Logic Behind Italian Sizing?

[Superfluous]

A size 40 US Jacket is meant for someone with a 40 inch chest. Seems logical. What's the logic behind Italian sizing? Where does the "50" come from for a 40 inch chest?

 

[Nicola]

I assume you mean Italian sizing and not the new EU sizing system.

A 50 is 100 cm. So multiply the size by 2 and you've got cm. Convert from cm to inches if you can't handle cm.

 

[clausc]

^ You are right. For the Italian sizing for coats, it's the chest diameter in cm divided by 2. Of course this varies of lot on cuts and manufacturers.

I live in Switzerland where is a mix of Italian, French and German sizing which drives my crazy. For trousers and shoes is also complicated, but you have to know the origin of the brand and sometimes you have on the tag the sizes for different countries.

 

[Superfluous]

Ahh, I thought it would have to do with cm, but I thought since it was 2.54cm/inch that it would screw with the sizing too much.