Standard clothing sizes started coming into effect during the early 1800s, and nowadays there are multiple clothing standards that are used around the world. The most common of these are the US, UK and Euro clothing standards.
Clothing sizes differ depending on the type of body size, taking into consideration factors such as height, waist and bust size, back length and other body measurements. Children’s clothing typically either falls into different ages groups or small, medium and large size groupings. Adult clothing measurements are more complex given the wider range of adult body types.
Here is a basic chart comparing women’s and men’s clothing sizes:
| Women’s Clothing | ||
| US | UK | Euro |
| 6 | 10 | 38 |
| 8 | 12 | 40 |
| 10 | 14 | 42 |
| 12 | 16 | 44 |
| 14 | 18 | 46 |
| 16 | 20 | 48 |
| 18 | 22 | 50 |
| 20 | 24 | 52 |
| Men’s Clothing | ||
| US | UK | Euro |
| 36 | 36 | 46 |
| 38 | 38 | 48 |
| 40 | 40 | 50 |
| 42 | 42 | 52 |
| 44 | 44 | 54 |
Some manufacturers use these sizes on more standardised clothing items, such as t-shirts, to create basic small, medium and large sizes instead of using specific measurements.
It’s also important to keep in mind that while these are the most commonly used measurements for clothing, there are manufacturers that deviate from the norm, and their sizing my differ slightly from other brands.
