What if there were negative sizing? Like -4 or something. I bet all the girls in Hollywood would be dying to be able to say they were a -4.

I like the idea that someone else had of using the sizes that the stores offer and say first size, second size, etc. That would give us a better grasp on what these retailers are doing.

On the plus size thing...I find it interesting that Lane Bryant is FINALLY coming back with the original NON-stretch jeans. It's crazy though -- Stretch jeans and non-stretch of the same size aren't at all the same. You could wear a 20 stretch, but that would mean like a 24 non-stretch. Not surprising, just interesting.

Edited: I said it backwards...

EDITED AGAIN: DOH - backwards...

LOL!!

That's because with maternity clothes, the cut is different to allow for hip, butt and thigh expanditure that usually accompanies many women's pregnancies. I bought a pair of GAP maternity jeans in my regular size and wore them a lot from 16-28 weeks. Now, at 31 weeks, they're a little more snug than I would like. I bought the next size up and while they're still a little big, they're so much more comfortable! You're already uncomfortable enough while pregnant, clothes shouldn't make you even more so. ;)

No kidding. I'm pretty miserable right now. My GAP jeans fit on my stomach but not my thighs. My legs are still about the same so I have chicken legs and then the belly. Mr. uksparkle told me I kind of look like Big Bird which is NOT what you say to a pregnant woman.

<--- Couldn't fit into a 00 to save her life!

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I wish women's clothing was sized like men's - by waist, and inseam for pants; bust & sleeve for tops, then a combination for a dress. No more vanity, but wearing the same size in EVERY store, not an Ann Taylor 6 and a Banana Republic 10!! It makes me crazy!

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I'd like to agree with everyone who said that clothes sizing is nuts. I refuse to buy an article of clothing without trying it on, because I don't know what size I really am--they're all different! And I hate how clothing sizes just keep changing...my mom gave me a bunch of her old clothes from the 70s and 80s, and they're size 8s and 10s. In today's sizes, I wear anything from a 1 to a 5, and that just seems ridiculous. It just depends on what it is and what brand. Gaaaah! It's enough to drive you crazy!

Talbots Woman has size X/12W. I don't know if it's vanity sizing. I think it's sort of based on Europe, particularly Marina Rinaldi, which is actually 10W to 22W in American equivalents. I have some size X stuff from TLB Woman.

I'm not sure I understand the wide sizing either. Do the measurments reflect the hip size and is a 12w really all that different from a 14?

I wish women's clothes were sized like that too. I am a medium who can't get her boobs into a medium and buys larges and spends $$$$ getting them altered to not be huge on her. lol

I feel your pain, i'm the same way. And my boobs aren't THAT big. I have small shoulders, so when I get a larger size, the shoulders look ridiculous. The problem with having boobs as well is that since the material is trying to fit over your boobs, it is making the shirt shorter. I have a ridiculous time trying to keep a dress shirt tucked into my skirt or pants when wearing a suit.

I really wish there was some sort of uniformity, at least SOMETHING. In my rotation of clothing that I currently wear, I have shirts ranging in XS, S, M, L. Each of them fits me well.

It's not even that I care about what the tag says, I just want shopping to be easier if i'm trying a new store or label. Instead of having to try on a billion things to figure out what I take.

Omar the tentmaker can whip up something to encompass the vast breasts of every woman on GC.

I never buy clothing from a catalogue or online because I never know how it’s going to fit. One store’s size 6 could be another’s size 8. In my closet, my shirts range from XS to M and my pants range from 0-5. That’s a pretty big range.

Stores have been redoing their sizing over the years. Express just did about 2 years ago. I have pants from there from over two years ago in a size 2 that fits perfectly. Any new pants that I purchase from there need to be in a 0. I feel like the only companies who haven’t redone their sizing are the high-end clothing lines. A size 0 at Express is definitely not a size 0 (or size 24/25) in Seven jeans!

I hate to disagree, but not all stores' smallest sizes are equivalent...and add in the whole "petite" thing..good grief, I have no idea what size I am. The weird thing for me is that Mr. Silver can literally pick something off the rack (irregardless of the tag size) and say, "Try this on." Usually it fits perfectly...even if it looks too big or too little...so weird. Mr. Silver has MUCH better tastes in clothes than I do!
Silver

Generally, a "w" or women's cut is slightly larger than the corresponding misses' size. So a 12w is larger than a 12 misses, and probably does have some relationship to a 14 misses. I swing between both; I find misses' to have a more refined, shaped cut.