Sizing and virtual try-on by clothing category

The short version

Shoppers buying clothes online are answering two questions: which size fits me and will it look right on me. Size depends on measurements and how the garment is cut. Look depends on proportion, length and silhouette. Every category weights them differently, so the information a product page needs changes too.

Across every category, two lines do more than anything else: a fit note on each product, and the model's height and size. In our audit of 829 Shopify fashion stores, only 20.3% of sized products said how they fit and only 10.3% gave the model's size or height.

What 459 Shopify fashion stores tell shoppers, by category

On 21 October 2026 we read the public product data of 525 Shopify fashion stores: the first 250 products in each store's product feed, the same title and description that Google Shopping and AI shopping assistants read. 459 stores sold sized clothing or shoes, giving 74,111 sized products. For each one we checked whether the description gave a garment measurement, sizing advice (such as "runs small" or "true to size"), the model's size or height, and the fabric composition.

On the average store, 70% of sized product descriptions gave no measurement, no sizing advice and no model size. Measurements appeared in 12% of descriptions and sizing advice in 9.7%. Many stores keep a size chart in a separate tab, pop-up or app, which this scan does not see; but a chart outside the description is also invisible to anything that reads only the feed.

Percentages are the average across stores with at least three products in the category, so one large store does not set the figure. Detection is by text pattern and will miss some phrasings. Customers of Rendered Fits were left out. Download the data (CSV). It is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with our other datasets on the open data page.

Dresses

A dress is a silhouette decision as much as a size decision. The shopper is judging length, neckline and where the waist sits on their own frame, often for a specific occasion, so the cost of getting it wrong feels high. Length is the measurement most often missing: "midi" means different things on a 155 cm and a 178 cm shopper, so give the length in centimetres and say where it falls on the model.

• Publish: Bust, waist, hip, length from the highest shoulder point, where the waist seam sits.
• Example fit note: "Fitted at the bust, relaxed from the waist. Falls to mid-calf on a 168 cm model."
• Try-on helps with: silhouette, neckline and length on the shopper's frame. It can't show: whether a fitted bodice closes.

More: occasionwear · bridal · womenswear

In our October 2026 scan of 27,216 dresses listings, 16% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 9.9% gave sizing advice and 19% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

Coats and outerwear

Outerwear is expensive, worn over other clothes and judged mostly by shape: length against height, the line of the shoulder and how much volume the coat adds. Garment measurements matter more here than body charts, because two coats in the same size can be cut for very different layering. Say what the coat is designed to go over.

• Publish: Chest, shoulder width, sleeve, back length, and the ease left for layers.
• Example fit note: "Cut to wear over a jumper. Size down if you want a closer fit over a shirt."
• Try-on helps with: length and volume against the shopper's height. It can't show: room for layers underneath.

In our October 2026 scan of 7,071 coats and jackets listings, 10% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 8.2% gave sizing advice and 13% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

Jeans and denim

Denim is the most measurement-driven category. Rise decides where jeans sit, inseam decides where they end, and stretch content decides how much they give. Many denim shoppers know their own inseam and rise from a pair they already own, so per-product garment measurements are worth more than a generic waist chart. State the fabric's stretch, because rigid and stretch denim in the same labelled size fit differently.

• Publish: Waist, hip, front rise, thigh, inseam, leg opening, stretch content.
• Example fit note: "High rise, slim through the thigh. 2% elastane: stretches about one size with wear."
• Try-on helps with: wash, leg shape and where the hem falls. It can't show: rise and stretch, which need numbers.

In our October 2026 scan of 4,022 jeans listings, 18% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 12% gave sizing advice and 20% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

Knitwear

Knits stretch and relax, so the same measurement can feel close-fitting or slouchy depending on the yarn and the intended cut. Tell the shopper which it is meant to be, and whether to size down for a neater fit.

• Publish: Chest, length, sleeve; stretch and how much the knit relaxes.
• Example fit note: "Oversized fit. Take your usual size for a slouchy look, one down for a classic fit."
• Try-on helps with: drape and volume. It can't show: stretch and recovery.

More: virtual try-on for knitwear brands

In our October 2026 scan of 5,243 knitwear listings, 12% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 9.5% gave sizing advice and 17% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

Suits and tailoring

Tailoring buyers think in chest size, jacket length and drop. The shoulder is the point that matters most because it is the hardest to alter, so publish shoulder width for each size, and say whether trousers come hemmed or unfinished.

