So, the W on plus sizes has me confused. I fit into a pair of 16 W jeans (major YAY!) but then a pair that was a size 16 without the W was w-a-y too small. How does the order of sizes go? I have seen "W" sizes as low as 14. I assumed it was 14, 14W, 16, 16W, 18, 18W, etc., but now I am wondering if it goes more like 14, 16, 14W, 18, 16 W, 18 W, 20.
I always thought that the W stood for "Women" on clothes and "Wide" for shoes . . . I imagine that a lot of people would find it rude if it meant "wide" for clothes.
I'm afraid I don't have the answer of what order the sizes go, I've always just figured that without the "W" or "X" the sizes were considered "juniors" or "misses" while the added letter implied the larger "women" sizes, which would put them in a whole different category.
Oooh, my favorite rant! LOL! No, I can't help you at all!
There seems to be some kind of major disconnect between regular sizes and women's sizes. I'm ALMOST out of the nightmare! Your description "14, 16, 14W, 18, 16 W, 18 W, 20" is pretty much exactly the way they fit me. I haven't ever tried on a 14 W though. I've just suffered through from 18 to 16 which is a huge leap. 18's come off easily while buttoned yet 16's are still a bit obscene in public.
The "W" sizes are supposed to be more generous in the thighs and hips. But where they fit along the continuum, I have no idea!
There is no size continuity. Ever. I have tried two pairs of pants in the same style in the same size from Old Navy and had one too big and one too small. WTF? I just try stuff on in the range of sizes that I am and hope for the best, ha.
As someone who is shaped more straight up and down, I can vouch the W (meaning "women's sizing") is cut more generously in the hips, butt and legs than misses sizes. So while a rough estimate might put a 16W somewhere around a misses size 18, it's still going to vary based on your body shape, and the 16W is cut for women who are more pear shaped.
the W is supposed to be for women's, but I have always thought of it as wide. I think the order the sizes go in depends on the mood of the manufacturers when they run that particular set of items through the factories.
I like the companies that are starting to size women't clothing the same way men's is done. My husband can go buy a 32-32 and know they will fit. I hope eventually all the women's clothes are like that too.
I track my measurements against a chart from Lands End, and noted that 16W (their smallest W size) is 1/2 inch smaller in bust, waist, and hips than their standard size 18 (their largest standard). The 18 and the 18W are 1-1/2 inches different for each of the three areas.
I always wondered what the 'W' meant! We don't have it here in the UK, and our sizes are all one bigger than in the US, so a UK 24 is a US 22. It is silly, but that makes shopping in the US just a little bit less painful (the label says 22! I must be skinnier over here!). On my last trip, I was in Lane Bryant (which, btw, rocks compared to the equivalent in the UK) and the sales assistants convinced me to get jeans one size smaller again, because it's a wide cut, and so I am now the proud owner of a single pair of size 20 jeans!!! (when I am a 'real' ie UK size 20 I will be skipping in the streets!!!)
Confused about sizes? Maybe you can help?
LOL! No, I can't help you at all! 
