How to Compare Women's Clothing Sizes to Men's

Hip, bust, waist and inseam measurements can help in finding your correct clothing size.

Fashions for men and women overlap frequently, and clothing designed for one gender is often desirable for the other. However, industry standard sizing methods for men's and women's clothing can make determining your correct size challenging.

Women's Clothing Sizing

In the 1940s, mass-produced women's clothing underwent a sizing standardization project by the U.S. government. These standards, in use until the early 1980s, are not in use today. Vanity sizing, the practice of using smaller size numbers for larger sizes, has been common since 1983. Sizing variations between garment manufacturers force most women to try on clothing to determine their appropriate size.

Men's Clothing Sizing

Most men's clothing, on the other hand, is based on actual measurements, and is sized accordingly. Some variations may occur in sizes such as small, medium and large, used for items such as shirts, casual wear and outerwear.

Comparing Sizing Differences

The discrepancies between men's and women's clothing sizes are clearest in jeans sizes. Men's jeans are sized by waist and inseam measurements, which can be compared to the wearer's body. Women's jeans vary greatly, with some women wearing a size 8 in one brand and a size 12 in another. Men must try on various garments to determine their size for a particular women's clothing brand. Women can get close to their correct size in men's clothing by measuring themselves.

References

• National Institute of Standards and Technology: Standardization of Women's Clothing