Differences in sizing...

Sizes are just weird. I sometimes wonder if every manufacturer/designer uses a different chart and/or set of measurements.

I am 5'4", my measurements are 43/33/44, and I wear a 10/12. I don't think I wear my clothes tight or loose. I think there is no industry standard, so it makes it hard for anyone to figure out what size to wear. Even within the same brand I have noticed the fit isn't always the same. Go figure.

I have gotten fairly skilled at holding something up, no matter what the tag says, and guesstimating if it will fit before trying it on.

I want to know why it's hard to find plain jeans. I don't want jeans with glitter, huge pockets, or rhinestones on my butt.

YES to the no glitter or rhinestones on the butt! I had to give in and buy capris with rhinestones because I couldn't find ANY that fit right without. I really didn't want any!

When I was growing up, sizes were based on half of waist measurement.  A size 10 was a 20 inch waist.  A size 12 a 24 inch waist.  Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14 because her waist was 28.  You could find clothes in most stores that went up to size 18 or 36 waist.

Anyone larger than that had to learn to sew their own clothes or have them custom made.  I had a friend who went to New York to buy her wedding dress in a size 40.  She was extremely obese and very pregnant.

Manufacturers realized one day that there would be a market selling ready-made clothes to larger women.  They expanded to size 20, 22, 24, then later in the size 30's.  Then they decided to use vanity sizing.  What was size 8 in 1958 became size 6 in the 1970's, size 4 in the 1980's, and was size 0 by 2011. 

I think that where you carry your weight determines your size AND where you put the measureing tape and how tight it is held. When I was fat, it was easy to measure.  Now that I have a lot of excess skin, it is hard to get a measurement.  I can move that skin into whatever container I want.  Ex:  I usually wear a size 4 short shorts and a size 2 pants.  Too much skin gets pushed down the legs for a smaller size in shorts.  I can wear some pants that show a 3 inch gap at my crotch.  I can pull the skin from my legs and give myself an ass in jeans.  I am slim in the hips and legs.  I have large calves and carry a lot of weight in my back.  My shirt sizes are all over the block and are determined by the bra I wear.  A sports bra will pull in the hanging skin on my back.   Soooo, if you were a pear, you will take larger size bottoms, if you are an apple, you will need larger size tops.  If you are built like a man like me, larger shoulders, back fat (yes) and back skin, and no butt or thighs, then I can wear a size 2.  I bought a size 1 dress pants at Kohl's this weekend for job interviews.