The truth about sizing
If you’ve ever tried on three pairs of jeans in the same shopping trip – and often in the same shop – and somehow been a size 10, 12 and 14 all at once, you’ll know how inconsistent sizing is. It’s a genuine problem and something that I am always messaged about by both clients and followers.
But the truth is, sizing was never designed to define your body. It was designed to help manufacturers produce clothing at scale. But for so many the number stitched inside the garment carries a whole host of emotion and even identity.
As a former buyer for a number of high street brands, I have first hand knowledge of the practical reasons for these inconsistencies, why sizing changes from brand to brand and hopefully once you understand this, it will help you to focus on fit above all rather than the size on the label.
There is no universal sizing standard
One of the biggest misconceptions in fashion is that a UK size 12 should fit the same everywhere. It doesn’t. And this is the reason why…
Every brand creates clothing using its own “fit model” who is a body shape and set of proportions they design around. So for example when I worked at House of Fraser we fitted our garments on a small size 10 who was fairly straight. But when I was at Monsoon we had a much curvier size 12 as our fit model. So already you are starting from very different points with one brand catering to a straighter frame, another to curves, another to taller proportions, and another to a younger customer base etc.
This is why you can walk into one changing room and feel that the clothes are perfect for you, then leave another questioning your entire wardrobe. It is because quite simply one brand’s fit will be more aligned with your individual body shape than another’s.
Why Clothes Get Longer in Bigger Sizes
This is something people rarely talk about.
As sizes increase, clothing lengths often increase too – dresses become longer, sleeves too, rises change, trouser proportions shift, shoulder widths increase. This process is called grading.
When fashion brands create a range of sizes, they don’t redesign each garment individually. Instead, they scale patterns up or down mathematically from a base sample size.
The issue is that bodies don’t grow proportionally in every direction. Someone may go up a size in the hips but not become taller. Another person may need more room in the bust but not longer sleeves. Yet traditional grading systems will increase all measurements together because they cannot cater for the individual.
So this is why petites struggle with larger sizes and taller women struggle with smaller sizes being too short and why curvier clients often find proportions distorted as sizes increase.
It’s not that your body is “wrong” for the clothes. It is that the grading simply isn’t accounting for real human variation.
You Have to Interpret the Garment – Not Just the Size
This is one of the biggest styling shifts people can make and something I talk about all the time because the size is irrelevant when you understand how the garment is designed to fit.
For example: An oversized blazer may be intentionally cut wide through the shoulders and body, meaning you might size down for balance or indeed so as to not be totally drowned. Meanwhile a sweater may be designed to be a slim fit which actually means that you need to size up so you don’t feel like an encased sausage.
Many people assume a garment “doesn’t fit” when actually they’re trying to wear it differently from how it was designed. And the key is to finding the fit that works for your body rather than the size that you think your body is. The goal isn’t to force yourself into your “usual size”. The goal is to achieve the right fit for that specific garment.
Sometimes that means sizing down.
Sometimes that means sizing up.
Sometimes it means ignoring the number completely.
Fabric Changes Everything
Two garments with identical measurements can fit completely differently depending on fabric.
A rigid denim jean will feel tighter than a stretch version. A structured blazer fits differently from a soft knit jacket. Satin can cling while cotton can skim.
This is why focusing only on the number is misleading. The cut, fabric composition and construction matter just as much.
The double edged sword: Online shopping
Online shopping has amplified sizing confusion because it’s impossible to assess the true proportions, the length on a body, the fabric and so on. Most models are clipped at the back during shoots, and sizing guides vary massively between brands because as we have discussed they fit on different models and will grade their sizes differently.
So while you might feel online shopping is a time saving solution, as far as I am concerned, it is generally a false economy. Nothing can beat seeing a garment in the flesh, taking a couple of sizes into the changing room and the immediacy of either returning straight away or buying there and then without endless trips to the post office.
Most retailers have returns rates of around 50% or even more so you are not alone with all the parcels you are returning.
Please remember that the label inside your clothes is simply one brand’s interpretation of measurements. And the goal is not to fit the clothes. The goal is to find clothes that fit you.
16 Comments
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Claire Lopez
Glad it’s helpful. Doesn’t make it any less frustrating but practically there are reasons why sizing just can’t be standard!
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Jane
Really interesting thank you. I was also told in one shop that dyeing jeans affects the sizing so that identical pairs in different colours fit differently. So annoying for the customer who needs to shop online as no physical shops hold the range that is available online.
