Sizing question

[orthohawk]

I've pretty much exhausted the second hand stores in the area and am turning to buying online but a question has popped up. For elastic waist skirts, is the waist size listed in the size charts referring to the "at rest" dimension or the "stretched out" dimension. I don't want to spend money on a skirt that turns out to be too small for me because I didn't understand the sizing information.

Or is it all hopelessly chaotic and useless to even depend on the sizing numbers?

[Sinned]

I always contact the seller and ask for the tile size ( the measurement at rest across the top of the skirt ) and double this will give the waist size. You could also ask for the same tile size when stretched to ( close ) to its maximum width. That way you get the best of both worlds and if they don't reply then you're better off not bothering. BTW I always ask for the length of the skirt as well, if not given. Descriptions of size such as Medium or Large or 38, 44 or some such mean nothing to me. Even the sizes 14/16/18 should be taken with a ( very large ) pinch of salt. There are ( many ) other postings and threads about the illogicality and inconsistency of the female clothing sizes - they make a highly amusing read.

[r.m.anderson]

Beware - the elastic WAIST measurement must be able to pass over the hips to wear the skirt.
Other types of skirtwear have zipper button Velcro etc closings that enable the fixed measured
waist to pass over the hips.
So in any event make sure your skirt fits over the hips !