U.S. standard clothing sizes for women were originally developed from statistical data in the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, they were similar in concept to the EN 13402 European clothing size standard, although individual manufacturers have always deviated from them, sometimes significantly.
However, as a result of various cultural pressures, most notably vanity sizing, North American clothing sizes have drifted substantially away from this standard over time, and now have very little connection to it. Instead, they now follow the more loosely defined standards known as U.S. catalog sizes.
Body measurements below are given in inches.