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In the 1980's people wrote about malls as cultural centers, as temples to shopping. Now, they're dying.
Many observers are speculating about the growing trend of so-called dead malls: once-flourishing, large retail spaces that now have a high vacancy rate, low numbers of pedestrian traffic, or the lack of an "anchor" store (typically a department chain). Is it because of economic recession, or stagnant middle-class wages and growing income inequality? Or has the death of these malls been hastened by the rapid growth of online shopping?
It's difficult to say, but the dead mall phenomenon is becoming a cultural item of interest -- for retail historians, urban explorers and documentarians alike. We may read about dead malls in The New York Times or The Atlantic, but film footage can say much more than words.
Is Amazon to blame?
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday April 26 2017, @02:00AM (1 child)
Oh, and by the way, size inflation (deflation?) is a real thing, and not just for women. And the less "hip" the store, generally the more screwy the sizes get. Try actually measuring the size of your pants waist sometime. Unless you buy pants from outside the U.S. or from an honest suit store, expect the marked size to be 2-4 inches less than measured. Some stores are now even doing 6 or 8 inches larger than claimed size.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday April 26 2017, @02:54PM
That sounds like a meme legacy brick and mortar stores would advertise against online shopping.
I've never experienced anything like that when online shopping and it sounds like it would be extremely expensive and difficult to implement.
So as a practical engineering matter how does one manufacture mens pants such that my 32 inch inseam is delivered as 32 inches plus or minus like half an inch at most, yet somehow the inches around the waist is 8 inches bigger or whatever?
My second best theory about this, after the false rumor theory, is its just legendary Chinese quality control at work and people retcon the hopelessly too large clothing as intentional commie plot while "forgetting" the miscut mismanufactured pants that were 8 inches too small to put on. Note that kind of mistake isn't a minor error in shrinkage or calibration but is approaching 25% error, which is staggering, like they rebooted the fabric cutting machine while it was cutting or something.
8 inches is no laughing matter, man, that would turn "kinda short" pants inseam into something like capri's or board shorts if they cut 8 inches short. Nobody ever put 32 inseam pants on a 32 inseam body and saw its actually 24 and I'm showing 7 or so inches of hair calves. Or imagine me trying to wear 40 inch inseam pants on a 32 inch inseam frame, the pants would go past my toes, I think? It would be close anyway. It would be like onesie pajamas which admittedly were pretty cool when I was about 4.
My third best theory is its the fashion industry being more insane than normal and the logical next step beyond pants that hang down to my knees is parachute pants so incredibly baggy I could fit a petite chick in there with me. It might be the clothing designer has simply gone temporarily insane, which doesn't count.