Smedium Rare: The Epidemic of Male Size Blindness
“I don’t like shorts.”
“You don’t like shorts because you pick ones that don’t fit you.”
Above is a small snippet from a conversation with my boyfriend where I, filled with exacerbation, made the point I make to all men I know.
You don’t like that piece of clothing because it's a smedium.
All my life I’ve been haunted by an epidemic called the Curse of the Men's “smedium.” The men's smedium is something we are all familiar with and can be summarized simply.
Smedium is a representative term for ill fitting sizes, a size American men seem endlessly infatuated with. It is a word created in an effort to define the poison of size blindness that seems to reside in the bones of most men. Let it be known that the essence of smedium can apply to any ill fitting size, whether that be an extra small or an extra large.
Perhaps my endless irritation with the phenomenon of smedium was always heightened due to the fact that I grew up with both a European born father prone to getting his clothing tailored and an American born brother who never quite figured out the art of learning his clothing size. After all, how many times have my father and I told him, “It’s not too small, it just fits you!”
Regardless of the reason, it is all too common a phenomenon and drives me nuts.
Many times men take to sizing up their shirt and pant size under the false impression that a more baggy cut will make them look bigger and stronger. This is a wildly incorrect perspective, as a shirt that is too big will often cause you to look shrunken in comparison to the cut of the shirt. Additionally, a shirt that is too large will hide flattering aspects such as your natural frame or upper arms.
The same concept goes for shorts or pants. If your pants or shorts are too lengthy, it can cause you to look shorter.
However, some men swing to the other extreme, wearing clothing too small for them in order to appear, once again, larger. A shirt or pants that are too tight can prove to be just as unflattering as a garment that is too large, hugging your assets in all the wrong ways and turning them against you as they try to burst out of the seams.
This genre of sizing mistake can cut the body awkwardly, with hems oftentimes sitting too high, causing the wearer to look overgrown in their clothing. There is no quicker way to destroy an otherwise wonderful outfit than to look like you have hit a growth spurt halfway to the function.
So dear men. If you want to look your best, the best way to do that is to learn your size. Nothing will compliment your body like the clothing made for it. Don’t be afraid to use a fitting room or visit a tailor. Take a tip from our European counterparts. Just ditch the smedium. It’ll go a long way.
Strike out,
Alara Ataman
Boca Raton
Alara Ataman is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine. An avid fan of fashion, this Pisces can be found scrolling through Depop or elbows deep in a thrift store looking for the perfect piece. If you can’t find her doing this, you may find her browsing numerous cafes in her endless quest for the perfect iced coffee. You can reach her at @leopard_fawn on most social media platforms.
