Assigning one size to a dress is like trying to assign a size to a whole suit. But no one attempts to sell suits sized in a single dimension.
Back in the day when airplanes were new, the (ch)Airforce wanted to create a one-size-fits-all cockpit. So they spent untold numbers of the taxpayers dollar to have their scientists measure all the people they could (mostly White dudes in the military) to find the average numbers. And what did they find?
There is no average.
Turns out, even among people of very similar background, the differences are too different to create an "average" sizing for people. Instead, they created adjustable seating and such for their cockpits. This is where the adjustable seating/steering/mirrors in your car eventually came from.
And so when you say having one-size dresses is a silly thing, you are more scientifically correct than you might think.
Wouldn't mirrors have always had to be adjustable? At least the rear view. They're kind of useless unless you aim them right before you drive.
It's because men are honest about sizing. Chest measurement, waist measurement, inseam, etc...are real numbers. No guy is like "I'm a 52L, I want vanity sizing to say I'm not a land whale".
If women wanted honesty in their sizing, they'd ask for measurement for every meaningful dimension. Shoulders, bust, underbust, waist, hips, inseam, etc.
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