What are the correspondences of clothing sizes from one country to another?

When you buy a garment, your first instinct is to look at the size indicated on the label. But between the French and American brands, you can quickly get lost. An equivalence between the sizes exists. It is sometimes specified on the labels.

Know your measurements to buy the right size garment

You need to know your exact measurements to buy a garment that fits you and isn’t too small or too big. By measures, we mean your chest, waist, and pelvis measurements. Once these are known, find your size in the correspondence table below.

To take your measurements, you must bring a measuring tape. Place the tape around your bust at the most vital point to calculate your bust measurement. For your exact waist measurement, position the tape above your navel. For your pelvis, put it on the widest part. Note all the measures indicated by the video in centimeters.

Table of correspondence of women’s sizes in Europe, universal, and American

There are various codes on the labels for clothing sizes. The most common is the universal size: XS (“extra small,” i.e., a tiny size), S (“small,” i.e., a small size), M (for “medium,” i.e., an average size), L (for “large,” i.e., a large extent) and XL (for “extra large,” i.e., a considerable measure).

You also have the European code for sizes: 34, 36, 38, 40, 42…, and American correspondences: 24, 26, 28, 30, 32. Each code corresponds to the precise length in centimeters given by the tape you used when measuring your measurements.