Vanity sizing
Labeling clothes with a smaller size than their measurements would get on an older or stricter scale, so the number on the label flatters.
Vanity sizing is putting a smaller size number on a garment than its measurements would get on an older or stricter scale. The dress is the same; the label is lower. The name gives the usual explanation: a smaller number is nicer to read in a fitting room.
Picture two dresses cut for the same body, a 92 cm bust, a 74 cm waist and 100 cm hips. One brand labels it a 10, another an 8. Nothing about the dress changed, only its name.
On a size chart
A size label was never a measurement. In Ruban Size's women's tops template, one body carries several numbers at once:
| Size | US | UK | EU | Chest (cm) | Waist (cm) | Hips (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | 8-10 | 12-14 | 40-42 | 90-95 | 72-77 | 98-103 |
Each of those labels is right in its own system, and two brands can print the same US 8 on different measurements. So the useful question for a store isn't "is my 8 a real 8?" but "can a shopper tell what my 8 measures?"
The answer is to publish the numbers: a range for every size, in centimeters and inches, a header that says body or garment measurements, and the labels kept as names for those ranges. What vanity sizing is goes through it step by step.
In Ruban Size
Size systems (US, UK, EU) sit on their own rows, with a switch for shoppers and a default by country: US sizes in the United States, UK sizes in Great Britain and Ireland, EU sizes elsewhere. Then Find my size takes labels out of the decision. Shoppers type their measurements and the answer compares numbers, never names: "Chest 92 cm: M, middle of the range". A shopper who is an M in your tops and an L in your leggings sees both, worked out from each product's own chart.
Read more
- Sizing explainedWhat vanity sizing is, and what a store can do about itVanity sizing is labeling clothes with a smaller size than their measurements would earn, so the number flatters. A store can't fix labels across an industry, but it can publish the measurements behind its own.5 min
- Sizing explainedWhy a medium isn't the same size at every brandA medium is a name, not a measurement. Each brand decides which body its M fits, how much room it leaves and how sizes step up, so the fix is to publish the measurements behind your M and a one-line fit note.5 min
- Size conversionWhat number is a small, medium or large?In Ruban Size's women's dress and top templates, a small is a US 4 to 6, a medium a US 8 to 10 and a large a US 12 to 14 (UK 8 to 10, 12 to 14 and 16 to 18; EU 36 to 38, 40 to 42 and 44 to 46). Men's letters have no number of their own: they go by chest.6 min
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