confused about women's sizes

[Christy]

I'm still pretty new to women's clothing. I found this on the board "20(38)     41/42-1/2       32/33 1/2      43/44-1/2       42(L)" what does it mean? I am a size 42 in men's jeans and I get that the sizes all the way to the left are women's but there are two different sizes 20 and 38. This confuses me. Am I a size 20 or a size 38? Also what would be my belt size? Any help would be appreciated.

[mrs izzy]

You would try a size 20 first.

As always each has there own fit and flare.

[ryanjoseph]

unfortunately there's not a WHOLE lot of consistency with women's clothing. i would try to find a sizing chart from the brand that you're trying to buy pants from and compare your measurements to that. like mrs izzy said, i think 20 would be a good place to start too (if we're talking US women's sizes)