have to settle for the XS sizes or even kid's sizes to avoid the larger curvier shirts.
Not sure if there will ever be a perfect solution to this, but hopefully shirt.woot will continue exploring other shirt options in the future so there can be more satisfied tee-flaunting people!

This, with the slight modification that I'm still hoping for a W2XL, though I intend to try the WXL when I find a design that I like. (My last two shirt.woot purchases were for my son.)

amensia wrote: I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but I don't know how being able to buy a women's size instead of a men's size trumps not being able to buy any size at all. I really don't care what the size is called as long as it fits, and that seems to be no longer the case.

Yesssss. I just want some size that fits. Anvil WS is too big. Anvil kids sizes are waaaay too short.

i just wanted to say i am disappointed that there aren't more pics of women's chestular regions in this thread.

oh, i suppose i wanted to suggest something else as well. i haven't read most of the posts, but it seems to me that many of the wimmens with issues are more of the, uh, narrow-framed variety. i wonder how difficult/expensive it would be for woot to carry just a couple of the smaller sizes from aa. i realise woot wouldn't be able to get as good a deal since the quantity volumes wouldn't be that large, but we're only talking about a couple of the smaller sizes anyway, so in total not that huge an expense ... ? although i guess that could open up the floodgates to another round of complaints ("if you can do it for these sizes, why not the entire line?")

... never mind, then. carry on!

amensia wrote:Agreed. I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but I don't know how being able to buy a women's size instead of a men's size trumps not being able to buy any size at all. I really don't care what the size is called as long as it fits, and that seems to be no longer the case.

THIS

no1 wrote:i just wanted to say i am disappointed that there aren't more pics of women's chestular regions in this thread.

oh, i suppose i wanted to suggest something else as well. i haven't read most of the posts, but it seems to me that many of the wimmens with issues are more of the, uh, narrow-framed variety. i wonder how difficult/expensive it would be for woot to carry just a couple of the smaller sizes from aa. i realise woot wouldn't be able to get as good a deal since the quantity volumes wouldn't be that large, but we're only talking about a couple of the smaller sizes anyway, so in total not that huge an expense ... ? although i guess that could open up the floodgates to another round of complaints ("if you can do it for these sizes, why not the entire line?")

... never mind, then. carry on!

I'll send you chestular pictures if someone actually takes your advice. (which basically means 'fat chance in hell')

And seriously...we've even offered to pay more to get a size that actually fits.

agingdragqueen wrote:I feel y'all- I really do. But this is exactly what us bigger girls were facing with the limited sizes on AA. With those we went to men's sizes- have you tried a kid's size? They wouldn't work for tall n' thin, but they certainly aren't a bad alternative if you're still wanting to purchase a shirt here.

I agree with Boots. We did try the K10, it is a belly shirt. It's not wearable at all. I said this in my last post which was a response to pretty much the same question. If it were wearable then I would be fine with going to a kids' size. What everyone has been saying is that there is NO size that fits a small woman. It's not the same as having to order a men's size when the women's sizes were too small.

It really feels like people aren't listening (reading) when I read responses like this. What's the point of posting pictures of us wearing the poor-fitting kids shirts (or even the WS that shows our tummies, so of course the kids' sizes will be too short) if the response is "why don't you gals just buy kids shirts? Now you know how we felt when we had to buy mens shirts harhar." I mean, I know you didn't say it exactly like that, but that's how I read it.

It's great that Woot listened and responded to those women who had issues with the AA sizes, but why shouldn't they listen to people who can no longer buy their shirts now?

ochopika wrote:It's great that Woot listened and responded to those women who had issues with the AA sizes, but why shouldn't they listen to people who can no longer buy their shirts now?

this looks rhetorical, but i can't resist: when i think back on the posts of the female staffers who have posted, they're pretty much mostly in the "anvil fits better" camp. 'nuff said.

ochopika wrote:

It really feels like people aren't listening (reading) when I read responses like this. What's the point of posting pictures of us wearing the poor-fitting kids shirts (or even the WS that shows our tummies, so of course the kids' sizes will be too short) if the response is "why don't you gals just buy kids shirts? Now you know how we felt when we had to buy mens shirts harhar." I mean, I know you didn't say it exactly like that, but that's how I read it.

