I buy a girly medium.
I bought a girly large in one and it fit me funny because I'm short waisted. So, I wouldn't recommend it if you want to avoid the bottom bunch. But you can look at my product pics and see the mediums.

Also, I usually have to buy somewhere between an 8 and 12 in tops depending on how they're made. (US sizing)

I've got hips... you can look at my pics, if that would help: http://www.threadless.com/profile/260144/ladykat/photos

Some of them are guys' tees (they're easy to spot though) - the rest are Girly M and L.

I'm 5'10", btw.

http://www.threadless.com/profile/422587/jenraskopf/blog/200411/Question_for_quot_curvy_quot_girls

I got a lot of opinions on the matter in this blog... but more related to bustiness than hippiness.

easier to click

Kate, I didn't realize you were so statuesque!

Oops, sorry for the misspelling on Apparel...didn't realize I'd added and extra L. Argh...!

Yeah, I think my height is why I ran into trouble with a long-sleeved tee once (got a M, it was too short... sent it back, next time got a L and it was fine)

I'm writing a loong blog about Threadless fit for curvy girls, coming soon!

Basically, AA shirts are shapeless tubes not at all designed for women. Also, they shrink. My advice is to get something you think will be too big (though the charts on the Threadless site aren't very useful since AA has an error margin of a couple of inches) and then shrink it and/or sew it so it suits your shape (or settle for bagginess round the waist in exchange for a good fit round the hips).

I personally have found the guys' shirts fit better - bizarre, since I have a very feminine shape, but true.

I could give better advice if you posted your measurements in inches. :)

I'm scared to measure! Though I've lost the baby weight, I'm still not happy with how I look now. I used to really like men's shirts, but it seems that in comparison to the Target Perfect Tees, they look like crap...much too long, making a tube out of my midsection down to my thighs, with humongously long sleeves and shoulders coming down onto my upper arms. But doggonit, they don't bunch around the hips. I wish I were more sewing-savvy, I'd cut them shorter and only have to grouse about the too-long shoulders, but I'd really prefer clothing that I didn't have to tailor.

So....measurement-wise...I could likely wear a ladies' medium or large across the chest and shoulders, and would need a men's XL for the hips, but cut shorter so it's not hanging down to my thighs. If it's just grazing the hips, that's perfect. A bit of a tuck at the waist is appreciated but not essential.

I wish I had different hips, but they're what I was born with. Even when I could wear a size zero up on top and was skin and bones, I still had to wear size 7 jeans to fit across the hip bones. Now I'd kill to wear a size 7 anything! I could starve myself for a month and still not get that thin again. Then again, that's how I got that thin back then...not eating. Now I eat garbage food and drink coffee to stay awake all the time. It's horrible for my body, but I don't have many options...insane work hours, no breaks, 3 hrs of sleep a night...not exactly healthy by any stretch of the imagination. I would describe my eating habits as "scavenger" more than anything!

Okay, I give up. Going to go to the darn AmAp shop in Ann Arbor and just try one on for size. I don't want to risk this selling out. I'll also see if I can find a FTL large to see if that's more workable across the shoulders...maybe if I cut off the bottom it would be decent.

if you wear a guys small, this is how a girly large looks against it



but one thing to note, is that AA can shrink very easily.

Hey! If you go down can you blog here again about how they fit and what you went with? I'm always curious aobut the girly shirt fits, I got a girly medium but I'm not sure if I should switch sizes.

Thanks, and good luck!

going to the American Apparel store, check what tshirt you are trying bc they have mutliple different, just plain, regular t's, and I find they fit differently. Like I have a couple from the store that fit me much better than the Threadless ones I buy. But, having said that, I am also not a stick figure, and I buy girly XL. I'm 6' and they are barely long enough for me, so I'd imagine they wouldn't be ridiculously long on a not so tall person.

They're ridiculously long on me. ;)

that's totes helpful sonmi... i just bought a guys medium (the only one left of that design) and a girls large, thinking the medium would fit ok and the large might be a bit big. wrong on both counts! the guys med is too big (but liveable), and the girly large fit so tight across my midsection that it shows my belly in an unflattering light. also, the girly large smooshed my boobs and rode up really high under my arms, which i hate. awful! i'm sticking to guys smalls from now on, girly X-large when i abs have to buy in a girly size. my sizes range around size 10 in the hips and size 6-8 on top, so i was especially puzzled about this fit. strange! hope you have better luck mephi!

meh. I have a huge chest and hips, and they fit alright. They look strained, but I take what I can get.

They're pretty small, even for babydoll tees, so I'd go with one size bigger than you usually wear if you go for the girls' style. I can usually get away with an XL babydoll but these were all quite small even before the first washing.

I got 5 threadless shirts in girly XL at the same time, all different designs/colors, so of course the fabric was different, and some fit better than others. That's something else to consider - just because one shirt fits you in a particular size doesn't mean the next threadless shirt will. Two of mine fit pretty well, two are tight and one is unwearable.

Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a chunky monkey and I've got big bazoombas, (DD) so I have to stretch the two shirts I can wear back out by hand every time I wash them. I was hoping for something I could wear without it being too snug, but with a better fit than the baggy guy's tee. I probably should have gotten a guy's medium, since they're bigger than the girly XL but hey, live and learn. They're still great designs.

Totally agree that the sleeves are too snug under the arms and the shirts aren't too comfy over the chestal area if you have boobage ... Threadless seriously need to get a gal's casual tee, not just babydolls!

I actually find that the girly XL is just perfect. It fits just like a t-shirt should, but for a female, with it cutting in some for the waist, flaring out some for the hips, being shorter than a guy's tee, and having shorter sleeves. Really, these AA shirts are the BEST female t-shirts I have ever found.

I'm 5' 7" and I buy the girly XL. I bought a men's small once and it was too small and tight and didn't fit right at all. I also bought a girly L once, and that only fit me until I washed it. The AA shirts shrink an entire size after washing, but I find that makes them fit perfectly and look fantastic, so it's fine by me.

Another thing to consider is that the AA shirts are much softer and flexible than the Fruit of the Loom tee's. The flow of the fabric really looks very nice on female curves (ie, it actually allows them to be seen!).

I'd recommend the girly tee's over the guy's tees any day.

here http://www.customink.com/items/sizing/30000_lineup/standard.htm

hope it helps!!

Thanks, staycie, that XL model had my measurements, so would have made me a believer if I'd been buying sight unseen. However, after going to the store and trying on for myself (I made sure EVERYTHING, even color, was exactly the same as what I'd hoped to buy), I have come to a much different conclusion. The AA shirts are, sad to say, just out-and-out poor quality. The super-thin material is the same stuff that could once be found on the very cheapest of concert t-shirts, it stretches tight all over, and the cut is not flattering.

Like I said, that last model in the pic has my measurements (I'm approx the same weight/height), but my belly is still a little flabby from having the baby last year. If my abs were perfect, the shirt would be tolerable. But instead it clings to my body and emphasizes EVERYTHING. It makes my chest look huge, which I would have loved when I was a teenager, but isn't so cute on a 34-yr-old mom. Especially when the gut right below looks so unattractive.

The hips look okay, but the material was tight and bunchy across the area, so not the best. This is a babydoll tee, like jooleerat said, and it's small even in comparison with a guy's small. I tried on the guy's sizes as well, hoping to get a sense of how they compare. I was struck by how poorly the guy's shirts fit as well; they were definitely made for guys, not girls. Far too tight across the chest, and felt completely wrong. FTL shirts never fit me so badly. But I know now that if ever they reprint my long-desired Select tee (The Motive), I'll be buying a guy's large or XL rather than the girly XL. Maybe if they made a girly 2XL it would suffice, but I don't know. It simply didn't look classy on someone like me. It looked like I was trying to reclaim my lost youth, or going for the trailer trash look, one or the other (or both). If I were in my early 20's, this would be stylin', though.

I really respect AA's business model and ethics, but I was sorely unimpressed with their quality. I found several shirts on the rack that had stains and marks on them, along with other errors in workmanship that would have landed a FTL shirt in the "slightly irregular" clearance bin. Again, the superthin fabric might be ace for surviving hot LA summers, excellent for skinny actress wannabes and teeny Asian gals, but for an ordinary southwestern/midwestern gal like myself, these are called undershirts.

Threadless, I'm less than dazzled with this shirt. It won't hold up after numerous washings, and isn't right for anyone heavier than me, unless the "stuffed sausage" look is the goal (no offense, anyone, but I'm around 5'06"/160 and that's what I looked like). The material is so thin that it's practically see-through (on the lighter shirts I could see the wooden hanger showing through very clearly).

But hey, if you've got killer abs and a smaller set of hips than me, go for it! I won't be taking that leap. I'm going to stick with the thicker material of the guy's FTL shirt, and just get to work learning to alter & hem the darn things. That means that lower shirt placements will be out, but I wasn't crazy about them anyway, since they emphasize the unhappy gut problems I mentioned earlier (ugh, I used vit E, cocoa butter, and all the rest during my pregnancy, but it's still ugly and flabby, not like regular fat...does this ever go away?)

But yes, the girly shirts ARE softer and more flexible than FTL shirts. I'm just not sure it's worth the trade-off. For best girly fit, nothing beats the Perfect Tee cut I've been able to find at Target. Excellent weight, durability, flexibility, and quality. If I were going for the AA shirt, I'd have to wear a body shaping undergarment...not something I plan on when wearing a tshirt, more something I'd wear under an evening gown.

It would be easier if I weighed less, I know. I'm not trying hard enough to lose the weight. But geez, I just want a shirt that will fit me today, not two years down the line when I have time to exercise and sleep again.

Argh. At least now I know, and will purchase accordingly. Maybe as time goes by and I keep losing more baby weight, the girly XL fit will be more attractive. Nothing ever looks great when the body underneath the clothes isn't what you want it to be.

