Can We Get Consistent Sizing? A Rant.

Earlier today, I got an email that jeans were buy one get one 50% off at Old Navy. Like many other thirtysomethings, I'm a former designer jean devotee, but as I've gotten older, the idea of spending $200 on a pair of jeans makes me cringe. So on my lunch break today, I drove to Old Navy, found some denim styles to try on and took a two and a four in a few styles to the fitting room. Nothing fit. I couldn't even zip the jeans! Now, I'm not the tiniest person I know, but I'm typically a two or a four. So when they didn't even come close to zipping, I wanted to know what size would. The ultimate answer? An eight. This is what they look like on: 

For reference, I am five feet tall and weight 105 pounds. I have chicken legs and thigh gap. And had to buy an eight. I shared the story with a friend and she said, "I wouldn't have bought them." But the jeans are cute. I honestly was fine buying whatever size fit (clearly, I took advantage of the BOGO sale), but as the ghostwriter of a bariatric surgery blog, it got me thinking. 

So many people have physically transformed their bodies through diet, exercise and/or surgery. Many people benchmark their progress by noting what size they started at in their journey and what size they now wear. If I had to go up to an eight, what about the woman who lost 100 pounds over the last year? She worked hard and is proud to be an eight (and rightfully so) and the sizing at Old Navy might put her in a 12 or 14. Crazy, right? Where is the consistency among sizing for women? There is a commercial out now where women of all shapes and sizes go into a store and try on jeans. Instead of there being a numbered size on a tag, the tag provides their wearer with a compliment. If only the real world worked that way, we would all feel a lot better about ourselves and comfortable buying whatever makes us look and feel good. Am I alone in this? Has anybody else had to buy a wildly different size when switching brands?