Yeah...I got a bit of a "You had your fun, now it's my turn" vibe out of that.

no1 wrote:i just wanted to say i am disappointed that there aren't more pics of women's chestular regions in this thread.

oh, i suppose i wanted to suggest something else as well. i haven't read most of the posts, but it seems to me that many of the wimmens with issues are more of the, uh, narrow-framed variety. i wonder how difficult/expensive it would be for woot to carry just a couple of the smaller sizes from aa. i realise woot wouldn't be able to get as good a deal since the quantity volumes wouldn't be that large, but we're only talking about a couple of the smaller sizes anyway, so in total not that huge an expense ... ? although i guess that could open up the floodgates to another round of complaints ("if you can do it for these sizes, why not the entire line?")

... never mind, then. carry on!

It's not just the smaller women. I'm a larger woman, working on getting smaller. I've lost 125 lbs. The Anvil WXL would fit, except it's WAY too short. So I'm stuck with the MXL which is still too short, and now I'll have sleeves below my elbows. I could probably go to the ML, but didn't want to do that in AA because of giving up length, so not going to happen in Anvil either. That pretty much leaves me with no options. I suppose a W2XL maybe would be worth trying, IF it's as long as the AA MXL was. I doubt that's the case. And, besides, I don't think I want to wear a bell shaped tent just to get length.

trekmiss wrote:I'm a larger woman, working on getting smaller. I've lost 125 lbs.

Excuse my forwardness, but congrats on the weight loss! My closest friend lost 100lbs last year and I know how hard she worked to get there.

morgankohl wrote:Excuse my forwardness, but congrats on the weight loss! My closest friend lost 100lbs last year and I know how hard she worked to get there.

Thanks! It's life-changing!

trekmiss wrote:Thanks! It's life-changing!

trekmiss wrote:This part right here is how I feel. It feels lousy.

Same here. I've had to pass on two awesome shirts this week because of the change. :/

Really woot, Really. You need an XSW. I am bootsboots size as well and I was very disappointed because I couldn't get the portal shirt the other day. We just need something close to the AA WS.

I was very excited to hear that at least some shirts were still being printed on AA. I've noticed that the yellow box doesn't seem to be appearing for the new shirts to warn us about the sizing. Does this mean that all of the new shirts are going to be printed on the Anvil blanks now?

mstefani wrote:I was very excited to hear that at least some shirts were still being printed on AA. I've noticed that the yellow box doesn't seem to be appearing for the new shirts to warn us about the sizing. Does this mean that all of the new shirts are going to be printed on the Anvil blanks now?

It looks that way, yes.

mstefani wrote:I was very excited to hear that at least some shirts were still being printed on AA. I've noticed that the yellow box doesn't seem to be appearing for the new shirts to warn us about the sizing. Does this mean that all of the new shirts are going to be printed on the Anvil blanks now?

I think there are still some AA's floating around. Even if there's not a yellow box, you should probably still click on the 'size chart' link. A good way to tell if it's Anvil or AA is whether or not the measurements are in whole numbers. All of the Anvil measurements are in whole inches. (For instance, the new small chest size is 17" compared to the AA's 15 1/2")

morgankohl wrote:I think there are still some AA's floating around. Even if there's not a yellow box, you should probably still click on the 'size chart' link. A good way to tell if it's Anvil or AA is whether or not the measurements are in whole numbers. All of the Anvil measurements are in whole inches. (For instance, the new small chest size is 17" compared to the AA's 15 1/2")

Speaking of measurements... I just measured my Anvil WS and my AA WS. This might be helpful for people still reading to find out more about the new sizing and what will fit them now. The measurements on the size chart only give chest and length, I think.

