Confusing dress sizes

[chaosspirit]

I'm finding clothing sizes to be increasingly confusing, surely a size 12 should be a standard size, but apparently not. The trousers I have for my work uniform are a 14 and barely fit. All my jeans are a 12, the combats I bought from meadowhall today are a 10. Even more strangly my sister (normally a size 10) went to work today in a size 18 top

Comments

[bonedancer]

Sizes are meant to be standard, except that clothing shops long ago worked out that if a woman who thinks she's a size 12 finds a nice, well-fitting garment that's marked as a size 10, she's more likely to purchase it.

Also American sizes are two less, and European sizes are different again. See this and this.

I don't know why I seem to know more about this bullcrap than you do. :)