women's pants sizes, so frustrating

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124

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  • Tiff050709
    Tiff050709 Posts: 497 Member
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    A size 22s that I have never worn are falling off when I tried them on yesterday. (I have a stockpile of jeans in my closet that I bought and saved). I tried on a different brand and they were tight. I like the brand Ana from JC Penney. They fit well and don't cost too much and they always have clearance.
  • nathotte
    nathotte Posts: 51 Member
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    I've been frustrated shopping for pants my whole life. Big legs and big hips (thanks to good genes) but smaller waist. Fit everywhere but the waist or the waist but way to tight everywhere else......
  • twosons08
    twosons08 Posts: 46 Member
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    I'm over it. Skirts and dresses everyday.

    I agree with this. Skirts and dresses hide all of the imperfections, especially for a pear shape like me.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    Today I wore a pair of 16 Capri jeans, they are falling off me. I literally can slide them off completely buttoned and zipped. Went shopping, tried on 4 pairs of jeans, size 14 in 4 different brands and they were all way too tight. Makes no sense, frustrated!

    It is annoying, I'll give it that!

    It depends on the manufacturer and the cut of the garments.

    A good example is when somebody buys clothes off market stalls. Market stalls in the UK, for instance, are often used as "experiments" to sell clothes so that the manufacturers and designers can see how the market is flowing and if stuff "takes off" or gets left on the shelf etc. Many, many times, these market stall garments are cut frugally, they will not give a "generous size 12" for instance if these garments are just being "tried out" on the general public.

    The same goes for many stores too and also, it depends greatly on where the clothes were made in their manufacture.

    It is very irritating though, as you say, when you know you are a certain size and yet some stuff in the shops is just too small but should, by rights, fit you :(
  • SkinnyMsFitness
    SkinnyMsFitness Posts: 389 Member
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    Today I wore a pair of 16 Capri jeans, they are falling off me. I literally can slide them off completely buttoned and zipped. Went shopping, tried on 4 pairs of jeans, size 14 in 4 different brands and they were all way too tight. Makes no sense, frustrated!

    It is SUPER frustrating!! By chance, is your 16 in womens and the 14s in juniors? That'll do it...junior sizes are smaller than womens altogether.
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
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    SO FRUSTRATING. I wear a 16 some places, 18 others, and some places 18s are too tight - but I refuse to buy a 20 - it's just a mind thing. And then I have a pair of 14s that fit. One of my goals is to be able to go to the Levi's outlet and buy a pair of their 16s because I swear they are closer to 14s no matter which fit I try on. So frustrating I almost cried when I went there on vacation. Either way, it's so hard to know. I tend to stick with Gap/Old Navy jeans because they fit me the best even though the quality wears out kinda quick considering I wear them to death.
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
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    This has been my biggest issue lately. A size 16 at a plus size store looks baggy and is falling off of me. However, a size 16 at a regular store is too smal. 18s are too small. Plus size stores do cut their clothes more generously to fit plus size bodies. I seem to be right at an inbetween stage...plus sizes are too big, regular sizes are too small.

    My solution has been to wear a lot of skirts which hide the fact that they are too big a lot easier. I also just wear the baggy clothes, although I think it looks sloppy on me. However, it does make my weight loss more noticeable when my clothes are too big on me.

    There are worse problems to have, I could be going in the opposite direction and having clothes that are too tight and I need bigger and bigger sizes.

    :-)
  • princessofredrock
    princessofredrock Posts: 382 Member
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    Yep I agree! I went back thru my closet to look at some "before kids clothes" I have hiding in there! I can wear a size 6 stretchy jeans from like walmart or target but the 6's I have from the 90's No Way!

    I did go to a western store and the sales girl recommended I measure and try mens jeans! It did work! So if your in a pinch measure your waist and leg length then try on some guys jeans. May work for ya! ; )
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    It's the same with men's pants. Waist is random, inseam is in inches.
  • strick1982
    strick1982 Posts: 75
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    Ha! I went from and 16/18 to a 10. I've got several pants/jeans in 10 that fit fine. This past weekend I found a pair of jeans that said 16. I was going to put them in the give away pile but they looked smaller than a 16 so I tried them on. Hmmm, they fit. I almost had a mini melt down. I tried on a 10 and they fit. I did the obvious and compared them up to each other. Yup, the label must've been mismarked. The 16's measured up to the 10's. Go figure.
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
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    I think this has already been stated, but I find that Old Navy is the best place for jeans. They have different styles for different body shapes, which is huge for me!

    YES! Love Old Navy/Gap jeans. I find the quality lacking because I wear mine to death -- I mean literal death, they get rips and holes in the thigh/butt area after about 6-8 months. But what more can I expect? They fit me well and look good. My 18s I just bought from Gap fit that day and are now getting quite loose just a month later :D
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
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    I completely understand what you are feeling. Pant sizes can be very frustrating. I tried on a few at the store yesterday but it seems that the "womens" sizes are just made bigger than the regular size, so therefore, you will still be the same size. i.e 16 in jeans. I hate it but will keep aiming for the size 12 regular fit.
    Yes! I think the women's sizes are cut much larger than the regular sizes so it takes forever to jump down a size! Dresses and skirts are awesome too :) I am working on getting down a size and all my pants are loose but I'm not down yet. Frustrating!

