US to UK women’s sizes, including jeans

US to UK women’s clothing chart

Each US size in UK sizes

• US 0 is a UK 4 and an EU 32. ASOS prints US 1 against UK 4 instead.
• US 2 is a UK 6 and an EU 34.
• US 4 is a UK 8 and an EU 36.
• US 6 is a UK 10 and an EU 38.
• US 8 is a UK 12 and an EU 40.
• US 10 is a UK 14 and an EU 42.
• US 12 is a UK 16 and an EU 44.
• US 14 is a UK 18 and an EU 46.
• US 16 is a UK 20 and an EU 48.
• US 18 is a UK 22 and an EU 50.
• US 20 is a UK 24 and an EU 52.
• US 22 is a UK 26 and an EU 54.
• US 24 is a UK 28 and an EU 56.

Women’s jeans: waist size to US and UK

Jeans are often labelled with a waist number such as W28 or 28. Read it as a brand label in inches, not as a tape measurement of your waist.

US 00 appears only in the jeans charts, at W24, which is a UK 2.

• Joe’s Jeans and Veronica Beard agree on the US and UK equivalents for W24 to W32, and Joe’s Jeans and sizechart.com agree on the US sizes to W34. W33 and W34 rest on those two.
• There is no EU column because sources disagree: Joe’s Jeans lists French 32 at W26, sizechart.com lists EU 32 at W26, and Vinted groups W25 to W26 with EU 34.
• sizechart.com lists UK sizes two higher than the retailers (W26 as UK 8), and Vinted uses wider groups. This table follows the retailer charts.
• Stretch, rise and cut all change fit, so a W28 in one brand can measure differently from a W28 in another.

Why brands still vary

A conversion maps one label to another. It cannot know how a particular brand has cut and graded its sizes.

• Labels drift. Vanity sizing means the same number can describe a larger garment than it did years ago, and brands do not drift at the same pace.
• Body and garment measurements differ. A body chart says which body a size is meant for; a garment chart measures the finished item.
• Cut and fabric change the answer. A slim shirt, a relaxed coat and a stretch trouser can carry the same label and leave very different room.

Here is a worked example from the converter. Marks & Spencer lists a UK 12 at a 92 cm bust, 75 cm waist and 100 cm hips. Nordstrom’s designer conversion chart lists a US 8, which converts to UK 12, at about 89 cm bust, 69 cm waist and 95 cm hips. The labels convert cleanly, yet the waist differs by about 6 cm.

How to measure yourself

A conversion only shortlists a size. Your own measurements in centimetres, checked against the brand's size chart, decide it.

1. Bust: measure around the fullest part, keeping the tape level under your arms.
2. Waist: measure around the narrowest part of your natural waist, usually just above the belly button.
3. Hips: stand with your feet together and measure around the fullest part of your hips and seat.

Keep the tape snug but not tight, and wear light clothing. Then look for whether the brand's chart shows body measurements or garment measurements; a garment measurement includes the room the item is cut with. Our explainer on what "true to size" means covers how to read fit notes such as "runs small" or "relaxed fit".

A note for merchants

Shoppers search for conversions because a single size label does not tell them how a garment will fit. If you sell clothes online, publish a size chart in centimetres for each product, say whether it shows body or garment measurements, and add a short fit note. A free size chart template is a quick place to start. On Shopify, Rendered Fits recommends a size for each product from your own size chart, so shoppers do not need a converter; there is a Free plan.

Other size conversions

• UK to US women’s clothing sizes
• EU and French to UK women’s sizes
• German to UK clothing sizes
• Italian to UK clothing sizes
• UK to EU men’s suits, trousers and shirts
• UK and US shoe sizes, both ways

Every table in one place: the clothing size converter, or the size conversion guides index.