These are all across, not the full circumference, and both are after washing. I wasn't sure how the length was supposed to be measured. Both shirts were 22.5" from the shoulder to bottom, though:

Anvil (WS):
Chest: 17"
Waist: 16"
Hips: 20"

AA (WS):
Chest: 15.5"
Waist: 14.5"
Hips: 15.5"

BootsBoots wrote:Speaking of measurements... I just measured my Anvil WS and my AA WS. This might be helpful for people still reading to find out more about the new sizing and what will fit them now. The measurements on the size chart only give chest and length, I think.

These are all across, not the full circumference, and both are after washing. I wasn't sure how the length was supposed to be measured. Both shirts were 22.5" from the shoulder to bottom, though:

Anvil (WS):
Chest: 17"
Waist: 16"
Hips: 20"

AA (WS):
Chest: 15.5"
Waist: 14.5"
Hips: 15.5"

That hip measurement is not very proportional....

ochopika wrote:What everyone has been saying is that there is NO size that fits a small woman. It's not the same as having to order a men's size when the women's sizes were too small.
[...]
It's great that Woot listened and responded to those women who had issues with the AA sizes, but why shouldn't they listen to people who can no longer buy their shirts now?

First of all, I want to say that most of us gals posting here who don't fall in the AA WS/WM size range are still sympathetic to those of you who do (or did) and no longer fit into any of the new sizes offered by woot. My guess would be that, as women who buy clothes, many of us definitely do know what it's like to not be able to find a size that fits you in something you love: in short, it really sucks. And as Boots pointed out, in some ways it's worse when it's something you used to be able to buy and wear, but can't anymore, and through no fault or decision of your own.

When Woot was still using AA shirts for everything, it did seem like there were a few women around who did not feel comfortable buying/wearing any of the sizes that were offered. These were women who didn't fit into the limited range of women's sizes and felt that the men's shirts did not fit well enough for them to wear comfortably. I remember seeing posts to this effect somewhere - it might have been in this thread, but I'm not sure. I realize it's not quite the same situation as the one that ladies who wore the AA WS/WM are in now, but I'm sure that to those women, it felt very much the same - like they were being marginalized and ignored by woot. That might explain why some people are responding as if the situations are exactly the same - because the feelings of sadness and "left out"-ness are similar in both situations.

I do think it's an exaggeration to say that woot "listened and responded to those women who had issues with the AA sizes". If this were truly about providing a better fit for their female customers, they would have changed only the women's blanks - or just added a 2X to the women's sizes, as many ladies requested. Very few people had complaints about the fit of the AA men's or kids' blanks. The fact that all of the blanks are changing does seem to indicate that cost was the main consideration here, rather than sizing. And unfortunately, the fact that woot never added a 2X to the women's size lineup in AA doesn't bode well for getting an XS in Anvil. I hope I'm wrong about that last part though!

missmelis wrote:
I do think it's an exaggeration to say that woot "listened and responded to those women who had issues with the AA sizes". If this were truly about providing a better fit for their female customers, they would have changed only the women's blanks - or just added a 2X to the women's sizes, as many ladies requested. Very few people had complaints about the fit of the AA men's or kids' blanks. The fact that all of the blanks are changing does seem to indicate that cost was the main consideration here, rather than sizing. And unfortunately, the fact that woot never added a 2X to the women's size lineup in AA doesn't bode well for getting an XS in Anvil. I hope I'm wrong about that last part though!

I'm sure the cost was a big factor, but I think that Woot may have just as easily gone with a cheaper brand that made smaller sizes, or sizes that fit differently if they weren't thinking about the ladies' sizes. I do think they went with larger, curvier sizes because of the feedback they got from the forums. The beginning of this thread talks about the shirts now fitting women who "dare to have curves". I'm not saying there's anything wrong with accommodating their customers. I'm just saying that it seems like that's why they chose this larger shirt size, so hopefully they'll be just as accommodating when customers ask for a smaller size.
Woot is sure making it look like the size change was intentional, even if the new shirts just happened to be bigger thus providing them with a convenient PR opportunity.

*edit* I do totally get what you meant in the other parts of your post, and I agree. I'm just a little irked that we were asked twice in a row "why not get a kid's size?" when I and many others had already explained why that wasn't gonna work. It's not the actual size issue, it's more that response that was bothering me.

