Size guide examples for clothing brands

What every good size guide has

1. Text, not a picture. In our audit of 829 Shopify fashion stores, 27.1% published their size chart only as an image, which search engines, screen readers and AI shopping assistants can't read.
2. A caption that says "body" or "garment". Shoppers compare their own measurements with the table, so they need to know which kind it is.
3. Both units. 47.7% of the readable charts we found gave centimetres or inches, not both.
4. The points that decide fit for the category: inseam and rise for jeans, shoulder for jackets, foot length for shoes.
5. A fit note: "true to size", "relaxed, size down for a closer fit" or "if between sizes, take the larger".
6. The model's height and size, so shoppers can compare themselves with the photo.
7. Every size you sell, labelled the same way everywhere. 23.3% of stores labelled one size in different ways (for example "S", "Small" and "SM"), and 9.0% sold sizes their guide didn't cover.

Example 1: a dress size guide (body measurements)

Dresses are usually sized against the body: the shopper measures bust, waist and hip and finds their row.

Fit note: "Fitted through the bodice with a relaxed skirt. If you are between sizes, choose the size that matches your bust." Model note: "Our model is 5'9" (175 cm) and wears a UK 8."

What to copy: one row per size, both units in each cell and a caption saying these are body figures. The fit note names the measurement that decides the size, which helps more than "true to size" on its own. Dresses were the largest category in our 459-store scan (27,216 sized products), yet only 9.9% of dress descriptions gave any sizing advice.

Example 2: a jeans size guide (garment measurements)

Denim shoppers often compare with a pair they already own, so garment measurements work better than body ones. Rise and inseam decide whether a pair works at all.

Fit note: "Rigid denim with no stretch. It gives about 1 cm at the waist with wear. If you usually wear stretch jeans, take one size up." Model note: "Model is 6'1" (185 cm), 32 in waist, wears a 32."

What to copy: say how each figure was measured ("flat x2"), give rise and inseam, and say whether the fabric stretches. Jeans did best of any category in our scan, and still only 18.4% of jeans descriptions included garment measurements.

Example 3: an oversized knitwear size guide

With deliberately oversized styles, the garment figures look huge next to body figures, so the guide should say how much room is built in.

Fit note: "Oversized. Take your usual size for a slouchy fit, or size down for a closer one." Model note: "Model is 5'8" (173 cm) and wears an S."

What to copy: state the ease ("about 25 cm larger than body chest"), measure sleeve from the centre back for dropped shoulders, and say which point the length is measured from (HPS, the high point of the shoulder).

Example 4: a tailored jacket size guide

Jackets are sold by chest size and length (R for regular, S short, L long). Shoulder width is the measurement that can't be altered, so it matters most.

Fit note: "Slim cut. Choose your usual chest size; if your shoulders are broad for your chest, size up." Model note: "Model is 6'0" (183 cm), 39 in chest, wears a 40R."

What to copy: a column that maps the size to the body ("fits chest"), with garment shoulder, sleeve and back length beside it. In our scan, suits had the weakest advice of any category: 2.4% of suit descriptions said how to choose a size.

Example 5: a unisex T-shirt size guide

Unisex sizing needs one extra line: how the sizes map to women's and men's sizes the shopper already knows.

Use a garment table with chest (flat x2), length (HPS) and sleeve, then add a conversion note such as "Unisex sizing. Women's UK 10 to 12 is usually an S; men's chest 38 to 40 in is usually an M." Two lines of text like that save more confusion than an extra column of figures.

Example 6: a shoe size guide

For shoes, foot length in centimetres is the most reliable figure, because UK, EU and US conversions differ between brands and lasts.

Fit note: "Narrow fit. If you have a wide foot or are between sizes, take a half size up."

What to copy: a foot length column, a width note and how to measure ("stand on paper, mark heel and longest toe"). Only 3.3% of shoe descriptions in our scan gave any measurement.

What fashion stores actually publish

We scanned the public product data of 459 Shopify fashion stores (74,111 sized products) in October 2026. On the average store, 70% of sized product descriptions had no garment measurement, no sizing advice and no model size.

Store-weighted averages. Full category figures and method: sizing information by category. The September audit of 829 stores is in the Shopify Size Chart Report 2026.

The most common size guide mistakes

• No guide at all. 27.7% of the 829 stores had no size chart our scanner could find on product or guide pages.
• A screenshot of a spreadsheet. It can't be zoomed cleanly on a phone, read aloud or found by search.
• One chart for every product. A brand-wide body chart is fine for sizing, but a cropped jacket and a long coat need their own garment figures.
• No caption. Without "body" or "garment" in the caption, shoppers guess and often size wrongly.
• Sizes that don't match the product. The guide shows XS to XL while the product sells 6 to 18.
• Hidden behind a script. 7.7% of stores loaded their chart only through a sizing app and 4.8% loaded it after the page, so crawlers that don't run JavaScript saw nothing.

From a size guide to a size recommendation

A guide still asks the shopper to measure and compare. When the answer is unclear, many shoppers order two sizes and return one (bracketing). A size recommendation app reads the same chart and gives the shopper one size from their height, weight and fit preference. Rendered Fits recommends a size for supported products from the brand's own chart, and can add an AI try-on preview of how the piece looks. A try-on preview shows appearance, not fit. To see how your current guides read, run the free size chart audit.