I’m really confused and discouraged... Please help!

Sizing can be really random. The best thing I can tell you is to go to the store and try on the pants. I'm the smallest I've ever been and I still can't order pants online because of the variation. At Old Navy I'm a 2. At Kohl's I'm a six. At several other shops I'm a 4.

Have you tried looking for shorts at thrift stores? I've had the best luck there for clothing and a bonus is that it's super cheap! Are there any plus sized stores around you?

I personally hate buying clothing and would never trust buying any online. Are you sure you measured yourself correctly? If a store has an online clothing shop they should give you specific directions on where exactly to measure to ensure you are measuring correctly for how their clothing fits. The stupid thing with clothing is each brand, cut, make and store are different which makes it super hard to buy women's clothing.

I would imagine the 28W size you got is wrong unless they size their clothing differently.

If you can, check any thrift stores around you.. plus sized stores.. walmart... etc. Clothing shopping sucks especially when it's hard to find something that fits and looks nice. Depending on the style of shorts you like I've had luck with men's shorts when I was closer to your size. You can get some that don't look like men's shorts and you can dress them up really nice with some jewelry and a nice top and shoes.

Don't get discouraged or upset at sizing. It's hard and women's sizes are brutal! I recently went clothing shopping and found tons of great tops however when it comes down to pants I have to spend hours trying them on since I can range between 13 - 17, 32-36 and 10-18 depending on the style, brand, store, cut, etc. It sucks! Right now I'm wearing a size 14 in Old Navy that are snug. I have a pair of 16s from Old Navy that won't do up. I have a 12 from Walmart that is way too big. I wish women's sizes were a bit more like men's.

I would not order anything online. Just go into a store and buy some. That way you can try them on and make sure they fit, make sure they look good, and you're satisfied with them. Different brands have different sizing, and you never know what you'll be able to fit into at some stores. My suggestion is you avoid buying clothing online.

Seems to me that manufacturers differ in sizing from one to the other. For example, I find that a size large fits me at Old Navy but not at Forever 21.

If all else fails, why not cut off one of your pairs of pants that fit and make a nice pair of shorts out of them?

It is so frustrating. It's like having the friend that weighs the same amount as you but wears 2 sizes smaller. Sizing measurements do not know if you tummy is flat or not. Point being that they make assumptions based on you waist measurements. If you are ordering a brand that you have worn (know how the fit) go with the size that fits. If you're not accustom to the brand order a couple of sizes just to cover your bases. Don't beat yourself up if you end up having to wear a bigger size than you usually do, its just the brand. Hope it helps. Good luck.

For shorts, sizes vary by brand, and by store - which is why trying on is key. If you order online, try to do so from a place that does free shipping or free returns (like Zappos)

Old Navy: Size 22 w43/h53
Lands End: Size 20W w43/50, size 22W w44/h52
ModCloth: Size 3X 43/h55
ASOS Curve: Size 20 w43.4/h53.5 Size 22 w46/H56

Body shapes vary, and you are not the only one to noctice that finding a custom fit is next to impossible (at every size) -- best you can do is try on a lot of different brands and hope to find one that is a consistenly good fit -- regardles of what size it says. The number on clothing means less than how you feel and look wearing the garment!

Clothing size numbers hardly mean anything anymore. Back in the day, Marilyn Monroe wore a size 10, and her clothing measured to today's size 16. I have actually had very good luck with onestopplus.com. They have decent clothing and a lot of pull-on elastic waist shorts in a variety of prices and fabrics. The full elastic waist seems to work best with my (relatively) smaller waist while covering my bubble butt and poochy tummy. A lot of times I can google "onestopplus coupon code" and get a free shipping/free returns coupon code. Woman Within and Roaman's coupon codes also work for One Stop Plus because it's all the same company.