All across Louisiana parents are looking at their bank balance and plotting and planning how they are going to afford back-to-school clothes. It is getting to be that time of year in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and other cities and towns across the state. So that means mom and dad are having to figure out, what size their kids are this year.

Clothing manufacturers are not telling the truth when it comes to sizes. This is why no matter what size you think you happen to be, you need to try the garment on before you plunk down your hard-earned money and walk out of the store with it. Some of us have learned that lesson the hard way

Derick Mckinney via Unsplash.com
Derick Mckinney via Unsplash.com
loading...

But in our defense, the fact that clothing manufacturers are misleading the public and doing so willingly is the reason we struggle to find shirts that stay tucked and pants that don't fall down. In our headline, we used the example of XXL and 2XL. But it's not just the "big boy" sizes that the labels lie about.

Ladies, am I right about the labels that lie? How many of you comfortably wear a dress that's one size from one store and wear another dress just as comfortably from another store but are labeled two sizes larger or two sizes smaller? Manufacturers do that to feed our egos.

They even call the practice "vanity sizing". Since we all like being able to brag about how we got a garment on sale and just how small the size was, garment makers deliberately deflate the number on the label so we'll feel better about just how fat we really are.

Siora Photography
Siora Photography
loading...

But speaking of fat, of which I am considered to be morbidly obese, thank you faulty federal government eating guidelines, that's where the XXL vs 2 XL differences really show. The labeling works like this. An XXL shirt is one size larger than an XL which is one size larger than a Large. The cut of the garment is the same it's just done "on a larger scale" no pun intended.

Towfiqu via Unsplash.com
Towfiqu via Unsplash.com
loading...

A 2XL garment is cut differently. In fact, it's half a size bigger than an XXL. The cut of the garment is also different. The 2XL is cut to be roomier for those who are obese and have larger curves. So, while the XXL seems like it should be equal to the 2XL they are in fact two different sizes.

Ginger Billy via YouTube
Ginger Billy via YouTube
loading...

The same scenarios apply for XL vs 1XL. However, I can still find no logical explanation for how someone can be a Size 0. Talk about vanity. Here in Louisiana, we like to tell people that "we cooked the cure to skinny jeans". There's no need for those tight pants here.

10 Foods Louisiana People Can't Live Without

Gallery Credit: Stephanie Crist