Can someone explain men's jean sizes to me?

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batorkin
batorkin Posts: 281 Member
edited January 2018 in Health and Weight Loss
My tape measure shows my waist (at belly button) is 40" and my hip measurement is 40.5". I am definitely not small. Clicking the size charts on jean websites shows if you have a 40" waist you should be wearing 40" jeans (In my case, 40x32). However, I wear 32x32 jeans and actually think I should be in 30x32 jeans because they are slightly loose. Most jeans only go down to 28x32, and I still have 32 pounds to go.

I don't understand this at all. How am I almost at the smallest size most companies make and still considered "Obese" body fat % level by my doctor? How is anything going to fit me after I lost another 30+ pounds?

For reference, I am 6'1" and 210 pounds. He wants me to be about 170-180. My BMI is considered overweight but my BF% is considered Obese.

Replies

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Vanity sizing.

    At my lightest I would vary between a size 0 to a size 4 depending on brand. This is because some companies are really bad about vanity sizing.

    This past Halloween I bought a costume from Walmart. I grabbed a small, but didn't check the size chart first. When I got home I realized it was way too big. Looked at the size chart and apparently Walmart considers a 30" waist to be a small. Any costume store I've ever been to a 30" waist is a large/x-large.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
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    Wait. Men have vanity sizing with the numbers? I thought that those were actually supposed to be true to size and the LETTER sizes were vanity-based??
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited January 2018
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    aeloine wrote: »
    Wait. Men have vanity sizing with the numbers? I thought that those were actually supposed to be true to size and the LETTER sizes were vanity-based??

    Nope. It's just as bad with men's clothing as it is for women.
    54cb625d91378_-_waistline-measurement-chart-for-men-090710-xlg.jpg

    liar_liar_pants_on_fire_infographic_GM_14.png
  • batorkin
    batorkin Posts: 281 Member
    edited January 2018
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    Vanity sizing.

    At my lightest I would vary between a size 0 to a size 4 depending on brand. This is because some companies are really bad about vanity sizing.

    This past Halloween I bought a costume from Walmart. I grabbed a small, but didn't check the size chart first. When I got home I realized it was way too big. Looked at the size chart and apparently Walmart considers a 30" waist to be a small. Any costume store I've ever been to a 30" waist is a large/x-large.

    That was my thought, but here's the size chart for the new jeans I just bought: https://i.imgur.com/OFt5Q7E.png

    It says 32x32 should have a 31.50" waist. My waist is 40" on a good day, 41" on a bad day. I can fit my entire hand in there when wearing a 32x32, so honestly I think 30x32 would be better. According to the official chart, I should have a 29.53" waist in order to wear those (which seems incredibly small for a man).

    It's like these companies aren't even doing measurements.
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    aeloine wrote: »
    Wait. Men have vanity sizing with the numbers? I thought that those were actually supposed to be true to size and the LETTER sizes were vanity-based??

    Nope. It's just as bad with men's clothing as it is for women.
    -snip-

    Well this explains it... Isn't this a form of false advertisement? When they say 36" jeans, they should be close to that. All pairs of my wrangler jeans I just bought are 8" bigger than what the tag says.

    This is so far off that i'll need to go to another brand after losing more weight because their smallest size (28") is actually 36".
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,740 Member
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    Position you're wearing them? Compressibility?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    My waist measures ~41". I'm wearing 36 jeans right now.

    Question is, what was my waist measure when I was wearing size 52 pants? And, no I never measured it before losing weight.
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
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    Def vanity sizing. It's the same with women. I often wonder if it ever strikes people as odd that a 200 lbs 5'5 lady tells people she wears a size 7 or 8? Lol. It's all about vanity sizing.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I asked my dh about his experience and he thought sizing wasn't too off in his experience. He gets pants from Duluth Trading Company these days. Maybe try out some other brands.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Where do ladies buy clothes that are somewhat true to size? I consider myself a medium, but wear XS from most stores.

    This chart explains why hubs has put on a few # but can still buy a 36”. I had no idea they had vanity sizes for men.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I figured I'd buy my 32" Levi 501 jeans when I got to 165. All that did was teach me not to wear them until I get to 150.
  • bcradio1
    bcradio1 Posts: 43 Member
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    Sounds genetic or mislabeled jeans.

    I am 6'1" and 155lbs and wear a size 32x32 jean and could not fit into a 30x32 as it would be too tight. If i gained 60 lbs there is no way i would fit in a 32x32.
  • FlyingMolly
    FlyingMolly Posts: 490 Member
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    Do the jeans actually sit at the level of your bellybutton? Some men carry more of their weight above their pants, which would of course affect the sizing.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,740 Member
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    bcradio1 wrote: »
    Sounds genetic or mislabeled jeans.

    I am 6'1" and 155lbs and wear a size 32x32 jean and could not fit into a 30x32 as it would be too tight. If i gained 60 lbs there is no way i would fit in a 32x32.

    5'7" (171.25cm) 155kbs 32x30.
    Kirkland more tight than Levi's.
    Belt 34 middle two holes.

    At ~165 I was wearing 34x30s.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    FlyingMolly wrote: »
    Do the jeans actually sit at the level of your bellybutton? Some men carry more of their weight above their pants, which would of course affect the sizing.

    Yes, this. Measure at the line your pans sit, not around your gut - which if you carry excess fat around your midsection like 90% of men, will be a greater circumference than your actual waistline.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    FlyingMolly wrote: »
    Do the jeans actually sit at the level of your bellybutton? Some men carry more of their weight above their pants, which would of course affect the sizing.

    It's what I thought too. Lots of men carry extra weight in their belly, and that typically goes over the jeans line anyway.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
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    It's good to know that men deal with this just as much as women.

    It's hard for me to find jeans long enough. I'm 5'11, but I'm all leg, at least 36" inseam. But I'm also pretty light...142lbs. I bought a size 4 Tall Skinny Jeans from Old Navy online a few months ago and they are too big (everywhere, baggy waist, hips, butt and legs). I have a 28" waist and 39" hips. A 4 should be a 27. I SHOULD be able to go buy a 6 and they fit right. So, now I need a 2 and they don't carry 2 talls, so I just have to deal with big pants. Or gain weight.

    This is why I've never gone by "clothes" size to measure my body size. The scale doesn't lie, clothes manufacturers do.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    edited January 2018
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    5'11" 230ish 38-39 waist Levi 40s.

    Dress slacks are about the same 40/42s. I have relatively thick thighs, so even when I get down to around 37, I still have trouble getting into 38s.

    In order to fit comfortably around a waist, there needs to be .5-1 inch of leeway. anything more than that is certainly cheating and dishonest.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    Yes, it's funny that men's vanity sizes have actually flown under the radar for so long. The only true size for waist will be traditional dress pants. A lot of guys are surprised to find out how much bigger they are when they are fitted for a suit.
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
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    I find it very accurate with Levis red-stitched selvedge ... the sizing on the jeans is the size you need to be do to them up the 1st time you put them on after washing, but once they stretch out after a couple of days you can easily fit a 32" waist with your 38" gut !!!!

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