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Related: http://sizes.darkgreener.com/ recording the discrepancy between label size and actual fit for a lot of UK high street shopping.

The variance in label sizes is bad enough - and worse for women's clothing than mens - but when you get into "large/medium/small" it's just a lottery. Especially if you're a westerner ordering direct from China.

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The variance in label sizes is definitely more extreme in women's sizes, but I'm particularly struck by how it happens with supposedly-objective men's clothing. As men's pants get larger, the waistband size becomes increasingly dishonest - despite supposedly being measured in "inches". I'll look for the study, but it can get up to an impressive 10%+ discrepancy.

Not to mention variance within a given labeled size itself. Last time I went shopping for jeans, I tried on two pairs from Levi's with the same cut and labeled size. One was too tight and the other was too loose.

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