I’m pretty sure I’ve blogged about this before, but why does shopping for pants have to be so hard?

I found that The Gap’s pants fit me fairly consistently. Until I tried to find jeans.

Let me get something out of the way… I am currently wearing a size 16. A size 16 short, to be exact. On the surface, this would make me out to be somewhat dumpy, and maybe I am, but whatever. I’ve gained about 10 lbs. since the wedding last year; 10 lbs. which will hopefully be gone by 2007, but all the same, I couldn’t go on wearing the 12s in my closet. (I still more or less fit in the 14s.)

But about half of the stores at the mall don’t carry anything bigger than a 12. A 12! I think the average woman in the U.S. wears a 12 or a 14! And 95% of stores don’t carry anything larger than a 14. Ridiculous!

If you’re a man, how fat do you have to be before you can no longer buy pants in a regular store? REALLY FAT. Meanwhile, average-sized women like me are traipsing around to 3 different malls trying to find one pair of goddamned jeans.

Even at The Gap and Old Navy, which consistently carry up to size 18, the pickings are slim. Either they aren’t ordering enough double-digit sizes, or the double-digit sizes are selling out before I get there. This can’t possibly be good business. The clearance racks are full of XSs and 0s and 2s. If they stocked what people actually buy, they would make more money, and I wouldn’t have spent 4 hours this week trying on 30 pairs of jeans.

Anyway, I got a pair of size 16S DKNY jeans at Macy’s for about $50. I almost bought the $90 Michael Corrs pair as well, but… Those 10 lbs. are coming off, dammit!

P.S. to The Gap employees: A size 14 “with a little stretch” does NOT equal a size 16. You are doing NOBODY a favor by suggesting such.