Clothing sizes – This blew my mind!

by Christine on December 13th, 2011

filed under Christine's Life Updates, General Information

I’ve had something bother me all week.

We do trivia at a local bar every week. And one of the trivia questions last week was something to the effect of, “A US Size 10 in women’s clothing equates to how big of a waist, in inches?”

I thought, man, that’s an easy question! I had JUST measured my waist the night before! I have a measuring tape hanging on my bathroom door, which I used once a week during my journey to skinny. It had been a while since I measured, so I busted that baby out.

  • I have a 28 inch waist.
  • I’m 5’2. So I’m a petite.
  • I wear a size 4 pant comfortably. (Sometimes a size 2, depending on the brand.)

(sidenote: That’s approx. 2 inches more than reaching my “low/goal weight” a year ago, when I measured in at 26.5 inches. Same weight, bigger waist = clear indication that I’m not exercising.)

So keeping that in mind, and the fact that women’s clothing sizes go up every 2 sizes, I figured that a Size 10 would be something like a 34 or 36 inch waist, right? I guessed 36 inches.

Got the answer wrong.

WRONG! 

Guess how big of a waist is a US Size 10? 28 inches!!

But wait! That’s what size MY waist is, and I wear a Size 4!!

According to the charts, a Size 4 should have about a 24 inch waist.  24 inches? Seriously? Who is that teeny? (According to some reports, Megan Fox and Kelly Ripa…)

So either this information is totally F-ed up, or my body is totally out of wack. I don’t know. How does that logic work on you ladies?

Here’s some stats to back up the trivia leader’s answer.

https://www.wmsclothing.com/sizing.html

http://www.rodcollins.com/wordpress/what-dress-size-or-waist-size-am-i-really

http://www.orvis.com/intro.aspx?subject=850#women_size

http://www.overstock.com/sizing.html

 

That’s F-ed up. No wonder women go insane when they shop for clothes. The shit doesn’t make a single bit of sense!

Just for some other fun celebrity info….Marilyn Monroe had a 22 inch waist, Audrey Hepburn had a 20 inch waist, Princess Di had a 27 inch waist at the highest, Kate Winslet has a 29 inch waist…  This is a fun website to check out….

Related Posts with Thumbnails
Share

Tags:
Posted in Christine's Life Updates, General Information | 2 Comments

  • Linda Sherwood

    In high school, I weighed 145 and had a 24″ waist. I wore a size 9/10. This was in 1989. Why/How I remember this I have no idea, but I do.

  • jnwalsh1

    There’s no uniform standard for sizing; manufacturers put whatever they want on clothes to flatter us (google “vanity sizing;” I’ve blogged about it a lot.  I have several of my mother’s cocktail dresses from the early 1960s, labeled size 6.  She was 5’1″ and never weighed more than 105 lbs. other than when she was pregnant.  She had tiny shoulders, a 23″ waist and was very small boned.  I am 5’5″, a very muscular/athletic 140 lbs., with wide shoulders, a big rib cage, a 28″ waist…and guess what size I wear? A six. Right. Lane Bryant now sizes their clothes 2, 4, 6, etc., I’ve heard, to make shoppers feel better (a 2 would be somewhat equivalent to a size 14 in a department store, I guess).  In Ann Taylor LOFT I wear a size TWO in jeans and an XS in shirts…I’m a 38D with a rib cage big enough to house a parrot, and I wear an XS…I have no idea where the truly tiny people like my mom was would shop these days.

|