What "true to size" means, and how to show it

"True to size" means a garment fits the way its size label and size chart promise. If the chart puts you in an M, the M fits like an M from that brand: not tighter, not looser. When an item fits smaller than its chart, it "runs small" and shoppers go up a size. When it fits bigger, it "runs large" and they go down.

For a store, the phrase is only useful if shoppers can see it next to the chart, in the same words on every product, with a short reason. That is a fit scale and a fit note.

True to what, exactly

Shoppers use "true to size" with two different references in mind:

• Their usual size elsewhere. "I'm an M everywhere, and this M fits." This depends on which brands they usually buy, so it travels badly.
• The chart on the page. "My measurements say M in this chart, and the M fits." This is the one a store controls.

The second reading is the one to publish. A label alone means little, because each brand decides which body its M fits (more on that in why a medium isn't the same size at every brand). Your chart's measurements are the promise, and the fit scale says whether this particular item keeps it.

The five steps of the fit scale

Ruban Size shows a fixed scale of five steps above the chart, with one step lit and its word beside it. Shoppers read exactly these words:

A fixed scale beats free text for three reasons. Shoppers read it at a glance, the same way on every product. It can't drift into vague wording like "fits a bit snug maybe". And because the five words are fixed, the guide shows them in the shopper's language without you translating anything (see size charts in 22 languages).

Fit notes: the line that says why

The scale says where the item sits. The fit note, one sentence under it, says why and what to do about it. Some of the notes that ship with Ruban Size's templates:

• Women's jeans, runs slightly small: "Stretch-free denim: if you are between two sizes, take the larger one."
• Leggings and activewear, runs slightly small: "Compression fit: if you prefer less support, take one size up."
• Coats and jackets, runs slightly large: "Cut to layer: for a closer fit, take one size down."
• Men's suits and blazers, true to size: "Tailored cut: if you prefer room to layer, take one size up."

Each one gives a reason (the fabric, the cut, what goes underneath) and a direction. That is the whole recipe. Fit notes that help has more examples and the wording traps to avoid.

Here is the women's jeans template, set one step to the small side, with its note. Open Find my size in it and try a waist between two sizes.

How Find my size uses the scale

The scale isn't decoration: Find my size reads it. Before it compares a shopper's measurement with the chart, it moves the measurement by part of a size step:

• Runs slightly small: up by 0.2 of a size step.
• Runs small: up by 0.55 of a size step.
• Runs slightly large and runs large: down by the same amounts.

A size step is the usual gap between two sizes on that measurement, read from the chart itself. On the women's tops template the chest step is about 6 cm, so "runs slightly small" adds 1.2 cm and "runs small" adds 3.3 cm.

A worked example

Take the women's tops template and a shopper with a 94 cm chest, a 76 cm waist and 102 cm hips. Each of those sits at the top of the M range (chest 90 to 95 cm, waist 72 to 77, hips 98 to 103). Here is what Find my size answers as the merchant moves the scale:

On "runs small", the chest becomes 94 + 3.3 = 97.3 cm, inside the L range of 96 to 102 cm, so the answer moves up. Whenever the scale isn't at true to size, the answer also says "This item runs small: we took it into account." (or "runs large"), so the shopper knows why.

The shopper's own taste is a separate setting. "Fit I like: Snug, Regular, Loose" says how they like clothes to fit. The scale says how this item fits. Find my size combines both.

Setting it in Ruban Size

1. Open the chart in the editor and go to the Fit and Find my size tab.
2. Under Fit scale, pick one of the five steps, or "Not shown" if you don't know yet.
3. Write a Fit note (optional): one sentence with a reason and a direction.
4. Use Try it to enter measurements in cm and see the size a shopper would get with the new setting.

The templates that need one arrive with a scale and a note already set: jeans and activewear one step small, coats and scrubs one step large, tops and dresses true to size. Change them to match your own garments.

When you don't know, your returns will tell you. On the Fit plan, returns by size read the return reasons of the last 60 days in your browser and flag a size once it has 3 size returns with at least 70% pointing the same way (too small or too big). One click then moves the chart's fit scale one step, and shoppers see the new word next to the chart. Reading your returns by size walks through it, and the analytics page shows the screen.

Questions

Does true to size mean I should order my usual size?

It means you should order the size the brand's own chart gives for your measurements. If that is your usual size elsewhere, good; if the chart says otherwise, trust the chart.

Is "runs small" the same as "size up"?

Nearly. Runs small means the item fits smaller than its chart, so most shoppers between two sizes should take the larger one. A good fit note says how much: half a size, one size, or only if you like room.

Should every product show a fit scale?

Show it when you know how the item fits, and "True to size" counts as information. When you don't know yet, leave it hidden and let returns show you which way it leans.

Does the fit scale change the size Find my size suggests?

Yes. In Ruban Size, "runs slightly small" moves the shopper's measurements up by 0.2 of a size step before comparing them with the chart, and "runs small" by 0.55, so a shopper at the top of a range can be moved to the next size.