I actually find that the girly XL is just perfect. It fits just like a t-shirt should, but for a female, with it cutting in some for the waist, flaring out some for the hips, being shorter than a guy's tee, and having shorter sleeves. Really, these AA shirts are the BEST female t-shirts I have ever found.

I have to say, I'm really surprised by that. In my experience, the AA shirts aren't even SLIGHTLY contoured for the female form, despite claims on the website to the contrary. While fitting my chest and hips reasonably, there is a ridiculous amount of spare fabric that bunches up around my waist. But hey, if you've found that they work for you, that's good :)

I'm 5' 7" and I buy the girly XL. I bought a men's small once and it was too small and tight and didn't fit right at all. I also bought a girly L once, and that only fit me until I washed it. The AA shirts shrink an entire size after washing, but I find that makes them fit perfectly and look fantastic, so it's fine by me.

Lucky for you - but what about the people on whom Girly XL is just right and then when they wash it it's ruined? If L was the biggest size they did, you'd be screwed... Not attacking you or anything, I just think it's odd to portray their shrinking as a virtue.

meph, that's a really informative post and I'm glad you've worked out what's best for you. I'll be linking to this blog in my guide, if that's alright with you...

Sure, Vindemiatrix, it's fine by me...I just wish the shirts had worked out, because I'd really wanted them to. Like I said, I admire AA's business model and ethics, they're wonderful in those areas. I plan to go back and buy some shirts for my husband, since they've got some killer ringer tees that he was ogling. And I did like how the girly shirts fit in the shoulders, they were spot-on for my little shoulders. The girly tees did fit better across the chest than the guys' tees did, and they curved in at the belly, which the guys' tees did not.

Damn, I wish that I was thin enough to fit into those girly tees. There's a shirt I'd wanted to buy that is only available in girly sizes, and I'd been holding out hope that if nothing else, the XL would work. Now I have to wait for a reprint, and that's probably not happening anytime soon. Grrrr!!!

For all of you who look great in those AA girly tees, I applaud you. I remember having a body like that, and it sure felt fabulous to fit into anything I liked! It's going to take a lot of suffering for me to get that fit again.

One last thing...when all else fails and you REALLY love a shirt design, there's the option of buying what's available, cutting out the design, and sewing it onto another shirt. I've been considering doing this, but don't know if I'm desperate enough yet. Plus I'm not sure that it will look all that great. But it might look good, might give it some dimension, that's not so bad. A gifted seamstress could make it look right, I'm sure. Anyway....

This is a really helpful thread--thanks for posting!

ahhh! so much conflicting information! there are so many blogs on girly versus boys shirts and im REALLY poor so i cant afford buying the wrong size to test. ok so i just found (to my pleasant surprise) that i actually own a threadless shirt. i bought it years ago at a 2nd hand store while visiting the us.
so im posting photos of me wearing this (yes i know its not pretty but there you go). As you can see it doesnt fit nicely but i would still wear it just because of the design.


this first one is without undersinglet (and horribly see-through) and the second is with.
ok so what it says on the shirt is Classic Girl-American Apparel M/OS
wtf does M/OS mean? medium /or small??

my measurements are-
chest: 38
waist:32
hips:37 (when i say hips i just measured around the fattest part-around where the shirt stops)

thats what that size looks like on me and it is after washing so i just have no idea what to do.
does anyone have these measurements or really close too them and have found a shirt that fits (and stays fitted)?
sorry i know this must have been asked a billion times but i really cant afford to test sizes as i live in nz and its 6.50 postage.

fucking hell! why are the photos huge!

yeah ok i give up.

I wear a Girly Large or Guy's Small.

Look at my pictures and try to judge from that, if you can.

Color also makes a difference. I do not own an eggplant shirt.

thanks rainydays :)

I end up wearing a girly XL even though I wear M in almost every other kind of female-sized shirt. I find this highly annoying. And since AA quality and sizing seems to vary, that means I run the risk, every single time, of getting one I can't wear.

I bought the long sleeve Holding Pattern last week, and it was excellent -- it runs slightly larger, and it is about perfect. But, still, I shouldn't have to be ordering XL. That's just wacky. (I have a largish rib cage for my height but hardly any boobs, so M clothing is generally right for me.) I have to say, AA's sizing makes me think a lot less of them, if someone as small as I am can find them too small. Would it hurt them to make some larger sizes?

they let you return and exchange though if the size is wrong, correct?

hey, so what happened to the problem, did you get it fixed?

i thought that the threadless shirts would look good but, like everyone else said here, they weren't.

i got a girl's medium
and i'm 5'2"
with a 30 hips
36 a cup bust
i don't really know what my waist is
but yeah, the sleeves were too short
and the print kind of fades after you wash it a few times
...

Are American Apparel items imported from China? The sizes sound like they are based on Chinese sizes. I order clothes from China sometimes and an American medium is a XL in China.