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Signal Corps Photo
Sizes Then & Now
There is a cohort of history maniacs who periodically bleat that we should follow the WWII sizing tariffs to the letter- make the same ratio of each size uniform as was done in the 1940’s. Then their time warp will finally be correct! These guys may be intelligent and capable in other disciplines, but when it comes to selling clothing they’d be bankrupt within 30 days. Why?
Biologically-born-male humans are proportioned a bit differently today than they were during World War II.
According to the US Army QMC, the average WWII soldier was 5′ 8″ tall, 144 pounds, wore a 36R jacket, 32 x 32 trousers, and 9D shoes. Today, as per multiple sources on Google, the average American male is 5’9″ tall, weighs 197 pounds, wears a 42R jacket, has a waist of 40″ and 10D shoes.
So…that additional 50+ pounds of modern muscle makes the WWII tariffs functionally useless. The average sizes we sell today mimic the modern averages almost to the letter: 42 chest, 40 waist, and 10.5D shoes.
I used the tables in Appendix XXIII from “Quartermaster Supply in the ETO in WWII, Vol. 3” and our most recent sales ratios, extrapolated those numbers to match the quantities from 1945 and created comparison tables in both raw numbers and percentages.
The US Army numbers are what the Quartermaster predicted 100,000 men would need as replacements every 30 days. (13,000 field jackets and 35,900 HBT trousers).
(Click on table for larger image. Yes, it’s secure.)
Not an indictment: Yes, I realize that the average age of soldiers in 1945 was younger than that of our average customer, and that they were typically more physically active, frequently had poor and/ or restricted diets etc, etc…
I’m not dimension shaming nor attempting to pull any triggers in any way- these are just real statistics, then versus now. This also explains why there are next to no originals in larger sizes.
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