the sizes of the underware confuses me because here in the uk kids underware comes in ages ie age 4-5 age 9-10 etc, so when i first read in size 12 i thought they must be very large.
let me try and get something straight a girl JBR age would normally wear about size 8 do sizes vary greatly from one store to another or are all size 8 the same no matter where they are purchased?
US sizing is confusing! I think the type of sizing varies a lot depending on where you buy from. Hanna Andersson sells using the metric system. Some use a xs/small/med/large designation. Most do sizing by 4-6, 8-10, 12-14 which is by size not age. Big kids could be in a size 4-6 well before they are 4 yrs and on to a size 8-10 by age 5 or 6. Others will still be in the 4-6 until age 6 or 7. I also think more expensive brands are sized more generously. What you can know is that if you jump up two sizes...that is a pretty big jump. Improper fitting panties, either too big or too small may cause what in the US is termed a "wedgie" where the material rides up in an uncomfortable fashion. Some girls prefer their underwear on the smaller side (the too big ones ride up the worst) and they may prefer the old stretched out panties to the newer and still a little too big ones. It can be hard to convince a young girl to toss out her much beloved Disney Princess panties, speaking as a mom with experience.
I think generally UK kids are smaller than US kids at least it seemed that way when my size small/med teen daughter went to London with a friend and they were both shocked and dismayed to need to by size Large.
For those in the US here is a UK chart: Is this typical, Slug?
The UK mail order catalog called Boden:
http://www.boden.co.uk/en-GB/help/childrens-fit-and-size-charts.html#help