    Also, women's pants are cut in so many different styles that style is just as important as size to determine what will fit you. Slim vs. Curvy. Etc.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    Agree with everyone about the consistency of sizes being annoying.

    I think you're probably right on the cusp of a size change and probably your 16's are a bit stretched out from wear. You'll be in the 14's very soon! Try more brands, more sizes. If you watch style shows, they say sometimes it takes trying on 50 pairs of jeans to find the perfect one.

    As for sizing to standards like men...Women have too many curves. Men are fairly straight up and down, where women vary in waist, hips and thighs. There would have to be 4 sizes for it to work- waist, hip, thigh, length and then on top of that different cuts...every brand would end up with tons of unsold jeans in random sizes that would make it hard to be profitable

    They might get away just waist-hip-length, though.
  • ErinMLB
    ErinMLB Posts: 100 Member
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    My husband tells me it's the same for men, and is highly annoying.

    I have a pair of size 8, and a pair of size 16, they fit identically. WTF , even if I go to try one a pair of pants based on wasit size, it can go between 30 and 34, mostly depends on how the hips/butt area is, I was "gifted" with a generous sized booty, and what a dr has refered to as , "birthing hips", again WTF
  • NickeeCoco
    NickeeCoco Posts: 130
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    Yes. Men's clothing sizes seem so much more consistent!

    That's because most men are more straight up and down than most women are. We're worth making the extra effort to get a good fit.

    This! Women are different shapes and sizes, so different kinds of cuts fit different kinds of body shapes. It's about finding the cut and style that fits your body.

    Jeans. . . I can try on hundreds of jeans before I find a pair that fit me properly. Not to mention, do you know how hard it is to find petite jeans? It's not just about length, it's about where the hips and thighs are cut too. I've found that there's only one place I can buy jeans, and that's the Gap. Their mid-waist fit for short people work perfectly fine for me, and I've gotten to the point where I'll spend the extra money just to avoid the headache.
  • missdibs1
    missdibs1 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Awww shucks

    :blushing:
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
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    Yes. Men's clothing sizes seem so much more consistent!

    That's because most men are more straight up and down than most women are. We're worth making the extra effort to get a good fit.

    This! Women are different shapes and sizes, so different kinds of cuts fit different kinds of body shapes. It's about finding the cut and style that fits your body.

    Jeans. . . I can try on hundreds of jeans before I find a pair that fit me properly. Not to mention, do you know how hard it is to find petite jeans? It's not just about length, it's about where the hips and thighs are cut too. I've found that there's only one place I can buy jeans, and that's the Gap. Their mid-waist fit for short people work perfectly fine for me, and I've gotten to the point where I'll spend the extra money just to avoid the headache.

    Just... Wrong!

    Men come in different sizes and shapes as well. I always have to worry about certain styles of is pocket because they will stick out. When I was fat, it was damn near impossible to shop for pants and caused much frustration. Nothing would fit!


    It's not about man vs. woman, cut that out! There is just more variety in body shapes as you increase body fat, which makes it harder and harder to design a cut that fits everyone.
  • debraran1
    debraran1 Posts: 520 Member
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    I had it happen to me again....the different fit in the same jean! I bought Gloria Vanderbilt "Amanda" jeans at Kohls in khaki, fit well, even got a little roomy the last few weeks. I ordered them in black when they were on sale for 20.00. I tried them on today, tight, a slight muffin top...I checked the name, style, identical tags and instructions...then I put on my glasses...one was "made in Indonesia" and one said "made in Sir Lanka".
    I'm so angry, it's like one is a 10 and one is a 12.

    It wasn't a lot of money, but you can't see "made in" online. Just a vent....it happened to me once before.
  • birdsitter1
    birdsitter1 Posts: 29
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    Yes, it is so frustrating. Glad I am not the only one! Didn't realize that the location the pants/jeans were manufactured in made such a difference. It makes sense though.....
  • msafunk
    msafunk Posts: 163 Member
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    My fiancee and I went shopping for a new pair of pants for me last night. I think it frustrates him more than it frustrates me that I have to try on both size 12 and 14 (and it blows his mind that odd numbers are juniors sizes). I nearly cried when I found a fabulous pair of Lucky Brand jeans for $40, but they only had size 12. My fiancee said "But, that size twelve you're holding fit you fine!" He just can't quite grasp that Lucky runs small.

    He has also given up on helping me find Bras. They're *supposed* to have standards, but when he holds up a bra in the size I tell him I wear, and I take one glance at it and say "It won't fit. Too small in the cups"

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