Clothing Size Conversion Chart

Bust, waist and hip figures are the body measurements the size is drafted for, not the finished garment.

The US and UK use the chest measurement in inches; the EU uses the same measurement in centimeters, halved and rounded.

Women’s: UK = US + 4, EU = US + 32, Italy = EU + 4. So a US 6 is a UK 10, an EU 38 and an Italian 42. France uses the EU numbers; Germany uses the EU numbers; Japan runs its own scale where a US 6 is a 9.

Men’s tailoring: the US and UK both label a jacket by chest measurement in inches, and the EU labels the same jacket by chest in centimeters divided by two. A 40-inch chest is 102 cm, so the EU size is 50. That is why EU jacket numbers are always the US number plus 10.

Vanity sizing has shifted women’s sizes downward for decades. A garment labelled US 8 today fits a body that would have taken a US 14 in the 1960s. No standards body enforces the mapping, so each brand redraws it.

The consequence is that cross-brand comparison by label is close to useless. Comparing by bust, waist and hip measurement works, which is why every reputable retailer publishes those figures alongside the number and why the table above leads with them.

Bust is measured at the fullest point with the tape level and not pulled tight. Waist is the natural waist, the narrowest part, not where trousers sit. Hip is the fullest point, usually around 20 cm below the waist.

Take the measurements over light clothing, standing relaxed and breathing normally. If two of your three measurements point at different sizes, buy for the largest and alter down; letting a garment out is rarely possible.