waist measurement + pant size?
I’ve been having this problem lately with finding the right pant size for me. I used measurement tape to measure my waist (which is right above my belly button correct?) and it came out to just above a 46, when I measured just above my hips and underneath my stomach it came out to just above a 43. I initially tried on pants that were size 38 and 40 because those were the highest I could find and fit around my belly button but those both eventually started to fall down as I walked longer with them and eventually just completely fell down when I ran a little with them. Then I tried a size 36 and it felt just right, a little tight but never fell below my hips as I walked or ran with them but a lot of the times my butt crack would show wearing them. I’m actually a mess about this because I don’t know what I’m doing. I never have this issue with sweatpants that stretch which are labelled Large in one brand or XL in another brand.
2 Replies
Many brands of pants lie outrageously about waist size. Furthermore, as you found, we are not the same diameter everywhere, depending on the shape of our hips, stomach, etc., so you might wear a different size in high vs. low rise (where the pants sit on your body). Basically, to find pants that fit, you have to try them on. And, unfortunately, if a size 38 fits you in one brand, that doesn't help (much) with other brands. You might be a 36 in a different brand, for example.
Ironically, buying pants second hand on eBay can be much easier to find a proper fit, since sellers will show the actual dimensions with a ruler. I wish brands did this too.
wearing stuff higher up your waist, it does often just slide down a little bit over time, like you experienced. I'm a 34 inch waist and have the same thing, its why you often saw people with suspenders with higher waist trousers. You might also find that what works is to get pants that dont have that issue with the buttcrack, (so have a longer/higher rise) and then get them taken in a bit at the waist