The good news: clothing manufacturers have figured out (again) that perhaps they should standardize women’s clothing sizes. The bad news: multiple companies are working on different systems, so this standardization won’t be standardized any time soon.

The New York Times looked at the problem over the weekend. Why is this such an issue? Not even taking different body shapes into account, the Times gives an example:

Take a woman with a 27-inch waist. In Marc Jacobs’s high-end line, she is between an 8 and a 10. At Chico’s, she is a triple 0. And that does not consider whether the garment fits in the hips and bust. (Let’s not get into length; there is a reason most neighborhood dry cleaners also offer tailoring.)

One thing that the New York Times article mentions is MyBestFit, a company that takes TSA-style body scans of your every dimension and uses the data to tell you which clothes in which sizes from which brands will fit you correctly. The only current kiosk is in the massive mall in King of Prussia, PA. Has anyone out there in our commentariat tried it? Did it help you find clothing?

One Size Fits Nobody: Seeking a Steady 4 or a 10 [NY Times] (Thanks, Rhonda!)

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