Everyone needs to know: these are JUNIOR plus sizes.  I'm a size 12 and I ordered a 1X.  This fits well... I probably could've even ordered one size smaller.  It has an elastic banded waist AND string ties, which are really long and don't seem to serve much purpose, so I cut them off.  This will be a great skirt for formal dinners, wearing with a nice button down blouse for work, etc.