The Illusion of Standard Sizing

Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007918/Fanta-sizing-High-street-stores-dupe-women-thinking-theyre-inches-slimmer.html

There’s a great article from the Washington Post here on one of my favorite topics, the illusion of standard sizing. The historical development of arbitrary numerical sizes that weren’t based on any specific measurements create all sorts of issues with both shopping and understanding what appropriate fit means. I now wear a smaller size than I did in my teens when I weighted fifteen pounds less than I do now. I’m glad most knitting patterns are based on finished measurements. I really wish retail would adopt a similar system. It's not a perfect method but it's better than what we have now!