My gender has been confirmed. Yay!
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Author Archives: Tin Man
Film
The Internet connection in our office was out all day today. Totally unfair. What am I supposed to do at work without Internet access?
It turned out there are these papers on my desk, called “work.” So I did them.
Er, it.
Okay, okay. I always get work done. It’s just that I got so much more done without Internet access. (But thank goodness for MP3s.)
I’ve seen two interesting movies lately. Over the weekend I saw Swimming Pool, which was very good, although strange. There were so many unattractive men in the movie that the prize for Most Attractive Actor went to a guy who looked like a 1970s porn star. But then there was Ludivine Savignier. Damn. She’s. Hot.
Sexual spectrum much?
The other movie I saw was The Secret Lives of Dentists. Campbell Scott. Mmm. (Except for the mustache he sported.) Weird movie with some unnecessary plot developments, but great acting, and worth seeing.
This is one of the reasons I love New York: the independent/foreign film scene.
XS
I went to the Gap a couple of weeks ago to buy some new clothes. I left with only a ribbed white t-shirt and a package of briefs, because those were the only things in the entire store that were small enough for me. (Please note that when I’m referring to briefs being small enough for me, I’m referring to waist size.)
On my receipt was a number to call so I could participate in a Gap survey and thereby get 10 percent off my next in-store purchase. I finally called the number yesterday. A nice Valley girl in California read through the questions, and I gave my responses in the form of a number between one and five — the more I agreed with the statement, the higher the number I was to give. I gave fives for courtesy of the sales staff, helpfulness, friendliness, help in finding what I needed, time waiting to check out. But for overall satisfaction of my visit, I gave a three.
I’m 5 foot 6 and weigh 125 pounds, and my size is an inconvenience when I shop for clothes — especially since I’m a gay man and must therefore wear clothes that are a little tight-fitting and not too big on me. The only shirts from the Gap that truly fit me are XS (extra small), but although they sell that size online, they rarely sell it in the stores. They’ve got S, M, L, XL, and XXL (and maybe XXXL, I’m not sure). It pisses me off that such a large percentage of the American population is overweight or obese these days that stores have no problem stocking their shelves with XL or XXL but don’t feel the need to make it convenient for us XS guys to find what we need. In jeans I should probably wear 30×28 or 29×28, but Gap rarely has those in the store either.
After we finished the survey questions, I was allowed to give comments, so I mentioned this. The Valley girl was sympathetic, and she offered to check the Gap database to see if there were other stores near me that carried XS. She checked, and there weren’t. And we’re talking about Manhattan. Now, I can totally buy my size online, but I’m more of an impulse buyer when it comes to clothing. Oh, well.
It’s not just the Gap. On my birthday last year, my dad decided that at some point during the day, he was going to take me to Bloomingdale’s to buy me a new suit. We combed through the racks and couldn’t find a 38 Short anywhere. Next time I go suit-shopping I’ll probably try the Boys’ Department.
I need to expand my wardrobe anyway. I checked out Express (formerly Structure) recently, and they didn’t have much that I like. People keep telling me to check out H&M or Century 21, so I think I’ll do that — if they have anything that fits me.
Or maybe I’ll just open a clothing store for little guys like me.
While I’m on the subject — seriously, can anyone recommend a nice-fitting brand of jeans?