Pants waist size

[TrenchGuy]

So, yes, this is a thing I have always wondered. My waist size is 40 inches, but I wear pants with 33 inch waist...

How come do they fit me? I measure my waist with a brand new measure tape and I measure the part where my pants go and not the narrowest point, which is the "actual waist".
Can pant sizes really be that much wrong?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

If you comfortably wear trousers with a waist size of 33 inches, your waist size is 33 inches.

bk

 

[Widebrim]

^^I think I would second that...

 

[TrenchGuy]

How come does my brand new measure tape then tell me that my waist is 40 inches? I have measured it many times, always making sure that the tape is right with the help of a mirror.

 

[skyvue]

Are you sure you haven't got the waist and inseam measurements on your trousers reversed?

Are they very high-waisted trousers?

 

[Edward]

Presumbly you are simply wearing trousers that pull your midsection in somewhat when fastened... Or (depending on the trouser rise), do you do as many men and fasten them below the widest part of your stomach?

To clarify (tone of voice being missing in text), I'm not being snarky here, this is simply the most likely explanation for the discrepancy to which you refer.

 

[TrenchGuy]

Are you sure you haven't got the waist and inseam measurements on your trousers reversed?

Are they very high-waisted trousers?

No, they are not very high-waisted.

I wear them just a little above my belly button, which is also the part I measured.

 

[skyvue]

Then you must have been misinformed about their size or they were mismarked.

If you lay the trousers flat, what do they measure across at the top? Double that measurement and you've got the correct waist size of the trousers.

 

[Chrome]

Flat measure the pants like Skyvue said.

My first thought was that your suit size is forty, then many trousers could be waisted 33" but if your measure says 40" either your pants are
1. marked wrongly so every size 40 is again size 33
2. Your measure is stretched / strechy.

 

[Talbot]

Have they been let out? The tag will still say 33 inches....

 

[Blackjack]

I've never heard it going backwards... I wear 38 waist in pants, (jeans 36) but in suit pants I wear a 40. But I'm 6'1" and weigh 228. When I had a 33" waist I weighed under 180, so how tall are you and what do you weigh cause that sounds weird...

 

[Yeps]

No, they are not very high-waisted.

I wear them just a little above my belly button, which is also the part I measured.

Just an odd little thing... perhaps you have measured correctly, but read the other side of the measuring tape. A lot of tapes I have seen have the measurements running opposite directions on the two sides.

 

[TrenchGuy]

Yes, I have measured correctly, both sides of the tape give the same measurement.

I am a little on the big guy side. I'm 5 foot 7 and I weigh around 178 lbs.

 

[TrenchGuy]

I flat measured the pants waist. It was 18,1 inches, so that suggests the pants waist is 36,2 inches?

 

[Atinkerer]

My waist is 36. However, for denim pants (jeans) I wear a 32. I think that's because jeans are made with short fiber cotton (read cheap) so they stretch a lot at the waist.

Tony

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Or men's clothing has entered the horrid world of "vanity" sizing that has blighted women's clothing sizing over the years.

bk

 

[Tailor Tom]

True

Or men's clothing has entered the horrid world of "vanity" sizing that has blighted women's clothing sizing over the years.

bk

Actually this is exactly the case that has been quietly happening over the last few years. I have seen a lot of it from clients with alterations. Namely in casual clothing, but in dress clothing as well.

I see many casual pants that are not their stated size, being off by inches. Jeans that say they are 34 and are actually a 37 or 38. Coats that are miss marked too (I easily slipped a 36 on a 40 form the other day and it still had extra room).
More recent has been in my dealings with shirt sizing. a shirt that is marked 15.5 x 35 and it actually measures 16.5 x 36.5. Now I now they compensate for some shrinkage, but being off by an inch or more is ridiculous.

 

[Tomasso]

But how much is vanity sizing and how much is shoddy labeling?

 

[Puzzicato]

But how much is vanity sizing and how much is shoddy labeling?

And how much is "acceptable margin of error"? Back when I was working in retail, we were told that the factories where our stuff was made had a margin of error of 1-2" either side of the given dimensions. So one size 32 could actually be 4 inches smaller than another size 32. Which is why (in women's clothes at least) if you try something on and it is just slightly the wrong size, it pays to try on another in the same size, if possible.

 

[Tailor Tom]

more

Several years ago, I had an acquaintance who oversaw design for Munsingwear. One of their biggest problems was sizing. They had same or similar products produces at various manufacturers around the world. And to get a medium to equal a medium from another vendor, let alone the original specifications was a massive problem. Add to that the realization that most of these workers in 3rd world countries are uneducated or under-educated, so they don't even comprehend the specs in the first place. Its amazing anything gets made to spec at all.