how the hell am i supposed to buy stuff online when a size 12 varies so much from brand to brand???

[MadameWeb]

Asda jeans in a 12 - hanging off me,

Chilli Pepper jeans in 12 fit perfectly

just got 2 pairs of next jeans in a 12- i am at least 6 weeks from buttoning them up if i go to the gym everyday!!

grrrrrr!

I know what you mean - I have clothes in my wardrobe ranging from a 10 to a 14. Even different items from the same shop are not always the same size: I've got 2 pairs of sz 12 M&S trousers that fit perfectly, so I bought a pair without trying them on, and I can't do them up.

So, likewise, GGGgggggrrrrrr!

It's no substitute, but when you live 50 miles from the nearest M&S and Next, you start taking chances!

It's a pain isn't it? Mr Janeite bought two pairs of identical trousers the other day and he needed size 32 in one pair and size 36 in the other! I suppose it's something to do with being made up in sweatshops for increasingly cheap prices? I have clothes ranging from size 8 to size 16 and have to try everything on before I buy; totally annoying.

A friend thinks there is a conspiracy to make people believe they are a smaller size than they really are. But then I went into Karen Millen - my rump my not be the sleekest on the planet, but it doesn't usually need a size 16 .

I agree with Roskv, it's a conspiracy.
I order from catalogues that have free returns and always order two sizes - e.g. the 12 and the 14, or the 14 and the 16.
The only way to do it, I think.

Do they think we are stupid ?
I don't really care whether I am a 12 or a 14.
I just want consistency.

Too much to ask, it seems.