What is the deal with clothing sizes?
 

I went to the Gap and tried on jeans today. I took a tape measure because I seem to be fitting small sizes and years ago when I was at a lower weight I was wearing LARGER sizes than I am today.

I tried on a size 8 (eight!) Jean. It was snug but it fit. Lower rise "long and lean" jean style. On their label they say 8/29. I asked the sales rep and she said it was for a 29 waist. I returned to the dressing room: my waist is 34 inches. I measured the waist on the pant: 34 inches. So why is there a 29 on the sales tag????

I have heard that they do this to cater to their clients desire to buy a smaller size. So, when they say that Marilyn Monrow (sp?) was a size 14, that means something very different...it's probably more of a size 10, which is what she looks like to me.

usually the second number is the length of the jean. Are you short? a 29 is fairly short... A lot of times people have no clue what they are doing... Places like Lucky Brand Jeans does it by two numbers your waist size and then the lenght of the jean. I'm pretty sure that it was a size 8 with a 29 leg length

29 is probably the natural waist. Not too many jeans rise that high anymore.

My natural waist is about 29, but t my belly button or an inch or two below - well, I don't remember the measurement, but it might be about 34 inches.

If they sized the jeans by the size of the actual waistband (wherever it falls), you would wear different sizes in every different rise. At least, I sure would.

Strange! I measured the inseam from crotch to the end of the pant leg and that measures 36 inches! And my belly button measurement is 34 inches...
I went to Blunotes afterwards and asked them about their sizes. They said that the only size is the waist measurement. I tried on a 34, and they fell off! I was in a 31 there...

I think they must be making clothes and putting smaller sizes on them.

This just goes to show how important it is to actually try the clothes on! I can't imagine ordering accurately from an internet company given the differences between sizes, measurements and so on.

misskimothy, I maybe wasn't clear. Around your belly button is probably NOT what they consider your waist measurement. Waist is traditionally measured at the smallest part. On me, that's most definitely a few inches above my belly button. I'm sure that varies widely among women, but I think my figure type is probably similar to what was traditionally used.

I believe 29 refers to the inseam, remember now we have jeans that fit at the waist or just below the waist or even lower than that. If they fit below the waist the size will be larger than your normal waist size, but will still be considered the waist, it is the style of the jeans. A 36 inch inseam would be for a very tall person. My son is 6'2" and a 36 inseam would be way too long.

Clothing sizes are all meaningless now. The stores figured out that putting a smaller number on the tag makes women want to purchase the item just because we can wear a size 8! Gap is one of these retailers. Or maybe I just magically went from wearing a size 7 at this weight in high school to a size 0 now?

When I was in high school many moons ago, I wore a size 16 and weighed 140lbs. Later, when I lost 130lbs, I wore size 12, at 132lbs. So, yes, the measurements for clothing sizes has changed, to say the least! I remember that many movie stars used to wear size 12. That would probably be a size 6 now. Now they all look anorexic of course, so they wear size zero.

Me too. In high school I was around 160 and wore 14/16 pants. These days I'm floating around 156-157, and wearing a 10/12. I have 10s I can't pull up, of course. Guess how long I've had them? Since high school. :D

a "short" jean is usually 29 or 30 inches inseam. I think it was that.

Well, this probably should have been done sooner :-)

I looked at the Gap's size chart online.

Gap Jeans Size Chart

Anyway, the "29" is clearly part of the size, not the inseam. Each size has a corresponding number (correlate only loosely with waist size).

The inseams are at the bottom of the page. The shortest ("Petite") Long and Lean inseam is 30".