Most shoppers have a wardrobe that holds three different sizes, all of which fit. A medium shirt from one brand sits perfectly, a large from another fits the same, and a small from a third feels roomy. This is normal. Clothing sizes are set by each brand, and they vary for good reasons.
Fit Yangu was built around this problem. Here is why sizes differ, and how Fit Yangu helps you shop with confidence anyway.
Each brand sets its own sizing
There is no single law that fixes what a size medium measures. Each brand builds a size chart from its own idea of its customer: their typical height, build and the look the brand wants.
The international sizing standard ISO 8559 addresses this. It notes that companies use different sizing systems, so different size labels can fit people with identical or very similar body measurements. The standard's answer is to describe sizes by the body measurements a garment is designed to fit, so that shoppers who know their own measurements can choose garments that fit. Fit Yangu works the same way: we start from your measurements, not from a label.
The main reasons sizes vary
Different customers
A brand designing for athletic young professionals will cut differently from a brand designing for a broad family market. The same label, such as M, ends up describing two different bodies.
Different fits
Every garment includes ease, the extra room between the body and the fabric that lets you move and breathe. A slim fit has little ease and a relaxed fit has plenty. Two shirts in the same size can differ in chest width purely because of the fit they were designed for. Fit Yangu takes the fit of each piece into account when it shows your size.
Different fabrics
Stretch fabrics with elastane give more comfort at a closer cut. Crisp cottons and linens need more room. Knits behave differently from wovens. Brands adjust their measurements to the fabric.
Different markets
UK, US and EU size labels follow different number systems, and brands selling into several markets often convert between them in their own way. Our guide to UK, US and EU sizes explains the common conversions.
Vanity sizing
Some brands label garments a size smaller than their measurements would suggest, because shoppers like seeing a smaller number. Over time this moves a brand's sizes away from others.
Why it matters when you shop
Sizing differences cost time. In store, they mean trying on several sizes. Online, they lead to exchanges. Retail surveys consistently report incorrect size or poor fit as the leading reason shoppers return clothes bought online.
Getting the size right first time saves you a second trip, a second delivery and the wait in between. That is the first thing Fit Yangu sets out to do: no wasted time, and clothes that fit from the first wear.
How to choose the right size every time
- Measure your body. Height, chest or bust, waist and hips, in centimetres. See how to measure yourself, or let Fit Yangu measure you from two photos in the size finder.
- Compare with garment measurements. A good product page lists the garment's own measurements, size by size, as every Fit Yangu product page does.
- Look for comfortable ease. As a guide, woven tops and jackets sit a few centimetres larger than your chest, and trousers a little larger than your waist and hips.
- Read the fit. Slim, regular and relaxed each change how a size feels.
- Trust centimetres over letters. When a size chart and a label disagree, follow the measurements.
How Fit Yangu takes care of it
Fit Yangu matches you by centimetres. We list the garment measurements of every size we sell. When you share your measurements, our size finder compares them with each garment and shows Your size, with a note on whether the chest, waist and hips will feel snug, just right or relaxed.
In our Nairobi store, your measurements bring the right size straight to you. Online, every product shows the size that fits you. Either way, the label on the tag becomes a detail, and Fit Yangu does the sizing work for you.