I have a pair of size three jeans from America that fit well. So why do I measure a size 12 on patterns? Do the US have two size systems or something? Is it just to confuse me? I was thinking about ordering some clothes from the net and don't know what size to order.
Charlie.
Maureen Wozniak stood on a soapbox and shouted to anyone who would listen :
Maureen is right, but to add to it, this is why there is so much complaint about the big 3. There sizing has no relationship to off the rack sizes.
As for catalogers, use the size chart. I've found that most of the ones I order from ( Sierra Trading Post, Lands End ) are very consistent.
Penny S
Not originally, but now there is. Actually, there's more than 2. Every RTW mfr has different sizing. About the only thing you can be sure of is that a 10 will be smaller than a 12, _if_ they're from the same line. (The sizes in my closet range from 10 to 20, and they all fit....)
Pattern sizing is an entirely different kettle of fish. Pattern and RTW sizing were the same in the early 60's, but RTW sizing has been changing (what was a 14 is now a 12 and so on); while pattern sizing hasn't changed much at all.
jenn
-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net
Which is really a silly complaint, because off the rack sizing has no relation to off the rack sizing. I can go to three different clothing lines and wear three different sizes. At least with the pattern cos, I know that a 12 from Butterick is going to have the same basic measurements as a 12 from McCalls or Simplicity or Burda or New Look (the fit may be different, but the body measurements are the same).
jenn
-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net
It's called vanity sizing, and there are no standards. If you buy the same brand, you can buy the same size. Otherwise check the measurement charts VERY carefully before you order.
Also, the more expensive the garment, the "smaller" the size. Apparently it's easier to get thousands of dollars out of a shopper by telling her she's a size 4 than it is if you say a size 12.
That's interesting -- it's the opposite of what I've found (in Australia, not the USA). I generally take around a size 12, but I find cheap clothes are often cut "tight" or "skimpy", while a size 12 skirt in an expensive designer brand I tried recently nearly fell off!
Liz
No, you are right. She didn't mean the smaller the garment of the same size, she meant the smaller the size number you take in that line.
No, it's the same thing. In the more expensive skirt, the size _number_ is smaller. the size is the same, but the number is different.
That's what Joanne meant....
jenn
-- Jenn Ridley snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net
Americans don't have *any* size system.
One of the reasons I make all my clothes is that one time when I was trying to buy a pair of pants, I tried on a pair that was just a tad snug. So I tried on a pair one size bigger -- and couldn't even put my leg in it!
If they don't give you actual measurements in inches or centimeters, don't buy without trying it on.
Joy Beeson
Thanks for the answers. Now I'm a little less confused. At least over here the sizes are all similar (not too similar though!).
Charlie.
Hmm. Just though about ths and you seem to be right. Generally a size
6 off the rack but need a size 14 pattern.Maureen
Sami wrote:
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