ha - tell us about it :)

What brands are you considering? Perhaps we could advise how the sizing runs....

Yeah, talk about getting set-up for an epic fail. Sorry, man.

It is totally infuriating. I would suggest going into her closet (I assume you have access?) looking at the brand of thing you want to get and see what size she wears. If you're trying to buy a brand she doesn't own I would say that might be a clue to not buy it;) If you still want to buy it for her, you could then do a search to see if that brand's sizes run large or small, or, heaven forbid, right on (gasp!).

Good luck!

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

You might also check their website and see what their sizings are like. This is how I play the Title 9 game...I love T9. But they only list garment measurements, if you are lucky. So you have to first ascertain who the original mfr of the product you are interested in is. Then figure out what said product is called. Then go to that company's site (or another retailer who sells that product and has a size chart) and find out the sizing in relation to body measurements. Then you return to T9, check the reviews and see if your detective work lines up with the comments. Then you select a size, spend 15 minutes second- and triple-guessing, and finally...hit order. :p

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

It is very frustrating and to make matters worse even if you stay within a brand sizes are shifting. I have been buying jeans from a certain company for over a decade, I have not gotten any smaller but now wear a size two sizes smaller than I used to. I am really crossing my fingers that they won't shift sizes anymore.

I think there is a solution for this - its called a gift certificate. :-)

Judging from this article men's pants aren't doing much better. Seven popular brands size 36" marked were measure and not a one of the was 36 inches with the biggest measuring 41 inches.

http://www.esquire.com/...ts-size-chart-090710

What makes me crazy is many smalls fit a size 4-6 and medium fit 8-10. I typically wear a 6 or 8 depending on the chub of the moment and fall right in between. Small is a little too tight, medium a little too big.

I have everything from a 4 to a 10 in my closet.

Good luck to you sir.

A new low in mass market sizing: This weekend, I was shopping for holiday-party wear and ended up buying a PETITE SMALL.

Now, I am not fat. But at 5'9.5" and 135 lbs, I am neither petite nor small. It makes me wonder...where do those wee people ACTUALLY shop if I am buying the smalls? And who is buying the XXLs? :o

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mmm-mmm-Momo Charms
Handmade beverage charms, jewelry, and miscellanea
http://momocharms.wordpress.com

The girls dept...or worse..the boys department. I had to do this 15-20 pounds ago. Weird that I have gained weight and yet I can wear a smaller size Levis. I have a pair from my skinny days that have a bigger waist size...yet I would be lucky to get them above my Knees.

Yes this is the problem.. freaking vanity sizing is killing my ability to find clothes that are small enough for me! I am 5' tall and ~120 lbs. So while I am short, I am not super tiny, yet I tried a sweater on at The Limited (which I have never shopped at before) that was an XS and it was WAY too big. Seriously.. I am not XS. Yet I wear an XS at Eddie Bauer, Gap, Old Navy, Ann Taylor Loft, etc.

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IM Coeur D'Alene 2011
IM Wisconsin 2011
http://alexaharding.blogspot.com

I range from 00-2. 00? They had to invent a new size? I'm generally an XS. Oddly, in high school I was a size 2 or 4 as a beanpole ballet student. I realize I'm lean these days, but I have a good 10lbs on my weight back then. I'd be okay being a size 4, or even a 6. My mother gave me some old shorts of hers from the 80s that are a size 8, and they fit.

I don't really get it either, but it's obvious that things have change in the past 20+ years. It's no big shock that standards are different across brands.

Get a gift receipt, or look in her closet for items from the same brand, and see what size those are.

Welcome to the nightmare of women's clothing.
I usually do OK if the size chart from the clothing manufacturer is accurate, I know my measurements.

But it's just awful. Women's clothes just suck - with regards to sizing.

I have found myself getting smaller and smaller sizes over the years. I used to buy mediums, now it's smalls and a few extra smalls.