Stupid question: how do you measure inseam?

I operate under the assumption that it is at the crotch X. Maybe your measurements are wrong due to measuring before shrinkage?

Inseam sizes rarely correspond with the actual measurement. Various reasons for this, but the main one is that a person's inseam remains constant (assuming you want the bottom to fall to the same place) while different cuts of jeans that fit that person will have shorter or longer actual inseam measurements. If you have a baggy pair of jeans, you want a shorter inseam measurement than your actual body measurement or the legs would be too long.

I think he meant the size tag doesn't correspond to the actual inseam measurement. This, I think, is the result of poor quality control for the most part. For as long as I've been measuring inseams, it's always from where the seams meet to the ground. My jeans usually err on the long side by about .5".

Some brands go both ways. I dont think it's ever perfectly constant, unless they've been hemmed to a designated length after you bought them.

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