Almost everyone knows their dress size and usually looks at the label in the collar or waistband when shopping. But the supposedly correct size does not always fit. How do you know which dress size is optimal and where do the dress size determinations come from? Everyone is familiar with this problem: in the shop, you routinely pick up the usual dress size and when you try it on, you are astonished to find that the trousers are too small or the dress too big – even though they are standardized sizes that should (always) be the same. Or isn’t it?
How do one size fits all?
Although clothing has been machine-made since the industrial revolution, many parts were sewn by hand until the 20th century. With a perfect fit, of course, because measurements were taken directly for handmade fashion. An effort that was out of the question for mass production. Instead, manufacturers of machine-made clothing rely on one size.
The key word here are row measurements. These measurements, carried out on numerous test persons, serve to record the average body measurements of the inhabitants of a country and to evaluate them accordingly. The textile research center of the Hohenstein Institute in Baden-Württemberg takes care of that in Germany. In 2007/2008, these measurements were carried out under the name “Size Germany” on 13,362 women, children and men between 6 and 87 years using a 3D body scanner. “Size Germany” is the largest series measurement in Germany.
The last measurement before 2007 was in 1994, and a lot has changed since then: we all tend to get bigger. The waistline of women grew by an average of 4.1 centimeters and the hip circumference by 1.8 centimeters. The breast span has also increased by 2.3 centimeters since then. The average of these measurements forms the basis for newly calculated clothing sizes. But be careful! The sizes from the measurement only serve as guidelines for the brands and are not binding. This is also the reason why the fit varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The right dress size and how to find it
The best-known sizes include the division from 32 to 54 for women and 40 to 62 for men. But symbols such as XS, S, M, L, XL also appear familiar to everyone. More and more manufacturers are now also offering L and K sizes. In this case, long (L) stands for women who are over 172 centimeters tall. While Kurz (K) is aimed at women who are smaller than 165 centimeters.
The principle applies to children: clothing size = body height. For adults, the math knowledge from school has to be used again, because the correct clothing size can actually be calculated. Basically, the following applies here: chest circumference divided by two. When calculating the clothing size of women, six are subtracted from this result.
Dress sizes abroad
Despite the efforts to create a uniform clothing size across the EU, shopping abroad is not always easy. Because here completely different standards apply. In China, for example, women’s clothing size corresponds to their full chest size. In the United States, the size chart begins with the often quoted “size zero”, meaning size 0. However, the cross-country sizes are also noted on these labels and many stores have tables that can be used to determine the appropriate size.
If you don’t like tables, these tips and tricks will help you when shopping:
French sizes: What is a size 36 in Germany is actually a 34 in France in terms of fit. You always have to add a size to the number noted in the French product.
Italian sizes: In Italy a German 38 is actually an IT 42. So the following applies: Four of the Italian sizes must be subtracted – or two specified clothing sizes.
US sizes: An American size 2 would be a size 32 in Germany. So you always calculate minus 30 or simply take the last number of your own German size as a guideline. From size 40, the American sizes continue with 10, 12, 14 <.
English sizes: Unfortunately there is no catchy phrase for UK sizes. It only helps to memorize: A German 40 is a 14 for the British, a 32 goes as a size 6 over the counter.
Asian sizes: Korea, Japan or China calculate the clothing size based on the chest circumference and transfer the result to their country-specific, metric systems. It should also be noted here that Asians are generally narrower than Europeans, which is why sizes may be smaller than stated. Trying on is the only solution!
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