Clothing sizes are a sensitive subject for most people. Trying on clothing can be both the most frustrating and gratifying experience. After trying on jeans in five different stores, you finally find the pair of jeans or shirt that fit perfect. Excited and with enthusiasm, you gather all of the jeans of that same style and size and dash to the cashier make your purchase. You are left feeling like a million bucks because you have found three pair of perfect jeans.

But, the struggle is not over yet. You take them home and try on another pair, only to discover the fit of the other pair are not as complimentary as the first pair you tried on in the store. Now, you are left asking yourself what happened?

This happened to me as I tried on various brands of clothing in a major retail department store. The size variances between brands left me with no idea of what size would fit properly between the brands. The pants that fit among the brands tried varied by a total of three sizes. It was trial and error and a daunting process.

Then, I finally found a pair of pants that fit perfectly. So, I tried on all of the pants in that size and discovered that each of the three pair fit differently. In some instances, the differences were obvious when holding the pants next to the identical pair.

The standards of which clothing sizes are developed will vary depending on the designer and clothing brand. Clothing sizes are standard sizes based on research that are developed to fit a wide range of people.  Thus, a size eight in one brand may fit the same as a size ten in another. Its all relative to the set of standards the brand developed to based their clothing sizes.

In addition to the varying size standards, the production factors incorporate another caveat. The production process can have a tolerance up to one-half of an inch. This means that two pair of the exact same pants in the exact same size can vary in fit up to one-half inch. The production standards allow for this variation to accommodate the variances in production due to machine tolerances and human aspects in the production process.

I now realize that sizing is a complex matrix of variables. The only way to ensure your clothing fits properly is to try on each garment.