One Size Fits Nobody: Seeking a Steady 4 or a 10

Every woman can tell you this  — there is no standard sizes anymore. I love that men can choose waist and length almost all the time but women — it’s just not the same. Buying clothes is complicated and that’s one of the reasons buying clothes online is challenging at least for me.

In one store, you’re a Size 4, in another a Size 8, and in another a Size 10 — all without gaining an ounce.

It’s a familiar problem for many women, as standard sizing has never been very standard, ever since custom clothing gave way to ready-to-wear.

So, baffled women carry armfuls of the same garment in different sizes into the dressing room. They order several sizes of the same shirt online, just to get the right fit.

Now, a handful of companies are tackling the problem of sizes that are unreliable. Some are pushing more informative labels. Some are designing multiple versions of a garment to fit different body shapes. And one is offering full-body scans at shopping malls, telling a shopper what sizes she should try among the various brands.