• Publish: Chest, shoulder, sleeve, jacket length, drop (chest minus waist), trouser waist and inseam.
• Example fit note: "Slim cut with a 6-inch drop. Trousers unfinished, 86 cm inseam."
• Try-on helps with: how the jacket length and shape read. It can't show: shoulder fit, the hardest point to alter.

More: a buying guide for tailoring brands · menswear

In our October 2026 scan of 2,043 suits and tailoring listings, 14% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 2.4% gave sizing advice and 4.9% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

Premium basics

Basics look alike in a thumbnail. At a premium price the shopper is paying for cut and proportion, so the intended fit (boxy, regular, slim) and the shoulder and length figures carry the sale. A deep colour range also means the same size data is reused across many variants, so it is worth getting right once.

• Publish: Chest, length, shoulder, sleeve; the intended fit (boxy, regular, slim).
• Example fit note: "Boxy fit with a dropped shoulder. True to size."
• Try-on helps with: proportion of a simple piece on the shopper. It can't show: fabric weight and hand-feel.

Loungewear

Loungewear fit is a preference: some shoppers want oversized, others fitted. The chart should say which way each piece is cut, and the fit note should say what to do for the other look.

• Publish: Chest, hip, length, inseam; whether the cut is meant to be oversized.
• Example fit note: "Relaxed fit. Size down for a closer fit; cuffs sit at the ankle on a 175 cm model."
• Try-on helps with: oversized versus fitted on the shopper. It can't show: comfort over a day's wear.

More: activewear · streetwear

Workwear

Workwear is often bought as a set and worn all day, sitting and moving. Shoppers worry about shoulder and sleeve on jackets, rise and length on trousers, and collar size on shirts. Sizing a jacket and trousers together, from each item's own chart, saves a second order for the missing piece.

• Publish: Jacket chest, shoulder, sleeve; trouser waist, rise and length; shirt collar and sleeve.
• Example fit note: "Regular fit with room to sit and move. Collar fits one size up from your shirt size."
• Try-on helps with: how a jacket-and-trouser set looks together. It can't show: movement through a working day.

Lingerie and intimate apparel

Bra sizing has two parts, band and cup, and brands cut both differently. Sister sizes (one band up, one cup down) give shoppers a way out when a style runs small, so say so in the fit note. Think carefully before offering photo try-on here: it means a shopper uploading a photo to see themselves in underwear, and many brands choose size advice only.

• Publish: Underband and cup (or bust) measurements, sister sizes, stretch in the band.
• Example fit note: "Runs small in the band; go up one band size and down one cup (your sister size)."
• Try-on helps with: style only; many brands leave try-on off here. It can't show: band and cup fit.

In our October 2026 scan of 825 lingerie listings, 6.8% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 16% gave sizing advice and 13% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

Petite

Petite ranges are cut shorter in the body, sleeve, rise and leg, not just smaller. Shoppers in these ranges read charts closely, so give the petite rows their own measurements rather than a note under the main chart, and give the model's height.

• Publish: Torso length, sleeve, rise, inseam and hem length, given for the petite rows.
• Example fit note: "Petite length: shorter in the body, sleeve and leg for heights under about 160 cm."
• Try-on helps with: where hems and sleeves land on a shorter frame. It can't show: torso length.

More: plus-size fashion

Maternity

Maternity shoppers are buying for a body that is changing. Most brands size maternity from the pre-pregnancy size; say so, and say which stages each piece is designed for. Bump allowance is the measurement shoppers look for and rarely find.

• Publish: Bust, under-bust, hip, length and bump allowance; which stages each size suits.
• Example fit note: "Take your pre-pregnancy size. Stretch panel fits through the third trimester."
• Try-on helps with: how the style drapes over the bump today. It can't show: fit at later stages.

Shoes and accessories

Size recommendations in Rendered Fits are built for garments. For footwear, eyewear, jewellery and bags, specialist tools usually do a better job: foot-scanning or length-based shoe sizing, and live-camera AR for glasses and jewellery. Our AI vs AR comparison explains why AR suits small items worn on the face and hands.

In our October 2026 scan of 2,083 shoes listings, 3.3% of descriptions gave a garment measurement, 10% gave sizing advice and 0.5% gave the model’s size or height (full table).

How Rendered Fits handles each category

Rendered Fits is a Shopify app with three shopper tools on the product page. A size recommendation for each supported product, worked out from your own size chart and fit notes. Complete the Look, which suggests an outfit from your catalogue and sizes each piece. And an optional virtual try-on image on the shopper's own photo. The try-on shows appearance; it does not establish physical fit, which is why the size recommendation comes from your measurements.

The better your charts and fit notes, the better the recommendation, whatever the category. If you are starting from scratch, read how to make a size chart.