Originally Posted by HungryHungryHippo:
Everyone (manufacturers) sizes differently. Generally, the cheaper and more mass-market, the bigger each size runs, and the more expensive and exclusive, the smaller. So a Target / Old Navy 4 would be like a Chanel 14. I think most people just go by what size they wear in the brands they wear the most.

Is that really accurate!? So what size to Chanel size 4s and 2s wear in "regular" people stores?!?!?! Holy cow!

I wear a size 14 in most bottoms. I wear a size 10 in jordache though. :D I was very excited about that.

It's a mystery that never gets solved. I do think there was more consistency in the beginning when I was a 24W because the women's sizes have a wider range - you can fit in them over a bigger weight span. So, once you start to lose out of them, it is very hard to buy clothes. I remember being very puzzled then. A 14W would fit then, but a size 16 and even 18 sometimes was too small. Then, for me, there's the added confusion of petite sizes. It was very hard to find women's petite sizes and figuring out how that played into the mix made my head spin. A lot of times when a manufacturer creates petite lines, they are cut tighter also. I have some size 12P from New York and Co that are now getting baggy but I also have some size 10s from other stores that are loose. I am going with the rationale that the petite pants are cut slimmer and "really 10s" and that I am a size 10 that's getting close to an 8. But then, I don't buy a new wardrobe with every size. I'll probably wait a bit and buy when I'm firmly in an 8 or maybe even 6 (8P??).

Also - for the men - I know a lot of you think that pants sizes are based on measurements, but I bet you'd be surprised to find a little vanity sizing there, too. ;)

Originally Posted by HungryHungryHippo:
Everyone (manufacturers) sizes differently. Generally, the cheaper and more mass-market, the bigger each size runs, and the more expensive and exclusive, the smaller. So a Target / Old Navy 4 would be like a Chanel 14. I think most people just go by what size they wear in the brands they wear the most.

Originally Posted by LockItUp:
Is that really accurate!? So what size to Chanel size 4s and 2s wear in "regular" people stores?!?!?! Holy cow!

Well, I don't know about Chanel as I've never worn Chanel, but we have an upscale mall near us (like every day dresses are over $1000 kind of upscale) and I also live near an upscale factory outlet mall and I have gotten a few things from there.

My experience with the super expensive stuff is that it's similar as the regular malls stuff but maybe a little less vanity sizing. (I don't buy wal-mart and target stuff and Old Navy, so I have no idea about those sizes).

When I was a 10 in Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, I was a 14 in Diane Von Furstenberg. BUT, when I was a 10 in CK and and RL, I was a 10 in St. John too and some others.

I would say though that the vanity sizing is a "little" less than mall stores, but not all brands and not by a lot and I've tried on a LOT of high end designer clothes just for the fun of it as I was losing weight.

And don't me get started on the random Lane Bryant pants I found in my closet this weekend. They TOTALLY are WAY too tight, but what size are they?! WHAT IS A 1 YELLOW SQUARE?! (I think it's roughly a 14).

ETA: Also- can you believe that I only own 5 pairs of pants? Two being 18s, which I am slipping out of. A 16, 14, and 12. I forsee Goodwill in my future.

re:
 

This is a kind of cool site posted somewhere on here before. You put your measurements and it tells you what designer/size you should most likely fit into.

http://sizes.darkgreener.com/

Originally Posted by LockItUp:
Is that really accurate!? So what size to Chanel size 4s and 2s wear in "regular" people stores?!?!?! Holy cow!

Yep, they're Japanese, and they don't shop in America. A model friend of mine spent 6 months working in Japan, and I asked her if she had fun shopping before she came home. She said no--she couldn't fit in any of the clothing.

Originally Posted by Vex:
This is a kind of cool site posted somewhere on here before. You put your measurements and it tells you what designer/size you should most likely fit into.

http://sizes.darkgreener.com/

Lol Usually the calculators are fairly "on" for me, but not this one! I am 37/27/37 and it says I am a size 12 for Banana Republic. I wear their size 4. :dizzy::dizzy:

Originally Posted by ChickieChicks:
Lol Usually the calculators are fairly "on" for me, but not this one! I am 37/27/37 and it says I am a size 12 for Banana Republic. I wear their size 4. :dizzy::dizzy:

You were looking at the UK sizes. You have to click on the top for the US sizes.