Waisting away...

[Sonseearae]

Hihi!

   We are completely lost when it comes to waist sizes!  The short intro - 57-yo who just figured out they were a girl on June 2nd

   For the last 30 years we've been wearing 34"x34" (men's US sizing) jeans.  Maybe the ever so slightest changes when we've changed manufacturers - like 33"x34".  Over the decades, and due to small weight fluctuations, they've gotten a bit tighter or looser but we never had to change sizes.  At this moment, they're a little loose on us.  We very reasonably concluded that our waist measurement was 34".  Silly us.  We're familiar with vanity sizing but this seems ridiculous.  Measuring ourselves so that we could try and make the conversion to women's sizing, we learned that the waist was just above the navel at the smallest part of the waist.  39"??  First of all, that's 5" difference at the smallest point and we don't wear our pants around that part of our waist.  In fact, measuring our waist at the exact spot our 34" Waist jeans comes to 41.5" - a 7.5" difference!?  

   Then we bought something off the clearance rack last week - an absolutely adorable pair of corset shorts size 17.  There was a sewing department close by so we ran to measure the waist and flat the waist was 18 1/4"  - so 36.5".  Clearly too small but... it looked like it would fit.  We bought it and brought it home and we could have used a 15 (still love, love, love it).  We just went and checked the seller's size guide.  They refer to both 15 & 17 as XL but say that a 15 has a 32" waist and a 17 has a 34" waist.  So they're claiming that we have a 32" waist and the jeans brand calls our waist 34" - but the tape measure disagrees,  That size 15 would fit us well just based on how loose the 17's are, but we couldn't get into 32" jeans comfortably if at all.  Oh!! And that skinniest part of our waist is 39" when we exhale and make it as big as it can be - and 35" when we suck it in as far as it'll go.

We want more clothes!  In order to do that we need to understand our measurements.  Could anyone help us determine what our waist size is, please?

[Bobby]

Hihi!

   We are completely lost when it comes to waist sizes!  The short intro - 57-yo who just figured out they were a girl on June 2nd

   For the last 30 years we've been wearing 34"x34" (men's US sizing) jeans.  Maybe the ever so slightest changes when we've changed manufacturers - like 33"x34".  Over the decades, and due to small weight fluctuations, they've gotten a bit tighter or looser but we never had to change sizes.  At this moment, they're a little loose on us.  We very reasonably concluded that our waist measurement was 34".  Silly us.  We're familiar with vanity sizing but this seems ridiculous.  Measuring ourselves so that we could try and make the conversion to women's sizing, we learned that the waist was just above the navel at the smallest part of the waist.  39"??  First of all, that's 5" difference at the smallest point and we don't wear our pants around that part of our waist.  In fact, measuring our waist at the exact spot our 34" Waist jeans comes to 41.5" - a 7.5" difference!?  

   Then we bought something off the clearance rack last week - an absolutely adorable pair of corset shorts size 17.  There was a sewing department close by so we ran to measure the waist and flat the waist was 18 1/4"  - so 36.5".  Clearly too small but... it looked like it would fit.  We bought it and brought it home and we could have used a 15 (still love, love, love it).  We just went and checked the seller's size guide.  They refer to both 15 & 17 as XL but say that a 15 has a 32" waist and a 17 has a 34" waist.  So they're claiming that we have a 32" waist and the jeans brand calls our waist 34" - but the tape measure disagrees,  That size 15 would fit us well just based on how loose the 17's are, but we couldn't get into 32" jeans comfortably if at all.  Oh!!  And that skinniest part of our waist is 39" when we exhale and make it as big as it can be - and 35" when we suck it in as far as it'll go. 

We want more clothes!  In order to do that we need to understand our measurements.  Could anyone help us determine what our waist size is, please?

my Levi pants are size 34,  Women's petite I wear a size 16..  Those a called hiphuggers by us old farts.

[Sonseearae]

Thank you!!!! <3

[CanuckGirl]

Hihi!

   We are completely lost when it comes to waist sizes!  The short intro - 57-yo who just figured out they were a girl on June 2nd

   For the last 30 years we've been wearing 34"x34" (men's US sizing) jeans.  Maybe the ever so slightest changes when we've changed manufacturers - like 33"x34".  Over the decades, and due to small weight fluctuations, they've gotten a bit tighter or looser but we never had to change sizes.  At this moment, they're a little loose on us.  We very reasonably concluded that our waist measurement was 34".  Silly us.  We're familiar with vanity sizing but this seems ridiculous.  Measuring ourselves so that we could try and make the conversion to women's sizing, we learned that the waist was just above the navel at the smallest part of the waist.  39"??  First of all, that's 5" difference at the smallest point and we don't wear our pants around that part of our waist.  In fact, measuring our waist at the exact spot our 34" Waist jeans comes to 41.5" - a 7.5" difference!?  

   Then we bought something off the clearance rack last week - an absolutely adorable pair of corset shorts size 17.  There was a sewing department close by so we ran to measure the waist and flat the waist was 18 1/4"  - so 36.5".  Clearly too small but... it looked like it would fit.  We bought it and brought it home and we could have used a 15 (still love, love, love it).  We just went and checked the seller's size guide.  They refer to both 15 & 17 as XL but say that a 15 has a 32" waist and a 17 has a 34" waist.  So they're claiming that we have a 32" waist and the jeans brand calls our waist 34" - but the tape measure disagrees,  That size 15 would fit us well just based on how loose the 17's are, but we couldn't get into 32" jeans comfortably if at all.  Oh!!  And that skinniest part of our waist is 39" when we exhale and make it as big as it can be - and 35" when we suck it in as far as it'll go. 

We want more clothes!  In order to do that we need to understand our measurements.  Could anyone help us determine what our waist size is, please?

 Oh Dear, this is such a complicated subject, but one would think it should be straightforward. Here are some of my thoughts.

Most male pants are 2 in smaller than your actual waist, vanity sizing as you put it, perhaps but that seems to be the way it is. Though men's sizing seems to be more consistent than women's I've been caught a few times buying my usual size 32X31 and have them not fitting right!
 Just fyi like you I spent most of my life wearing 34's but when I serious about dressing up lost weight and now take 31's or 32's in men's pants.

 Also women's clothes often have quite a bit more stretch to them which men's rarely do, so the slightly smaller size opens up to fit you! Plus if you are like me the feeling of tight clothes particularly pants and skirts is lovely!

 My understanding is your waist is the narrowest part of your tummy, which is where I would suggest you measure yourself, then the widest part of your chest, and at the widest part of your hips. Which is what you are doing, so you are on the right track. With these sizes you can find clothes which fit.
 Here's a little trick shopping for pants or skirts, if you know your waist size, say 36", half that is 18", measure your forearm that distance and remember the spot so when you are in a store you can quickly put the piece against your arm and see how it compares. Then gie it a slight pull to see what the stretch is like.

 Bras tend to be a bit like men's pants, if you measure yourself at 38 in chest likely you will need a 40in bra band.
 
 The other issue is our body shape is different, our waists are thicker relative to our hips, so for something to fit your hips nicely I tend to size down and make sure it has good stretch to fit my waist.

 Hope this helps, as this is barely the tip of the iceberg.
 Amy

[kihaylo]

It is also possible that each of these sizes depends on the type of clothes you wear. Don't hesitate to play diggy and have fun right away.