eli5 Why aren’t women’s clothes sized by measurements like men’?

Question

I can understand uniquely shaped clothes (halter tops, etc) but why not pants, skirts, suits, etc?

In: 603

Answer 1

It is an American Marketing and Sales tactic.

they use pseudo psychology to confuse people on what to think about what they buy. If one retailer has a woman at a size 11, and the same item at another store is a size 6 – she is going to buy the Size 6 (they think). And when they prove that, they can then jack up the price on the size 6 item and get more money.

It is pretty egregious but it unfortunately works. Look at the Facebook psychological experiments in 2012 for reference.