How to measure clothing for your store’s size chart
A size chart only helps if shoppers trust the numbers. Trust is easy to lose when a chart doesn’t say what was measured, or when each product was measured a different way. This guide covers the decisions to make once, and how to measure so every product in your store reads the same way.
1. Decide: body measurements or garment measurements
There are two kinds of size chart, and shoppers read them differently.
- Body measurements tell the shopper which size fits a body like theirs (“chest 96–101 cm → M”). Most brand size guides are of this kind. They are easy to compare with a tape measure at home.
- Garment measurements are taken from the item itself, laid flat (“chest width 52 cm”). They are useful for loose or oversized fits, vintage and second-hand pieces, and anything where the cut matters more than the label.
Either is fine. What matters is that the chart says which one it is, in a line above or below the table. If you mix them, keep them in separate charts.
2. Body measurements: where the tape goes
Write these short instructions next to your chart so shoppers measure the same way you do. Keep the tape level and snug, not tight.
| Measurement | Where |
|---|---|
| Chest / bust | Around the fullest part of the chest, under the arms and across the shoulder blades |
| Waist | Around the natural waistline — the narrowest part of the torso, usually a little above the belly button |
| Hips | Standing with feet together, around the fullest part of the hips |
| Inseam | Along the inside of the leg, from the crotch to where the hem should fall. Easiest with a pair of trousers that already fit |
| Foot length (shoes) | Standing, from the back of the heel to the tip of the longest toe |
3. Garment measurements: measure flat, the same way every time
Lay the item flat on a table, buttoned or zipped, and smooth it without stretching.
- Tops – chest width: straight across, from armpit seam to armpit seam. Say whether you give the flat width or double it (the full circumference). Doubling is easier for shoppers to compare with a body measurement, but write which one you used.
- Tops – length: from the highest point of the shoulder, next to the collar, straight down to the hem.
- Sleeve: from the shoulder seam to the end of the cuff.
- Bottoms – waist: straight across the top of the waistband (again: flat or doubled).
- Bottoms – inseam: from the crotch seam down the inside leg to the hem.
- Dresses: chest width and length as for tops, plus waist if the dress has a defined waist.
Measure one item of each size, not just the sample size — grading between sizes is not always even.
4. Writing cm and inches
- 1 inch is exactly 2.54 cm. Convert from the unit you measured in, and round once at the end (for example to the nearest 0.5 cm or 0.25 in), not at each step.
- Ranges read better than single numbers for body measurements (“96–101 cm”).
- If your shoppers are in different countries, show both units or let shoppers switch between them. Letter sizes (S, M, L) and numbered sizes (US 8, EU 38) are labels, not lengths — they don’t convert with the 2.54 rule, so keep them as they are.
5. Keep every chart the same shape
- Same column order on every product (size first, then chest, waist, hips, length).
- Same unit as the default everywhere.
- One short line saying how you measured, and one saying what to do between two sizes (“between sizes? Choose the larger for a relaxed fit”).
- Check the chart on a phone: wide tables should scroll sideways, not shrink to unreadable text.
Putting the chart on your product pages
You can paste the table into each product description, but it is repeated work every time a product is added. Our app Fairsize lets you build the chart once from a template, choose which products it shows on, and lets shoppers switch between cm and inches. See Fairsize
Questions about this guide: contact@han-x.com