Finding your size online with a tape measure

A Swedish medium and a Japanese medium don't always have much in common. Size labels vary from one brand to the next; centimetres don't. That is why we put the main measurements on as many product pages as we can, as a chart, right in the product photos. Scroll through the images: it is often the last one.

The three-step method

• Take a piece that fits you perfectly, of the same type as the one you are after: a shirt for a shirt, trousers for trousers.
• Grab a tape measure. If you don't have one, a piece of string and a ruler will do.
• Lay the garment flat on a table, measure it, then compare with the chart.

Why half measurements? Because the garment is measured flat, seam to seam, which gives you half the circumference. If you shop online often, write down your ideal measurements for each type of piece once and for all.

Tops

• 1/2 shoulders: seam to seam, across the back.
• 1/2 chest: seam to seam, under the armpits.
• Back length: from under the collar to the bottom of the piece, down the middle of the back.
• Sleeve length: from the shoulder seam to the end of the sleeve.
• Collar: inside the collar. On shirts sized by collar, this is the size.

One exception: raglan sleeves, with no set-in shoulder. Shoulders and sleeve then merge into a single measurement, the 1/2 arm span, taken from the middle of the collar to the end of the sleeve.

Bottoms

• 1/2 waist: flat width at the waistband.
• 1/2 thigh: from the inseam to the side of the thigh.
• 1/2 hem: width of the leg opening.
• Inseam: from the crotch seam to the hem.
• Rise: from the top of the waistband to the crotch seam.

For trousers with a comfortable fit like Jagvi's cotton-linen City Pants, in the photo, compare the 1/2 waist and 1/2 thigh with your favourite pair first.

Read the fit notes

Some product pages add a note on fit. It is worth a look:

• the Jungmaven hemp and organic cotton tee is true to size;
• the Jackman Night Bench pocket tee, in heavy Japanese cotton, runs small;
• the Colorful Standard Oversized Hoodie is an oversized cut: the model is 1.85 m tall and wears a size L.

If it doesn't fit

For mainland France and the EU, returns are included in the shipping fee paid with your order. That fee is not refunded: it covers the return. You receive a label once your return request has been accepted. Details are on the shipping fees page.

The size guide has the measurement diagrams for tops and bottoms. Keep it open next time you fill your basket.