Remember when everyone used to think 'oversized' just meant baggy?

I was looking at some old sketches from design school, like 2010 stuff, and it hit me. Back then, 'oversized' in streetwear just meant huge hoodies and pants that pooled at your ankles. The real trick, which I learned from a pattern maker in LA, is that the shoulder seam should still sit right, just with extra fabric through the body and sleeves. I see so many new designers miss that balance, and the clothes just look sloppy instead of cool. Anyone else notice this shift in how we think about fit?

3 comments

3 Comments

robinson.holly2mo ago

Totally! It's like the word got watered down to just mean "big." That pattern maker is spot on, it's all about keeping the structure right while letting the rest flow. That's the difference between looking dressed and just wearing a tent.

henry_webb682mo ago

Yeah, @robinson.holly is right about that structure thing... I bought this "oversized" shirt last month and the shoulders are way down my arms, it just looks wrong. That old rule about the shoulder seam is key, otherwise it's just a mess.

barbarahill15d ago

And it's not just clothes either, I see this same thing happening with furniture and even food portions. Like how "artisan bread" now just means any round loaf from the grocery store, or how "vintage" gets slapped on anything older than five years. The words lose their meaning when people just use them for marketing buzz instead of actually describing something specific. It's like we're all speaking a language where the definitions keep shifting and nobody bothered to update the dictionary.