Clothing Size Converter
Convert US, UK, German, French and Italian women's sizes — and see the range rather than a single false number, because clothing sizing has no international standard and never has.
Clothing Size Converter
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- No binding international standard exists, so every figure here is a convention rather than a fact.
- Published sources disagree on the US to European offset by a full size; the page reports the range rather than choosing.
- Bust grading is treated as linear at about 2.5 cm per size, whereas real grading rules are non-linear across the range.
- Brand fit models, ease allowances and vanity sizing are outside any conversion's reach.
In short: There is no standard. EN 13402 and ISO 8559 exist but are voluntary and unevenly adopted, so every brand sets its own measurements. Worse, ‘EU size’ is three different scales: from the same 88 cm bust, Germany says 38, France says 40 and Italy says 44. Published charts even disagree on US→EU by a full size (US + 30 versus US + 32). The only reliable number is your bust, waist and hip in centimetres, checked against the individual brand's chart.
Formula
These are conventions in wide circulation, not standards. EN 13402 and ISO 8559 exist but are voluntary, and no rule obliges any brand to follow any of them.
Worked Example
- Start from the body, not the label. An 88 cm bust is the physical fact.
- Apply the national derivation. Germany takes half the bust minus six, giving DE 38.
- Watch it change country. France gives 40 and Italy gives 44 for the same body.
- Accept the range on US to EU. A US 8 is a German 38 or 40 depending on which chart you read.
- Verify against the brand. This is the only step that actually determines fit.
One body, four different numbers, all correct. A woman with an 88 cm bust walks into three European shops. In Germany she is a 38, because the German convention is half the bust minus six. In France she is a 40, because the French subtract four instead. In Italy she is a 44, because the Italians subtract nothing at all. In Britain she is a 12 and in the United States an 8. None of these is a conversion error and none can be argued away — they are five independent labelling conventions applied to one unchanged body. Any tool that returns a single confident number for ‘EU size’ has quietly chosen one of them for you.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- States plainly that clothing sizing has no standard, instead of returning a single confident number.
- Shows the German, French and Italian derivations side by side from the same bust measurement.
- Reports the honest range where sources disagree, and refuses to convert from a letter band.
Where it stops
- Cannot tell you whether a specific garment will fit.
- Does not cover children's, maternity or plus-size grading, which follow separate conventions.
- Not a body measurement guide.
Practical Use Cases
Shopping from an overseas retailer
Establishing a starting size before checking the brand's own chart, with the ambiguity visible rather than hidden.
Reading an Italian or Russian label
Both number six above the German scale, so an Italian 44 is a German 38, not a large size.
Buying a gift
Working from a garment that already fits, since a remembered size number is unreliable across brands.
Understanding letter sizes
Translating between numeric and XS to XXL bands — pair with the Shoe Size Converter for the rest of an international order.
Methodology & Editorial Standards
This converter reports conventions rather than standards, because for clothing no binding standard exists. EN 13402 defines centimetre-based body labelling and ISO 8559 defines how body measurements are taken, but both are voluntary and unevenly adopted, and ASTM publishes body measurement tables rather than size labels. The UK relationship of US plus four is near-universally agreed among published sources. The US to European offset is not: sources in wide circulation use both US plus thirty and US plus thirty-two, so this page reports the range rather than selecting one. The national derivations from bust are the documented conventions of half the bust minus six for Germany, minus four for France and unmodified for Italy and Russia. Bust is derived through the German convention itself, half the bust minus six, which anchors a German 38 at 88 cm and steps 4 cm per size; this is a linear simplification of grading rules that are non-linear in practice. Vanity sizing means these relationships drift over time and by brand. Letter sizes are treated as bands and cannot be used as an input, since converting from a band would fabricate precision. All conversion factors are exact by definition under the International System of Units, or exact by international agreement where the unit is defined by treaty. Values are held at full IEEE-754 double precision internally and rounded only for display, so chained conversions do not accumulate drift.
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
Clothing Size Converter — 8 Expert FAQs
8 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
What is a US size 8 in UK and EU?
A UK 12, and a German 38 or 40 depending on which chart you consult. The UK relationship is stable at US plus four and almost every source agrees on it. The European offset is not stable: reputable charts use both plus thirty and plus thirty-two, which differ by a full size. In France the same garment is numbered two higher than in Germany and in Italy six higher.
Is there an international clothing size standard?
No mandatory one. EN 13402 is a European standard that labels garments by actual body dimensions in centimetres, ISO 8559 defines how to take body measurements for garment construction, and ASTM publishes US body measurement tables. All are voluntary. EN 13402 has only really taken hold for bras, gloves and children's wear. Everywhere else, each brand sets its own specification.
Why is an Italian 44 not a large size?
Because Italian women's sizing numbers the same garment six above the German scale. Italy takes half the bust in centimetres with nothing subtracted, while Germany subtracts six. An Italian 44 is a German 38, a UK 12 and a US 8. Russian and post-Soviet sizing follows the Italian convention, so a Russian 46 is a German 40, which is a medium rather than a large.
What is vanity sizing?
The practice of putting a smaller number on a garment than the body it actually fits. It has moved steadily in one direction for decades, so a modern US 8 corresponds to a body that would once have been labelled a 12 or larger. It varies by brand and price point, which means two garments marked the same size from different labels can be several centimetres apart in the bust.
How do I find my size without a chart?
Measure. Take your bust at the fullest point, your natural waist at the narrowest, and your hips at the fullest, keeping the tape level and snug but not tight. Record all three in centimetres. Those numbers are stable facts about you and can be compared against any brand's chart. A remembered size number cannot.
What does M convert to in numbers?
Roughly US 8 to 10, UK 12 to 14 and a German 38 to 40, corresponding to about an 88 to 94 cm bust. But letter bands are wider and less consistent than numeric sizes. Some brands run a medium that covers four numeric sizes and others only two, and the band edges shift by a full size between labels. A letter is the least precise size information available.
Why do two garments in my size fit differently?
Because size labels are not regulated and brands do not share a fit model. Each label picks a body it designs for, applies its own grading rules between sizes, and chooses its own ease allowance. Add fabric behaviour, since a woven garment with no stretch is far less forgiving than a jersey one, and identical numbers routinely produce different fits.
How do men's sizes convert?
Men's sizing is generally more honest because it is usually stated as an actual chest or waist measurement in inches. The common European convention is chest in inches plus ten, so a 40 inch chest is an EU 50. Trousers are often sold by waist and inseam in inches directly, which removes the ambiguity entirely, and shirts by collar size.