Women's EU to US Clothing Size Chart

EU UK US INT
32 4 0 XXS
34 6 2 XS
36 8 4 S
38 10 6 S
40 12 8 M
42 14 10 M
44 16 12 L
46 18 14 L
48 20 16 XL
50 22 18 XL
52 24 20 XXL
54 26 22 XXL

Letter sizes (XS to XXL) in numbers

SizeUSUKEU
XXS 0 4 32
XS 2 6 34
S 4-6 8-10 36-38
M 8-10 12-14 40-42
L 12-14 16-18 44-46
XL 16-18 20-22 48-50
XXL 20-22 24-26 52-54

Plus and extended sizes

USLetterUKEUBust (cm)
14W-16W 1X 18-20 46-48 112-116
18W-20W 2X 22-24 50-52 119-124
22W-24W 3X 26-28 54-56 131-137
26W-28W 4X 30-32 58-60 144-150
30W-32W 5X 34-36 62-64 156-163

Note: Plus-size letters are far less standardised than straight sizes: the map shown (1X to 5X across US 14W to 32W) is the most common US convention, but some plus retailers shift each letter up by about two sizes, and bust in centimetres varies several centimetres between charts, so check the brand's own chart. Bust values here follow the Dia and Co body chart.

Sources
  • ASTM International, D6960/D6960M-16(2023), Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Plus Women's Figure Type (14W to 40W)
  • Dia and Co, plus-size body chart (dia.com): letter to W-size map 0X to 5X with bust in inches, 14W to 32W
  • Talbots, plus-size chart (talbots.com): 1X to 4X mapped to 14W to 26W
  • sizechart.com, US women's straight-size letter map (XXS to XXL)
  • Wikipedia, US standard clothing size (no mandatory US size standard since 1983)

A body-measure scale against an American label

US holds a steady 32 below EU at every row of this chart, so EU 44 converts to US 12 and the same gap carries from the smallest size to the largest. A single step converts the whole range cleanly.

The European women's number is closer to an actual body measurement: the German rule sets the size at bust in centimetres divided by two, minus six, so it tracks the chest more honestly than the American figure. The US number is a looser convention that has slid downward through vanity sizing. Because one is a measurement and the other a habit, the offset between them is only roughly constant, and EN 13402 makes the whole thing voluntary, which is how DE, FR and IT labels coexist on one rack.

Common questions

Does the EU number mean my bust in centimetres?

Almost. The German formula is bust in centimetres halved then minus six, so the EU size follows the chest more directly than the US label.

Why do European labels still disagree with each other?

EN 13402 is voluntary, so German, French and Italian makers round the same body onto slightly different national numbers.

Sources

German sizing formulas: de.wikipedia.org, Konfektionsgroesse; blitzrechner.de.

Voluntary garment standard: EN 13402 Parts 1 to 3.

Note: Clothing sizes vary significantly by brand. Always check brand-specific size charts.