A tool for women that shows what size they actually are at popular high street and online stores.
( After survey results reveal 90% of women are unsure of their clothing size. )
Select a shop to compare all the sizes they offer
Finding clothes that fit shouldn’t be so hard to see which high-street sizes are best for you.
How do you make sure you always get a perfect fit? Just follow some simple tips and use our intuitive sizing guide. Read on to learn more about how to pick a perfect-fitting dress from any of your favorite retailers.
Nothing's worse than investing in a new outfit only to realize that it doesn't fit. While it's easy to find out the size of a garment that you want to wear, every major fashion company uses a different sizing scheme to determine its sizes. Just because you usually wear a women's size 10 doesn't mean that every size 10 dress will fit you, and juggling clothing sizes can get old fast.
In this guide, we'll clear up all the confusion and help you determine your exact size in any major brand's apparel. Whether you want to make sure that your favorite Missguided, Boohoo, H&M, or Zara fashions always fit, we'll provide you with all the information you need to make accurate measurements and ensure that you'll never have to return a piece of women's clothing just because it doesn't quite fit once you get it home.
Running a tape measure around your waist won't be enough if you want to know everything there is to know about your exact size. What's more, simply looking at a single women's dresses size chart won't be enough to make sure that you'll fit into every dress that catches your eye. Instead, you'll need to get to know the exact sizes of your body from top to bottom.
To determine your size with a size guide in the UK or any other country, you'll need to take three basic measurements:
To get an accurate idea of your bust size, you'll need to measure around the fullest part of your bust. If you don't measure around the fullest part, you might not get the information you need to accurately determine your size in a fit guide. Your bra size alone usually won't be enough to figure out the exact circumference of your bust, and you can't rely on the UK size of your favorite dress to give you an accurate idea of how you'll fit into other dresses.
Figuring out where your waist is can be one of the hardest parts of taking your body measurements. Your natural waistline isn't the spot where contemporary jeans or skirts usually ride; this spot is actually about an inch above your navel, and it's at the slimmest part of your waist. If you can feel your rib cage while you take measurements, you've put your tape measure too high on your abdomen.
For this measurement, circle a tape measure around the fullest part of your hips. It's generally easiest to find the perfect spot to take this measurement because you can simply feel for the area where your hip bones stick out the most.
If you're planning to buy jeans or trousers, you should also measure your inseam. This inside leg measurement goes from your groin down your entire leg length.
Measuring yourself can be somewhat tricky. However, there are a few simple tips you can use to make it easier to take the measurements you need for your women's size chart:
Taking your measurements can sometimes be too challenging to do on your own. It's understandable to want help with this process, and there are a variety of ways you can get a helper to assist you with your measurements.
For instance, you could ask a friend or family member to hold the tape measure in place while you wrap it around yourself, or you could have them do the wrapping while you do the holding. Having someone help you is especially useful when you're taking inseam measurements; hold the end of the tape measure by your groin while your friend holds it to the bottom of your foot.
PRO TIP: Some department stores will take your measurements for you. Many stores take your bust measurements for bra fittings, and they may also be willing to measure the rest of your body if you ask politely.
Every major retailer has a size guide that it uses to determine its apparel sizes. While many apparel manufacturers use the same measurements in their size guides, others may use size guides that are completely unique. Here's a simple guide to the size guides that the most popular high street companies use to size their apparel:
The Asos size guide runs a bit smaller than sizing guides for other UK companies. For instance, a size six from Asos has a bust size of 78.5 cm, a waist size of 60 cm, and a hip size of 86 centimeters. You might want to try a size up when you put on a new Asos garment for the first time.
Garments from Next are somewhat larger than the norm. A size six from this company has a bust of 80 cm, a waist of 65 cm, and a hip measurement of 87.5 cm. If you're a size six in another company's dress, you might be a size four in a Next garment.
New Look dresses are big in the bust and small in the waist. A size six dress from New Look has a bust of 81 cm, a waist of 62 cm, and a hip of 87 cm.
You'll need some extra-large hips to fit into a size six dress from Zara. This company's size six garments have a bust size of 82 cm, a waist of 64 cm, and a hip of 89.9 cm.
Women's garments from H&M are somewhat large in the hip, but they're right within the norm for other measurements. A size six dress from H&M has a bust of 80 cm, a waist of 64 cm, and a hip of 88 cm.
Dresses from Boohoo run large in everything but the waist. A size six bust in a Boohoo dress is a whopping 86.4 cm, and the hip measurements in this company's size six dresses are equally large at 90.6 cm. The waist on a Boohoo size six dress, however, is 64.6 cm.
River Island size six dress measurements are moderate. This size of River Island dress has a bust of 80 cm, a waist of 61 cm, and a hip measurement of 86 cm.
M&S dresses run on the petite size. A size six from this brand has a bust of 78 cm, a waist of 61 cm, and a hip of 86 cm.
Missguided dresses run large. A size six Missguided dress has an 83.5 cm bust, a 65.5 cm waist, and a 91.5 cm hip.
There's no doubt that size guide tools are incredibly helpful. However, you should know that these tools have limitations before you proceed:
If you keep picking out clothes that don't fit no matter how hard you try, keep these simple tips in mind to end your bad habit once and for all:
We've all been there: The fitting room was too far away, there weren't any stalls open, or we were in a hurry. However, there's no excuse for buying a dress or another piece of apparel without knowing for sure that it will fit.
Don't let exclusive offers and the rush of the day get to you; always make sure that a garment fits before you bring it home. This principle applies to online purchases as well; don't get carried away just because that dress looks perfect on your laptop or smartphone screen.
Just because you've always fit into a size six before doesn't mean that size six dress you've fallen in love with will fit you when you get home. Instead of relying on complicated size conversions and the varying clothes sizes of different companies, keep your measurements on your smartphone in the form of a note. If you're ever concerned that an item you want to buy won't fit, ask to see the company's size chart, and plug in your measurements to make sure the garment will fit before you put it in your physical or virtual shopping bag.
Even if you're completely sure that your new fashion will fit, don't make it harder for yourself to return the item if it doesn't work out. Some retailers won't take a garment back if you cut off the tag, and make sure to keep your receipt.
Whenever you shop with a new retailer for the first time, use our handy size guide to make sure that you'll love your new dress once you get it home just as much as you loved it in the store. Our size guide is easy to use on both desktop and mobile, which means you can take this handy tool with you wherever you go.
The best way to make sure that your fashions always fit is to make them yourself. When you're ready to strike out on your own career in the fashion industry and make apparel of your very own, sign up or contact us to learn how to get started!
