It’s so bad that my fiancée has some bras that say she’s a B cup and others that says she’s a D cup. In order to go bra shopping, you have to actually try them on to find out if they fit.
If I had to try on underwear to see if they fit, I might not bother with underwear at all!
Men’s pants are sized based on the number of inches around the waist and the inseam. The inseam is stupid because it ignores the height from the waist to the crotch so relaxed fitting jeans will have a shorter inseam than a regular fit. I’m sure it is because it was standardized when higher waisted jeans and overalls and that kind of stuff was popular.
But it doesn’t matter any more because the waist sizes can be off by a few inches anyway. It was literal, then became kind of close. Not as bad as women’s clothing, but it is brand specific depending on how hard they lean into vanity sizing.
Yet another reason why I don’t wear pants.