User blog comment:Xandermcc/Supergirl S2 E3: President Wonder Woman!/@comment-5441128-20170703221145/@comment-27700324-20170717175328

That is because Smallville has a guy as a lead so his clothes breaking apart don't matter since being shirtless for guys is something that happens all the time on television. For Supergirl it is different. However another reason is that Smallville's costumes are terrible and replacable. Supergirl's isn't.