How clothing sizes vary worldwide
Finally! All those men congratulating themselves on fitting into size 34 jeans year on year are having a rude awakening. Yes, vanity sizing (or ‘manity sizing’) has hit the high street.
New research has found that the trouser waistbands in many UK stores are bigger than the actual measurements in the label.
We’d like to sympathise, but we can’t help feeling a little smug. Welcome to the world of female shopping – where you have to take at least two sizes of anything into the fitting room, and gingerly start with the bigger one, in case the smaller one was optimistically slender.
Schizophrenic sizing has long blighted our shopping sprees, offering huge highs (yes I’m a Reiss XS!) that lead to buying clothes we don’t need just for the size satisfaction, and crushing lows (how come I expand 3 jeans sizes on crossing Topshop’s threshold?).
A lot of this arbitrary sizing is down to nationality, as well as brand. ‘Sizing is a universal problem because it differs so much between countries and from brand to brand, ‘explains Antonia O’Brien, MT-TV Stylist and Presenter for my-wardrobe.com, which stocks designer labels from all over the world.
‘I find that for jeans I’m a 26 in American label J Brand and 27 in Swedish label Nudie, but the overall fit and effect will be the same,’ she admits, ‘Unfortunately, there are no definite rules between brands and countries so it really is a case of trial and error.’
Plus, many brands will cut to a particular 'body template' for each size, based on a real model.
[See also: My Body Gallery: finally see other women who are you size]
Sometimes, this template woman will be a totally different shape to you, sometimes she’ll be your body double – this is why some shops just seem to suit you, and others never fit properly.
So, how to crack the sizing code? One handy (but rather un-pc) trick is to picture a national stereotype from wherever the brand is from. ‘There are no set standards on sizing, so they do differ depending on the average size and shape of each county,’ says O’Brien.
‘In general French sizing is small and petite as opposed to American sizing, which comes up larger. At my-wardrobe we provide thorough sizing recommendations for each item, giving advice on the fit and cut, explaining which size the model is wearing to help advise the shopper.’
So there you have it. If you’re shopping from a European brand, punch above your weight as sizes tend to cup up small. But if it’s a UK or US brand, cut yourself some slack and prepare to take a smaller size than usual. Then take a deep breath and think, size is just a number.
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