The other day, someone posted that they forewent their actual ring size in favor of a slightly bigger size - all to escape the dreaded Sausage Finger.

I have to say I'm tempted to do the same thing. I don't want anything incredibly loose, but if I went with my actual ring size I'd have a little of that look going on at times - especially if there are crazy weather changes.

A woman in a jewelry store told me once that a properly-fitted ring should fit a little on the snug side - or at least be a bit of a struggle to take off. Is that true?

I just ordered a ring sizer from Asha Diamonds... so what should I be looking for in "the right size"?

That is a personal choice. I like my rings looser than tighter. I cannot stand snug rings, despite the staff at jewelry counters telling me that my rings are too big. They size me at a 5.75, and that would make me have the dreaded muffin top, as well as just be uncomfy. If I am wearing one thin ring, I wear a 6. If I am wearing something thicker or stacking, I wear anything from 6.5-7 depending on how thick and how many rings... My rings are loose and do spin, but they do not fly off my fingers. They are not hard to get off though, and f I am washing my hands with them on, I need to be careful.

I love your title.

I have also been told by jewelry store clerks that rings should fit snugly. But a ring that is loose on me in the morning is usually quite snug by the evening.

My original wedding ring from 25 years ago is a 6.5 and fits when my hands are cold or I am not retaining any extra water. The ring I inherited from my grandmother is a 7.5 and is what I usuallly wear on my wedding finger in the summer. The jewelers sizing rings peg me at a size 7. I like my rings looser so any new ring I order will be a 7.5.

I think the shape of your finger also plays a factor in whether or not loose rings are a good idea. I have a larger knuckle than the top of my finger so even if a ring is loose on me it will not slip off over my knuckle. While looking at all the hand shots on this board I realized that everyones fingers are not shaped the same as mine. I think the women who have fingers that get thinner as they go down towards the knuckle probably have to wear snugger rings to assure they don't slip off when their hands get cold or wet.

The width and shape of the ring will also affect how it fits.

well, my fingers look like sausages even when i'm not wearing any rings. and i've been wearing rings on my left ring finger since before i was a year old, so the shape of my finger has somewhat been affected by that. so it looks like i've got "muffin top" no matter how comfortably loose my rings are. or no rings on at all.

to size up big enough to somewhat disguise that look, the rings are so big they'd fall off if i moved my hand, and sit sideways which i hate the look of.

how rings should fit, i think, depends on a number of factors - from how your fingers are shaped to how often you plan to take it on and off, to personal chemistry - such as whether your fingers swell over the course of a day or if they particularly swell if you look too hard at a pretzel.

for someone new to jewelry, i think it might be a wise idea to pick up some inexpensive bands - sterling, stainless, even costume jewelry if you don't have nickel sensitivities - to judge how things fit over the course of a week before purchasing expensive jewelry.

better to discover that your $8 ring is too loose/tight than finding out your expensive ring doesn't fit the way you'd hoped.

for knuckle issues, there are sizing beads/bars and even hinged shanks to help with fitting.

generally speaking narrower shanks fit bigger (so you can wear a slightly smaller size) and wider shanks fit smaller (so you need to size up)
same with stacking, for widths over about 4mm total, size up for comfort.

Yeah, my fingers are weird. I'm typically sized at a 5.5. But since I started wearing a band with my ring and other stacking, I do understand why sizing up for stacking is important. I do hate the sausage finger/muffin top look, sizing up prevents that for me and it doesn't feel as loose as I would've thought.

I wear a 6, 6.25 or 6.5 for stacking. It depends on the rings.

But I also fit into a 4.5 and that's what another jewelry store says is my size, but I do swell and when I do wear my size 4.5, I can barely take it off at times. I don't see how that is meant to be a comfortable ring size.

I am officially a size 6, but no way would I be comfortable in that. If I can feel my ring, it bothers me. I need loose to be comfortable. So I start at a 6.5 for a thin (under 3mm) band. For a wider band (4mm or more) or a set of two, I go to 6.75.

In my stack of four, I have two size 6.75s, one size 7, and one size 7.25. The 7 and 7.25 would fall off unassisted if I tried to wear them alone. But it's nice to have a couple in the set that never bind or constrict, to take some pressure off the others. Stacking takes up a surprising amount of girth.

Salt is a culprit for swelling with me, but heat is the primo killer. In July and August I generally can't wear my full stack of 4 rings. I bounce between only 2 or 3 of them. In the winter my stack of all 4 rings is frequently musical... ting, ting, ting.

Like Dana, I also have a slightly deformed ring finger from wearing rings all my life. I say it's the humane version of foot binding.

I haaaate tight rings! They need to be "just right" or a little roomy. If I have to struggle taking a ring off, it prompts 3 thoughts: 1. How much salt have I had today?? 2. Should I resize this...? Or 3. Upgrade this one is practically useless Haha

i'm going through this right now, me beloved wedding and engagement rings do not fit! this heat and probably pregnancy has relegated them to thier little box.
I need to find a little band to wear so I don't feel like people think i'm some sort of statistic.

Interesting. My fingers are usually swollen in the morning, then shrink as the day goes on! But maybe part of that is air conditioning. We don't use much of it at home, but at work it's an ice box! I'm also in the large knuckle camp. So I take whatever barely fits over my knuckle so it spins minimally when on my actual finger... ugh... well not "finger," but you know... I wish I knew how to describe finger anatomy in jewelry terms! One also has to keep in mind jewelry style. Obviously wider rings and comfort fit rings take sizes larger than you normally wear. Also, if you plan on stacking, you have to go up in size usually, as I guess that simulates a wider band. Things get complicated very quickly!

YES! I was dealing with this the other day in the jewelry store trying on settings. I was sized at a 7, but it fel snug for me and normally I wear a 7.5. When I was bigger weight I wore an 8 on that finger. Since I'm at my lower weight now I'd rather get something at the 7.5 range so I don't have to re-size years down the road. I told the clerk this and she started arguing with me like I was making a huge mistake. I'd MUCH rather have a looser fitting ring than one that feels too tight and I don't want to have to re-size my ring ever if I can help it. I've already decided though I'm getting the 7.5 even though the band is thin and I doubt I'll be wearing another ring with it. I feel more comfortable with that decision, and I'm the one wearing it not her.