BootsBoots wrote:

Anvil (WS):
Chest: 17"
Waist: 16"
Hips: 20"

AA (WS):
Chest: 15.5"
Waist: 14.5"
Hips: 15.5"

Wakko Talks Faboo!? That hip measurement is ridiculous. No wonder the Anvil shirts are so bizarrely shaped.

elankat wrote:Wakko Talks Faboo!? That hip measurement is ridiculous. No wonder the Anvil shirts are so bizarrely shaped.

I know! And in terms of "curves", proportionately, there is no additional chest space. The shirts are just bigger. There's still only a one inch difference between the chest and waist size. It's just the weird skirt on the bottom that's truly different, proportion-wise. And can just I say...the fact that I can't buy today's super awesome tshirt is making me oh so sad. :'(

morgankohl wrote:I know! And in terms of "curves", proportionately, there is no additional chest space. The shirts are just bigger. There's still only a one inch difference between the chest and waist size. It's just the weird skirt on the bottom that's truly different, proportion-wise. And can just I say...the fact that I can't buy today's super awesome tshirt is making me oh so sad. :'(

Not to mention the hip measurement should actually hit at the fullest part of the hips. After washing, that doesn't seem to be the case.

ochopika wrote:I'm sure the cost was a big factor, but I think that Woot may have just as easily gone with a cheaper brand that made smaller sizes, or sizes that fit differently if they weren't thinking about the ladies' sizes. I do think they went with larger, curvier sizes because of the feedback they got from the forums. ...

Doing some more research, I think that the ladies sizes were incidental in all this, as there were other factors going on with what they ended up with. On the men's side of things, these are some of the major AA 2001 competitors:

Alstyle 5301/5301N - Only up to 2XL, limited colors, made in India or Mexico with USA fabric.
Anvil 980 - Made in Nicaragua, Pakistan, Honduras, or Uzbekistan
District Threads DT104 - Limited colors, inconsistent QC, made in China or India
Gildan 64000 - Most colors only up to 2XL, made in Honduras
Hanes 4980 - Limited colors, imprinted tag, made in Nicaragua?
Next Level 3600 - Only up to 2XL, limited colors, made in Nicaragua or China
Royal Apparel 5051 - Limited colors, made in the USA
Tultex 0202 - Limited colors, inconsistent QC, made in Pakistan or China

Country of origin and social issues aside, the QC is an issue. The lack of 3XL options is an issue. And seeing how we're on our 4th day in a row with gray shirts, lacking the (16) color options there is an issue too. Process of elimination means they're down to one alternate - Anvil.

Of course, they could've left everything alone and stayed with AA, which would've saved a lot of aggravation by the consumers and to a lesser extent, the staffers too ...

Damn. Wishful thinking again.

Narfcake wrote:Doing some more research, I think that the ladies sizes were incidental in all this, as there were other factors going on with what they ended up with. On the men's side of things, these are some of the major AA 2001 competitors:

Alstyle 5301/5301N - Only up to 2XL, limited colors, made in India or Mexico with USA fabric.
Anvil 980 - Made in Nicaragua, Pakistan, Honduras, or Uzbekistan
District Threads DT104 - Limited colors, inconsistent QC, made in China or India
Gildan 64000 - Most colors only up to 2XL, made in Honduras
Hanes 4980 - Limited colors, imprinted tag, made in Nicaragua?
Next Level 3600 - Only up to 2XL, limited colors, made in Nicaragua or China
Royal Apparel 5051 - Limited colors, made in the USA
Tultex 0202 - Limited colors, inconsistent QC, made in Pakistan or China

Country of origin and social issues aside, the QC is an issue. The lack of 3XL options is an issue. And seeing how we're on our 4th day in a row with gray shirts, lacking the (16) color options there is an issue too. Process of elimination means they're down to one alternate - Anvil.

Of course, they could've left everything alone and stayed with AA, which would've saved a lot of aggravation by the consumers and to a lesser extent, the staffers too ...

Damn. Wishful thinking again.

Can't pocket the extra money by staying with AA though.

elankat wrote:Can't pocket the extra money by staying with AA though.

Indeed.