Making Sense of International Clothing Size Charts
A clothing size is a label, not a measurement. It has no fixed definition, it differs by country, and it has drifted steadily over the decades. The Clothing Size Converter lines up the national scales.
Roughly how they relate
For women's clothing, the common offsets are: a UK size is 4 larger than the US size for the same garment, so a UK 12 is a US 8. An EU size is 28 larger than the US, so a US 8 is an EU 36. Italian sizes run 4 above the EU, so the same garment is an IT 40.
So one dress is a US 8, a UK 12, an EU 36 and an IT 40. Those offsets are the useful part, and they are approximate by nature rather than by sloppiness.
Men's clothing is less chaotic, because much of it is quoted in actual measurements - a 32-inch waist, a 16-inch collar, a 42-inch chest. Those convert cleanly, and the only conversion needed is inches to centimetres.
Vanity sizing, which is not a conspiracy
Sizes have drifted larger over time. A garment labelled a US 8 today is several inches larger than a US 8 from the 1950s, and the same drift has happened in the UK and Europe.
It is usually described as flattery, and it is mostly inertia: no single brand wants to be the one whose size 10 is tighter than everyone else's, so the labels crept and never crept back. The consequence is that a size has no stable meaning even within one country, let alone between them.
The three numbers that work
Bust or chest, waist and hip, measured in centimetres. Nearly every brand publishes a size chart against these, and a chart from the brand you are buying from beats any conversion table.
Measure over the underwear you would wear with the garment, keep the tape level and snug without pulling, and write the numbers down somewhere you can find them. Then shop by the chart, not by the number on the label. The Length Converter handles brands that publish in inches.
Where two measurements disagree with each other, buy for the larger and alter the rest - a garment that fits the shoulders and is loose at the waist is fixable; the reverse is not.
Common questions
Why is the same size different in two shops?
Because there is no standard. Each brand sets its own chart, and the label is whatever they decided to print.
What is the difference between EU and Italian sizing?
Italian sizes are typically four numbers higher for the same garment. French sizing is close to EU.
Do men's sizes convert more simply?
Yes, because they are often real measurements. A 32-inch waist is a 32-inch waist, give or take the brand's idea of where your waist is.
Should I size up for online shopping?
Only if the chart says so. Check the returns policy instead - it is more reliable than guessing.
Need a size in another country's system?