Sunday, June 09, 2019

The Key Information

It being Summer, and given the events of last year, I find myself in need of a new Summer jacket. (The "events of last year" being that I decided my old Summer jacket needed replaced, and so I got rid.) And so I find myself visiting various stores' websites trying to find a suitable jacket - ideally, I'd like to assemble a very short shortlist, then go and look at the items in the flesh, and then decide.

Unfortunately, my key question when buying a jacket (after "does it look vaguely okay") concerns internal pockets: does it have some, if so how many, how big, and how do they seal? Those are the key questions I have, and ultimately those will be the things that decide between one jacket and another.

Instead, the websites consist of picture after picture of their models wearing the jackets. And, in basically every case, the jackets look fine. Not surprisingly, given that they're being worn by professional models. (Oh, and because designing a jacket that looks basically okay isn't that hard - there's just not that much variation possible, or indeed wanted.)

For the benefit of the various shops: when selling men's clothing, you might want to try selling them like you would electronic toys. That is, fill up the page with lots of lovely technical specifications: what materials are used, just how waterproof is it? And, yes, what are the actual details of the pockets on the thing - just saying "it has some" really isn't helpful.

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