Fit notes that help: "runs small" and the fit scale

"Runs small" on its own is half a sentence. It tells the shopper something is off, but not how much, and not what to do. A fit note that helps has two parts: what the cut is, and what to do about it, tied to a situation the shopper recognizes.

Put that note under a fit scale with fixed steps, and shoppers can compare one product with the next. Then let the size finder use the same scale, so the note and the suggested size never contradict each other.

The two parts of a good fit note

1. The cut, in plain words. Slim, compressive, cut to layer, stretch-free denim, roomy for long shifts. Words a shopper can picture.
2. The action, with its condition. "If you are between two sizes, take the larger one." "For a closer fit, take one size down." The condition matters: it tells the shopper in the middle of a size to stay where they are.

Keep it to one line. If a note needs a paragraph, the chart's numbers are probably wrong and should be fixed instead.

Fit notes from the templates

Ruban Size's 39 templates come with a fit scale and a note where the cut calls for one. These are the notes, with the step each template sets. Use them as they are or as a pattern for your own.

A few patterns stand out. Every note names the cut first. Most give a direction and a condition. The sports bra note gives no size at all, and tells the shopper how the right size should feel instead, which is the better advice when the fit is meant to be firm.

The shoes note says "most customers". Write that only when your returns say so; until then, "this last is generous: take half a size down" says the same without a claim you can't back.

The five steps of the fit scale

A fit scale is a fixed ladder of five steps. Shoppers see the word "Fit", five marks with one lit, the word for that step, and your note under it.

Why fixed words instead of your own? Because "a bit snug", "fits small-ish" and "order up" on three products read like three different things, and shoppers can't tell whether they are. With five fixed steps, "runs slightly small" means the same on every chart in your store. The five words also come translated in the guide's 22 languages; your note you translate in the app, with the rest of the chart.

The difference between "slightly" and the full step is worth respecting. "Runs slightly small" suits a cut that pinches shoppers near the top of a size. "Runs small" suits a cut where a shopper in the upper half of a size needs the next one. If you are unsure, start at "slightly".

How Find my size moves with the scale

Here is the women's tops template, set to true to size, as a shopper sees it. Open Find my size and try the two shoppers below.

A size step on this chart is 5 to 7.5 cm of chest. A shopper with an 89.5 cm chest, 70 cm waist and 95 cm hips sits at the top of S. At true to size, Find my size answers S, and tells her she is between S and M.

Now set the scale to runs slightly small. Her target moves up a fifth of a step, past the line, and the answer becomes M, still flagged as between S and M. The result adds a note: "This item runs small: we took it into account."

A second shopper with a 92 cm chest, 74 cm waist and 100 cm hips sits in the middle of M. At runs slightly small she still gets M, with high confidence. Only at the full runs small step does Find my size mention L as the size she is close to. The scale moves the shoppers near a boundary first, and the middle of a size only at the strongest step.

Where to set it, and when to change it

In the chart editor, the Fit and Find my size tab holds the fit scale (with "Not shown" if a chart needs none) and the fit note. The same tab holds Find my size's settings for that chart: garment type, body or garment measurements, stretch fabric, whether shoppers choose their fit, and a live test.

Change the scale when your returns tell you to, not on a hunch. On the Fit plan, returns by size flags a size from 3 size returns when at least 70% point the same way, and one click sets the chart to runs slightly small or slightly large, with a note: "Customers often find this runs small: if you are between two sizes, take the larger one." If you wrote your own note, it is kept.

Your other charts are on the templates page, and the fit settings by product type on fit by product. What the words themselves promise is in what "true to size" means, and the finder's side is on the Find my size page.

Questions

What does "runs small" mean in clothing?

It means the item is smaller than its size label suggests, so shoppers near the top of a size may need the next one up. A good fit note says how much and what to do: "Slim cut: if you are between sizes, take the next size up."

Should I size up if an item runs small?

Only if you are near the top of your size or between two sizes. Find my size takes the scale into account: at "runs slightly small" it keeps a shopper in the middle of a size where they are, and moves the ones near the top.

What is a fit scale on a size chart?

A short ladder, from runs small through true to size to runs large, that shows how a product's cut compares with its chart. Ruban Size uses five fixed steps so the words mean the same on every product.

Where should a fit note go?

Right above or under the chart, next to the fit scale, so shoppers read it before they pick a size. A note buried in the description is read after the choice.