I'm sure you've had a similar scenario play out - you've patiently waited a week, if not more, for the package holding the newest addition to your closet.
You tear through the packaging and unveil the contents revealing Saturday's upcoming brunch outfit, the viral, leather Tik Tok pants, or your bridesmaid dress to your best friend's wedding...etc. Yet, all that built-up excitement comes to a halt after further inspection in the mirror.
The waist is too big, the dress doesn't zip up all the way, the items look vastly different from its online version - but you ordered your normal sizing?
Unfortunately, with modern sizing there isn't a standardized method among clothing brands. One clothing store could sell a top with a size "2" label that directly matches another store with their top labeled a size "4."
It's already difficult while shopping in person, retrieving the size above and the size below because your not quite sure which one will fit this time. With online shopping, how can you decipher what will fit best?
While there isn't a full proof solution, there are a few things you can do to help mitigate the change of disappointment with your next package. Here are a few of the tips that I recommend to make for a better online shopping experience.
Strategy 1: Check the "Sizing Guides" for every store you visit.
This step seems fairly simple but it's a step that's often overlooked. We sometimes assume that if we're a medium in store A, then we're a medium in store B. Nowadays, with so many brands ranging from individual shops to mega, fast-fashion brands, sizing can be vastly different depending on what each store considers their size policy.
Luckily, most shops now have a size guide that showcases what their sizes correlates to in inches or centimeters.
For all of my online orders, I always go based off the bust, waist or hip measurements in inches, rather than the standard XS-XL sizing chart.
An example:
A quick search showcased the differences in Forever 21 and Zara sizing. On the left, a screenshot of Forever 21's sizing showcases an XS with the bust measurement as 32 inches. On the right, a screenshot of Zara's sizing showcases an XS with the bust measurement as 32.3 inches.
Although 0.3 might seem insignificant, sometimes even the smallest measurements make the difference. In many other cases, the differences can be even greater from store to store.
Strategy 2: Learn quick tailoring skills.
Sewing and alterations can transform many clothing pieces from basic to beyond good. Fast fashion has to account for millions of people buying the same pieces with different bodies to cater to.
This means that clothes sometimes fit weird and look vastly different on one person than another because everyone has their own proportions.
To counter this, I learned how to do some basic tailoring and adjustments with both a sewing machine and sewing needle. You also have the option of taking it in to a professional, where some adjustments are relatively cheap.
There's a reason many celebrities order custom outfits and it's because its uniquely fit to flatter their body. With my own example, I once ordered a black Nasty Gal dress that ended up being far boxier than I preferred.
It didn't complement my shape and I had the idea to pull some of the fabric together in the back to see if it looked better with more of my curves showing, and it absolutely did!
I ended up sewing straight down the back to take away the extra fabric and allowed the dress to be more form fitting in general. It took the dress from a weird, unflattering piece that was going to be stuck on a hanger for years, to one of my favorite club dresses.
There weren't any fancy techniques that I used, I just sewed in a straight line! Simple alterations here and there can really make the difference and sometimes take a cheaper looking item and make it look more expensive since it's better suited to your specific body measurements.
Strategy 3: Look at the materials of each clothing item.
Gym clothes are made with Spandex (Lycra) for a reason. They give the clothing the ability to move and stretch during someone's workout that provide greater movement throughout.
The same goes with many clothing items today where stretch fabrics are more likely to be incorporated versus non-stretch fabrics.
Under "details", you can often find what kind of material the fabric is made from.
With Aritzia, their infamous bodysuit often gets remarks about how good it looks on so many people. This is due to the bodysuit being slightly stretchy to accommodate to various body types. Their page states the bodysuit is made out of: "94% nylon, 6% elastane; Lining: 94% nylon, 6% elastane."
Versus, with items like "100% pure denim jeans", that's often where you run into more problems with size discrepancies since it's designed to fit a certain amount of inches and offers no additional stretch.
I recommend always checking the materials because if it so happens the clothing item is a non-stretch material it could be the difference in ordering a size XS or an S, for example.
Strategy 4: Try to find pictures/reviews of some sort.
If I'm really struggling with trying to narrow down a size, some stores have reviews and images.
This an easy tactic to visibly see what your size looks like from person to person.
And if the website doesn't have images and reviews? One method is taking to instagram to see the tagged photos in hopes to decipher the sizing on someones page. Often times, especially influencers, they'll disclose the size they ordered and if they're a similar size to your body type it makes the decision much easier.
If not, my second method is basing it off the model's sizing. Many websites display not only the model's size, but also their measurements. If they have similar proportions to you and are wearing a large, but you're normally an XL, it might signal to you that this item runs large and you should size down.
This has helped me with so many clothing websites where the model was shown to be wearing a size above or below what I normally get, but with the same measurements I end up ordering the size they wore and it arrives perfectly.
Overall,
Online shopping sizes can be difficult to narrow down and decipher, but the more you know what to look for the easier it might be to figure out exactly what works for you.
I used a variety of sources to find information and inspiration from.
For more information, I encourage you to check out these sources below:
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