Vanity sizing

Vanity sizing WHAT SIZE IS THIS? 8 40 OKAY. US 8. 8 inches, 8 cm? NO, JUST 8. THE NUMBER HAS NO UNIT. THE NUMBER IS THE SIZE. WHAT DOES IT MEASURE? NOTHING ANYMORE. ANYMORE? WELL, THERE WAS AN OFFICIAL STANDARD IN 1958. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO IT? WE GOT RID OF IT IN AND REPLACED WITH SO SINCE 1983, A SIZE 8 IS WHATEVER THE BRAND SAYS IT IS. AND WHAT DO BRANDS SAY? SMALLER AND SMALLER NUMBERS. BECAUSE PEOPLE BUY MORE WHEN THE SO THE SIZES ARE COMPLIMENTS. THE SIZE IS A COMPLIMENT. EVERYONE'S SIZE IS DECREASING. A 1958 SIZE 8 IS A SIZE DOUBLE ZERO TODAY YOU INFLATED THE NUMBERS SO FAR YOU NEEDED NOT ONLY A ZERO, BUT A DOUBLE ZERO. WHAT COMES AFTER DOUBLE ZERO? WE'LL FIND SOMETHING. OURS DRIFT TOO. I ASSUMED. YEAH A 12 TODAY WAS ROUGHLY A 16 IN THE 80S. 40 IS NOT 40 OF ANYTHING NEITHER IS 44. WELL, AT LEAST MEN'S WEAR USES INCHES. A 36 INCH WAIST IS 36 INCHES. IT'S BETWEEN 37 AND 41 DEPENDING ON THE BRAND. YOU PRINTED A MEASUREMENT IN REAL AND IT'S A LIE. IT'S ASPIRATIONAL. THE UNIT'S RIGHT THERE ON THE LABEL. YEAH, WE KNOW WHAT AN INCH IS. 2.54 CENTIMETRES. THERE IS A EUROPEAN STANDARD CALLED EN 134 02. IT LABELS CLOTHES WITH THE ACTUAL BODY MEASUREMENTS IN CENTIMETRES. IT'S VOLUNTARY. DOES FRENCH FASHION USE IT? HA, HA. NO. SO THE DRESSES ARE NOTHING, THE TROUSERS ARE A LIE. AND THERE IS A FIX, BUT IT'S OPTIONAL. THE NUMBER IS HOW YOU'D LIKE I WOULD LIKE TO FEEL INFORMED. OKAY, LAST CHANCE. WHAT SIZE IS THIS? TRUTHFULLY, WHAT SIZE WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY? NUMBERS DON'T MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY. SMALLER ONES.