women's pant/belt size question

[TMM]

hey all...

i was thinking about ordering a special belt for my girlfriend for christmas, but i'm not sure what size to order! i know she's about a size 12, but i have no idea how that compares to a belt measurement in inches/men's pant size. googling this only made me a little bit more confused. does anyone happen to know what size i would want to choose?

thanks!

tmm

[Hutch]

DANGER!  DANGER!  RUN AWAY!

No good can come of this.  Guess to small, she feels bad about herself.  Guess too big, and she will hang YOU with it.  Just right, and you're just massaging your own ego and giving her something she probably doesn't want.

A gift certificate for a Spa trip.  Works every time.

[grampster]

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT BUY HER A BELT!!!  You can only lose.

I agree with the spa thing...pedi, manni, mud bath, facial, massage.  Win!

[TechMan]

DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT BUY HER A BELT!!!  You can only lose.

I agree with the spa thing...pedi, manni, mud bath, facial, massage.  Win!

I will strenuously AGREE with grampster.....DO NOT BUY THIS FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!  Women's sizes very from manufacturer to manufacturer and are not as uniform as men's sizes.

Paging BW or BSL.

[charby]

What all the guys said.

If you must a gift card to the store that has said belt.

[TechMan]

What all the guys said.

If you must a gift card to the store that has said belt.

I agree with charby...gift card to store that has said belt and it better have more money on it than just the belt's cost.

[grampster]

There is only one kind of belt that would be satisfactory....a money belt, a full money belt.

[Jamisjockey]

I have an uncanny ability to purchase clothing and shoes for my wife that fits.  She has uncanny ability to not be offended if it doesn't fit.
That said, girlfriend, right?

[TMM]

well, there goes what i thought was a good idea. and this is a belt we're talking about here, something that can generally fit three or four sizes...

oh, by the way, she isn't the spa kind of person. not from what i've gathered, anyway.

tmm

[MillCreek]

I, being the brave and true risk manager who goes where angels fear to tread, will handle this.  Here are a few ideas for you to try:

A US size 12 waist generally runs 30-32 inches.  As mentioned, it can vary by manufacturer, but this is a good average.

The next time she is in the shower and cannot watch what you are doing, grab a pair of her favorite pants that use a belt.  Thread a fabric tape measure around through the belt loops and see what measurement you end up with.  If her pants don't have belt loops, run the tape measure around the waist at the approximate height of where a belt would go. If you don't have a fabric tape measure (a metal measuring tape is not flexible enough for this) run a piece of cord (detcord for the APS crowd) through the belt loops and cut the cord just at the point where it overlaps the beginning end of the cord centered at the front of the pants (where the top button goes). Measure the cord and you have the waist circumference in inches.  Correlate the measurement in inches to either the belt size in inches or with how the belt manufacturer lists S-M-L sizes.

Finally, if she already has belts, look to see if there is a size or inch measurement printed on the underside of the belt, usually either under the buckle end, but sometimes at the tip of the belt.

I have bought clothing for women for decades and I have done alright. Except for losing my hair in my early 20's, but I am not drawing a cause and effect here.

[Lee]

How about a piece of rope instead.  I think it's very sexy.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FL-PPjp4i8M/StPfAstSB7I/AAAAAAAAAX8/cMm5O5UB52M/s320/Elly-May.jpg&imgrefurl=http://whengeniusprevailed.com/small-company-update-joez-blows/&h=320&w=306&sz=37&tbnid=-izibC4UegBNVM:&tbnh=230&tbnw=220&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dellie%2Bmae%2Bclampett&zoom=1&q=ellie+mae+clampett&usg=__5iMqIqFHrbRaRU8_JQQeW-nCq_Y=&sa=X&ei=p4nUTKa_GIvunget5qGSBg&ved=0CBoQ9QEwAg

[230RN]

Go to a lumber yard and pick up two 8 foot lengths of pole.

Cut 2 feet off one and epoxy this cut off piece to the end of the other 8 foot pole.

When the epoxy is cured, you will have a ten foot pole.

Use it to not touch this gift idea.

Terry, 230RN

[Gowen]

This would be the same as buying her a Weight watchers gift certificate, diet pills or a bumper sticker that says "Does this belt make my hiney look big?"  See above for alternatives.

[TMM]

lee, she does use rope! baling twine, actually, because metal buckles irritate her skin. i thought it would be a good idea to get her one of those buckle-less/leather covered buckle belts ("mechanics belts").

mill creek, thank you for your brave step into the world of potentially insulting your SO!

maybe i should just ask her if she's interested in this gift? takes away the surprise, but, i don't know. unless this is some other major faux pax that i didn't get a memo about?

tmm

[BridgeRunner]

I wouldn't know, I buy men's belts.  They don't look substantially different, at least the jeans-style ones that are the only belt I generally wear, and they have handy measurements written on the tags.

There is even less uniformity among s/m/l/xl in things like women's belts than there is for actual clothes.  And 12 is right in prime "touchy about her weight" territory--not a 6 or 8, which is what most non-fashionistas tend to think of as good, not 16/18+ and therefore if she owns a mirror she knows she's heavy. 

Run far.  Run fast.

Ftr, I'm delighted to be a size 12 and not at all touchy about my weight because I'm delighted to finally be under 160 and not overweight for the first time in years, but I still get annoyed when I get a gift that doesn't fit.

[Jamisjockey]

12 is such a weird size.  She could be chunky, or just curvy.  But, like BW says, etither way, she knows she's a 12 and might not be happy about that.  Most wimmins want to be single sizes. 
Screwing up buying her a belt puts you in dangerous waters.
Too big..."Oh, you thought I was fatter than a 12?"
Too small...."Oh, I'm fat! You think I need to lose weight?"

[seeker_two]

i was thinking about ordering a special belt for my girlfriend for christmas...

That almost as bad an idea as redecorating a room for her.... 

[Perd Hapley]

They let women wear pants now? 

[BridgeRunner]

They let women wear pants now? 

Shoes, too. 

[French G.]

lee, she does use rope! baling twine, actually, because metal buckles irritate her skin. i thought it would be a good idea to get her one of those buckle-less/leather covered buckle belts ("mechanics belts").
tmm

I wear a belt that is nylon webbing and velcro all around the front, highly adjustable and preferred when a buckle might irritate the skin and/or jam a flight control.