yes, most men's clothes now are vanity sized. the inches are a fixed number of inches wrong. "roomier" brands like dockers are just oversized by more inches (say 4 instead of 2). in theory you can measure a pair of pants to determine the waist however it depends on the rise - a "32" waist pair which is cut closer to the hip will have a wider torso hole than a 32" which has a longer rise, and that is completely correct (the waist size refers to the waist of the wearer, not the top of the pants). What is not correct is making pants that fit a 36" waist and labeling them a 32". the reason they do it is the exact same as the reason women's clothes do it. a man walks into the store, tries on Brand X, finds its too tight. tries on Brand Y, it fits better. He decides that he will buy Brand Y "because he's a 32" rather than trying a 33 or 34 from Brand X. it's freaking obnoxious.