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Claire Lopez
Yes that does make a difference. They might not be different denims but the dye makes them fit differently and generally darker washes or colours will feel tighter because of all the dye.
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Pamela
It’s difficult too to get to a store and even if you do they probably don’t have the same stock as they do online. That’s a result of online shopping I guess.
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Claire Lopez
For all retailers their website is their biggest “store” and will always carry far more stock than a bricks and mortar shop because there are no space and merchandising constraints. But yes that is the result of the rise in importance of online shopping. It is a much less successful way to shop though
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Karen
I have discovered through research and talking to experts in sustainability (I an an ex social scientist academic and have taught international development studies so know people in the fashion sustainability campaign community) that the reason sized vary within the brand on the same item, eg M&S is absolutely notorious for a pair of trousers or jeans in the EXACT same style and even colourway coming up differently in measurements is because they don’t have all the units for a particular item produced in exactly the same factory under the exact same conditions so 10,000 units maybe produced in Bangladesh and then another set in India and each factory has their own errors of margins are in the pattern cut so this affects the resulting size. I recently purchased 2 pairs of the exact same linen palazzos in a short 8. The brown pair measures 1.5 inches less across the waistband and 1 inch longer in the leg and neither measure what m&s own website say a short trousers inside leg should be they measure 1.5 and 2.5 inches longer each because my inside leg actually fits the measurements of a regular length. So indeed we do need to experiment with size buy unfortunately not everyone has the resources in this day of online shopping to purchase 4 of the same item to find one pair to fit eg 2 sizes at both short & regular lengths. But this is the price to pay for fast fashion because I hwve been told the cheaper m&s range are do not use fit nodels they just use pattern cutting to measurements. That’s why I like brands who do use a fit model as you can at least become more familiar with their sizing and know who you can go to for clothes that work in your body, there is at least some consistency within their brand on their sizing types. Whereas M&S Zara H&M New Look for example are crazy in their wild irregularity on sizing on the same garment.
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Claire Lopez
There is a huge element of human error in the production process. As part of any line being produced there are tolerances allowed on all measurements which means some variation is expected. And yes in large retail businesses they may well have different factories making the same order.
In all the retailers I worked at when I was a buyer there was a fit model. From Dorothy Perkins and River Island to House of Fraser and Monsoon so that is not my experience but it wouldn’t surprise me
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Jenette
These days us polly pockets can not buy lots of jeans ,trousers and summer dresses
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Claire Lopez
Not sure what you mean!
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Caroline
Such a useful and informative article. Thank you!
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Claire Lopez
Glad it’s helpful
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Helen Vee
That is the best explanation of the sizing dilemma I have ever read. While it doesn’t resolve the confusion we all experience, it does help clarify that the inconsistencies are nothing to do with an individual’s body size but rather the manufacturing system itself. Thank you for taking the time to explain it.
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Claire Lopez
Yes – it doesn’t change it or make the situation any less frustrating but I think knowing why there are legitimate practical reasons for the inconsistencies helps to reframe how we look at sizing. Obviously there are lots more elements to this as many people have raised below too and there is more that retailers can do to ensure they minimise issues within their own brand. Glad it helped
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Patti
I couldn’t agree more that shopping in-person is the best way to find a good fit. However, as a non-standard (petite) size, I find it utterly frustrating to go into stores only to be told that their XXS or petite sizing is available only online (or to be ushered to a dark corner of the store where there are maybe half a dozen items). I am, therefore, forced by retailers to shop online and make multiple returns. Whilst I understand that it is a better use of expensive floor space to stock ‘standard’ sizes, I cannot quite understand why retailers have not grasped the distinction between ‘shopping’ (i.e. finding something that you want to buy) and ‘purchasing’ (i.e. actually acquiring the item). Surely it must be possible to have a full range of samples available in store to try – but not actually purchase? They don’t even have to stock all the colours – just all the sizes (I’m sure that those at the other end of the size spectrum get equally frustrated). Any chance that in your role as an influencer, you might be able to persuade some retailers to try it…..?
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Claire Lopez
Ha! I definitely don’t have any influence over global retailers or high street stores I am afraid!! There are so many practical reasons why they just won’t do this I am afraid. Frustrating for the customer but I understand the business reasons on their side too.
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Sally
Wow this is an interesting insight as to why sizes vary so alarming.
Thank you for that which explains a lot
Sally