Clothing Size Converter

How to use the clothing size converter

1. Fill in the fields — they start with a worked example.
2. Read the answer, and the arithmetic shown beneath it.
3. Copy the results, or adjust the inputs to compare scenarios.

About this tool

Clothing sizes are not standardised anywhere. There is no authority that defines a size 12, which is why the same person wears three different numbers across three shops on the same high street, and why a wardrobe of the same nominal size fits differently garment by garment.

The conversions here are the usual published relationships — UK to US is a difference of four in women's sizing, EU is the UK number plus 28 — and they are a starting point rather than an answer. What survives across brands is the measurement: chest or bust in centimetres, which is what a size chart is derived from before the marketing gets to it.

Vanity sizing is the reason the drift goes one way. Manufacturers have gradually attached smaller numbers to the same measurements over decades, so a size from 1990 is not the size on the same label today, and older patterns and vintage clothing run noticeably smaller than the number suggests.

Men's sizing is more honest largely by accident: chest and waist are quoted in inches, which is a measurement rather than a label, so a 40 is a 40 in a way a 12 never is. Where a brand publishes its own size chart, use that in preference to any general conversion — including this one.

Common uses

• Ordering clothes from a shop in another country.
• Working out which size to try from a chest measurement.
• Comparing a UK size against a US or EU one.

Frequently asked questions

What is a UK 12 in US sizes?

A US 8, and an EU 40 — the UK to US difference is four in women's sizing, and EU is the UK number plus 28. Brands vary either side of that.

Why does the same size fit differently in different shops?

Because no standard defines a size. Each brand sets its own, and vanity sizing has attached smaller numbers to the same measurements over time.

Which measurement should I use?

Chest or bust in centimetres, measured at the fullest point. That is what size charts are built from, and it is the only figure that means the same thing everywhere.