Understanding everything about size guides in 5 steps – CDL#44

Ordering clothes on the Internet is becoming more popular: they allow you to have access to beautiful clothes that are not physically located near you.

At the same time, brands are making more and more effort to ensure that you choose the right size.

And this often involves providing a size guide, including numerical data.

And to interpret them correctly, you have to understand what this data represents, how it is taken and how it materializes concretely on the garment, which will then end up on you.

Here is a step-by-step guide, in 5 steps, to use the size guides correctly.

We have already talked about this subject in the following contents:

• How to choose your size on the Internet? - Let's Talk Clothes #10
• Clothing: how do brands define your sizes?

1. UNDERSTAND THE MEASUREMENTS

Here is an overview of the measures used. Some will probably seem obvious to you, and others perhaps a little less :)

HIGH

We are talking here about t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, coats, shirts, etc.

ESSENTIAL MEASURES

1. Shoulders : measured between the two shoulder seams.
2. Chest : measured between the two seams under the armhole.
3. Sleeve : usually taken from the shoulder to the bottom of the sleeve. Sometimes it is taken from the armhole to the bottom of the sleeve.
4. Length : usually taken from the back, in the center, from top to bottom. On a shirt, the collar may or may not be included in the measurement. Sometimes this measurement is taken from the front of the garment.

IMPORTANT MEASURES

1. Size : Taken just above the navel, at stomach level.
2. Neck circumference : on a shirt, measure the neck circumference by unbuttoning the collar and laying it flat. The measurement is taken from half of the buttonhole to half of the button, on the opposite side.

OPTIONAL MEASURES

More rarely, you will have:

1. The width at the bottom of the garment
2. The width of the bottom of the sleeve, on a shirt, typically.

DOWN

We're talking about pants of all kinds here and Bermuda shorts.

ESSENTIAL MEASURES

1. Waist measurement : measured horizontally at the level of the belt
2. Leg opening : measured flat at the bottom of the pants (or Bermuda shorts).
3. Leg length : can be measured either from the outside of the leg (belt included or not), in which case the English term is " outseam ", or from the inside of the leg, in which case we speak in English of " inseam ".

IMPORTANT MEASURES

1. Thigh circumference : measured horizontally at the crotch seam. Sometimes this measurement is taken a few centimeters below this seam, in which case it is noted.
2. Front Crotch : Measured across the front of the garment from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband.

OPTIONAL MEASURES

1. Pelvis : measured horizontally at the bottom of the fly
2. Knee : measured horizontally at knee level
3. Rear fork : same measurement as the front fork... but at the back of the pants.

VIGILANT POINT

• Some brands, notably Anglo-Saxon, give the sleeve length differently: half of the shoulder measurement + sleeve length from the shoulder seam.

• Often, the measurements are given flat: it is therefore the half circumference (half chest circumference, half waist circumference, etc.). Sometimes, it is the complete turn which is given: in this case it is of course sufficient to divide by two to return to half a turn.

SPECIAL CASES

• Sometimes measurements are given in inches. In this case, simply convert this data into centimeters. Google can do this, by typing in the search bar " 15 inches to centimeters ", for example.
• As you probably know, jeans stretch over time. So, compare the measurements of jeans already relaxed to your body shape compared to a new jeans is not necessarily relevant. This is particularly true when it comes to size measurement: if your jeans in size 32 are 44cm at the waist and the jeans you are looking for have a width of 42.5cm at the waist, still in size 32, that does not necessarily mean that it will be too small for you.

2. MEASURE YOUR GARMENT PROPERLY

The visuals in the previous section should normally give you an indication of how to measure. Here is something always worth remembering:

A garment is measured completely flat, closed (when it has buttons) and on a perfectly flat surface.

• The garment should not be too wrinkled or creased.
• On the contrary, you should not pull on it excessively.
• You should also not place it on a slightly messy surface.

Here are some measures on which I noticed difficulties in taking measurements for some:

• Thigh . Measurement not taken in the right place (at the crotch seam), not horizontally, crotch not quite laid flat.
• Chest . Always this idea of ​​clothing lying flat. In the case of a stretchy mesh, the question arises of how much we pull on it. Also, if the material is very thick, if you press hard on the garment with the tape measure, the measurement may change.
• Length . On the outer leg length of pants: with or without the belt. On a top with a collar, back length with or without the collar.

3. KNOW THE CONCEPT OF INDUSTRIAL TOLERANCE

Here is the Wikipedia definition of the notion of machining tolerance, which I find relevant in the context of this article:

Applied in the textile field, this means that all the clothes in a production do not necessarily come out identical to the millimeter compared to the pattern provided to the workshop.

This tolerance varies between 5mm and 1cm per measurement, plus or minus.

For example, if a measurement is given as 50cm in a size guide and a garment is actually 49.6 or 50.7cm, this is not necessarily a defect.

You will therefore understand that the accumulation of points 2 and 3 (manner of measurement + conditions for taking measurements + industrial tolerance) can result in obtaining measurements:

• Variables on the same garment measured several times,
• Slightly different from those indicated on the size guide.

4. HAVE REFERENCE MEASUREMENTS

Measurements from a size guide are always compared to something.

To interpret them correctly, it seems important to me to have an idea of ​​the clothing measurements that fit you.

“Measure several items of clothing that fit you (the more, the better) and you can set a range of a few centimeters for each measurement.”

The corollary of this idea:

“Don’t be too strict, psychorigid, with the measurements.”

I sometimes see comments like " I'm usually 51cm and here it says 49.8cm, that means this item of clothing won't fit me!! "

It is unrealistic to want all your clothes to have exactly the same measurements to the nearest centimeter or half centimeter.

Set a range of at least 2 or 3cm for each measurement .

Personally, on the tops, on the chest, I know that between 50 and 55cm suits me. 50cm for a fitted look, 55 for a slightly oversized look. 52/53cm for a standard result: “ adjusted but not too much ”.

5. THINK ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE GARMENT

I encourage you here to detach yourself from the numbers a little and to think about clothing in a broader sense:

The type of clothing as well as the material used have an impact on the measurements.

Let's see this through some concrete cases:

FIRST EXAMPLE

A t-shirt and coat of the same size will not have the same measurements at the shoulders and chest. Indeed, a t-shirt is worn next to the skin and a coat is worn over two or even three layers of clothing.

It is therefore logical that the coat is wider than the t-shirt, to accommodate these underlayers.

SECOND EXAMPLE

At the same size, a workwear type jacket is a little wider than a blazer.

It is the very nature of the product that explains this difference: the blazer is a formal garment that is worn fitted. The work jacket is a casual garment, designed with comfort in mind, and is therefore wider than the blazer.

Here are two looks presenting very different styles, which call for very different cuts and volumes (the two jackets do not have the same measurements and not the same fit: this is normal):

In the same spirit, the parka or the down jacket are by nature less fitted than the classic wool coat. It is normal that on the same size, the chest measurement of a parka or down jacket is higher than the chest measurement of a wool overcoat.

THIRD EXAMPLE

A jersey shirt And a denim shirt do not feel at all the same way on the shoulders.

If both shirts fit well and have the exact same measurements:

• The jersey shirt will not cause any discomfort because its material is naturally soft and stretchy
• The denim shirt, thicker, rigid, non-stretchable, may tighten you a little in the upper body.