Every listing carries its own flat-measurement chart. This page explains how those numbers were taken so you can compare them with something you already own.
Everything is measured on a flat surface in centimetres, with the fabric at rest. Bust is taken across the widest part and doubled; waist is measured at the narrowest point of the garment, not the body; length runs from the shoulder seam or the waistband and each chart says which. Lengths are measured from the high point of the shoulder or from the waistband, as stated on each chart.
The reliable method is to measure something that fits you and match the numbers. Where your measurements fall between two sizes, take the larger for anything fitted and the smaller for anything loose — and read the fit note on the listing, since we say which is which. If you sit between two, take the larger.
Hand-measured garments vary, so every chart carries a tolerance of around one and a half centimetres. On stretch fabrics we publish two numbers — relaxed and extended — because a knit top and a woven trouser of the same nominal size behave nothing alike.
Measure around the fullest part, keeping the tape level under the arms and not pulling it tight. Wear what you would normally wear underneath.
The waist is the narrowest point of the torso, usually just above the navel, and the hips are the widest point below it — measure those two separately rather than assuming the ratio from the chest. Trouser charts use the waist, skirt charts can use either, and the listing says which. For trousers and skirts the listing states which of the two drives the size, because a straight-cut pair sits on the waist and a low-rise pair does not.
For tops, length runs from the shoulder seam to the hem. Both are given flat on the chart, so a pair you already own tells you more about the fit at the ankle than any size letter does. Compare them against a garment in your wardrobe that ends where you want this one to end.
Flat measurements are the only ones a customer can reproduce at home: the garment is laid on a table and measured across, not around. Anything given as a circumference is labelled as such.
Take the larger size on anything close-fitting or unlined, and the smaller on loose, straight-cut pieces where a little extra room simply reads as a relaxed fit. For relaxed and boxy cuts, size down.
Take the garment you like, lay it flat, and measure it the way we measured ours: across the chest, across the waist, down the length. Write the numbers down — comparing two charts from memory is where most sizing mistakes begin.
Match numbers rather than a label. Where chest points at one size and length at another, decide which matters more for how you will wear it — and if you would rather not guess, send us the measurements and we will pick the column for you.
Questions about this page? Write to [email protected] and we will answer within one business day.