I buy men's trousers, which come in nicely standardized waist and inseam measurements. And in nice department stores you can get them hemmed for free. And they cost less.

Part of the problem with women's sizing is that they use people instead of measurements like with men's clothes. My aunt is a plus-size fit model, and I had a friend in college who was a misses' fit model. The manufacturer declares, "That person is a size 8," fits the clothing to the model, and then sizes up & down as appropriate. Since the same person isn't used by every manufacturer, you end up with lots of variation.

It would be nice to be able to buy standardized pants like men can, but I can't buy men's pants. Not with these curves! I looked at their website, and I'm body type 2, which is equivalent to "who put this beachball in my pants?"

And I thanked the fashion gods when hip-hugger jeans came in, because before that I could never find jeans that fit in both the waist AND the hips. If they fit in the hips, they were too tight in the waist (like barely buttonable). If they fit in the waist, they were huge over the thighs and rear end. With lower-rise jeans, I can usually find a decent fit.

I used to be able to solve the problem a bit by buying men's jeans, but they always seemed to be made of much heavier denim, stiffer, and bad fit in the rear. Though I might have been choosing the wrong jeans.

Like an earlier poster, I've resorted to buying men's pants. I love Gramiccis, but their women's sizes are all wrong for me. Out of frustration, I began buying their men's pants and they work lots better even though I have to alter their length and hem them.

Jeans are almost impossible. I've never had a waistline and I don't have hips. Petites fit me better in the rise but they're too short in the legs. If I buy regular jeans, the waistline is uncomfortably high. So far, LLBean makes the only jeans that fit me.

I always bought men's jeans. Now as an adult, I have found some stores that cater to different body types. The Gap and Old Navy have different styles for wide hips, narrow hips and thighs, as well as leg length. Express fashions offers pants in the same size but different lengths. But it is so much easier when things come in inches, so I think the questions women should be asking is why is there a different set of sizing for men than women. Why are men allowed to buy pants according to inches, who made this rule? Why is this? It's the same nonsense of how dry cleaning women's clothes for some reason costs more than men's shirts.

I did an experiment once, I sent all my cotton button shirts in with my hubby's, one price came back. Then I turned in the same shirts myself a month later and was charged more! Let's say I never used that cleaner again.

It's interesting to me how reluctant clothing manufacturers and retailers seem to be about adopting something like this. Do they even KNOW how many pairs of pants I would go out and buy if suddenly I could be assured of them fitting? I bet that I personally would offset a decent portion of their extra cost for patterns or store space. ;)

Honestly, I can understand different stores having different fits -- regardless of what that website claims, there are INFINITELY more than three different body types. And even if two people had exactly the same body, who's to say they like their pants to fit exactly the same?

And while I find it annoying that sizes aren't standardized, I could even deal with THAT if the people who made women's pants would just realize that WE ALL AREN'T THE SAME FREAKIN' HEIGHT. Men get to be different heights when they buy pants. Why don't we?!? I can't even begin to count the number of pairs of pants/jeans that I've tried on but been forced to reject because they were just too short. Sure, occasionally pants come in three lengths (short-regular-tall) but even that's just not NEARLY enough options for a gender that (stereotypically) buys as many clothes as we do.

I was utterly blown away to find out that women's pants don't even come in lengths. It is actually one reason women may buy so many pairs of shoes -- the heel length compenstates for the pants length. And that money would otherwise be spent on hemming.

This actually merits legal action as it has cost millions of women (and their husbands) time and money over and beyond what would be spent if pants came in lengths. They have to spend money on tailoring, more shoes, returns, etc. It is an anti-competitive conspiracy by manufacturers who don't want to incure the greater cost of making pants in more sizes. Seriously. They make higher profits this way -- and shut out competitors who try to change it.

So here, ladies, is an issue worthy of your furor. If you are lucky, you can get Spitzer involved. I can guarantee you men would not put up with this kind of bullshit for as long as you have. Good luck!

Men's pants are the same - different brands have different fits around the waist. I have actually had two pairs of pants marked the same size, same brand, in a fitting room, and one fit fine and the other didn't.

I came home Saturday in tears after wasting 2 hours at the d**n mall trying - and failing - to buy pants. Everything currently in my closet is about 1-2 inches too short and at least 3 years old. I fail to understand how the market is "working" when I have money to spend, the desire to spend it, but I can't find the right product. I'm still so frustrated by Saturday's experience I could just scream.

Being 5 foot even and 120 pounds makes for a shopping nightmare. Even the petites are too long. A few pairs of pants I have are labeled "capris." It should be noted, that they are ankle length to me.

Like a few posters here, I used to buy men's pants. But I always hated how the crotch area was so large. I think it's a little exaggerating, all those long zippers. Then, like one poster here, I rejoiced in the era of the low rise. Due to back problems, I have to wear clothes on my hips. My natural waist line is halfway up my torso, and I must have been in elementary school the last time I wore anything there.

On top of all of this frustration, is the sizing matter. Nevermind that there is no standard, that a size 6 at Gap is almost a size 4 at Old Navy (and they're under the same corporate entity..), but there's something worse, which my friend just told me about. When he lived in D.C., he worked for a fairly large women's mail order, that now has stores as well. He told me every now and then (I forget the actual time frame), they completely change the size. Honestly, I didn't believe him. That is, until the other day, in the dressing room at Old Navy. The last pair of pants I bought prior was a pair of petite pin stripes at Gap, size 6. I bring a size 4 and size 6 of pants into the dressing room with me, always unsure of how they'll fit at Old Navy. I try on the 6 first (note: last items I bought here were two skirts, size 4, the end of last year), and I was shocked that they were tight. The 6 should have been roomy, as my experience between Gap and Old Navy. But tight! I sulked out, handed my clothes to the woman working the dressing area, realizing my friend was totally right. The DO change the sizes on women's clothing.