Guppy
I'll Lock Up
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I can't claim I've tried them all, but I've now sampled a number of asian clothing brands that use the "weird" sizing system that goes from XS to 3XL or even as much as 6XL. Some Japanese, some Chinese. I'm talking about tops here, and this could apply to shirts as well as jackets. I'm only posting to Outerwear forum because I mainly post in Outerwear, but much of this experience comes from 'vintage workwear' brands like Bronson, Bob Dong, Red Tornado, Sauce Zhan, Non Stock, etc.
Here's what I've learned:
1) Asian sizing is "slim" compared to "relaxed fit" western sizing. Westerners tend to have somewhat larger frames, but we also tend to be more prone to obesity.
2) When it comes to the multi-XL sizing that seems like just a L or XL in western sizing, it's really because asian sizing uses centimeters rather than inches, and goes up 2 cm per size in the chest. This is about equivalent to 1", which in western sizing would mean a half-size. Which, if you understand this, is really great for those of us who frequently find ourselves "between sizes" in western off-the-rack SMLXL sizing.
I'm a 42 Regular most of the time, and depending on pattern and cut can wear anything from a 40 or sometimes even a 38 up to a 44 or 46 in numeric sizing. But when it comes to SMLXL sizing, I'm most often right about exactly a Large, and once in a great while I'll fit an XL or a M. Occasionally I'll be right between L and XL, which can be no big deal if it's a t-shirt, but if it's a leather jacket, it can really suck when both sizes just don't work for me. But with asian sizing, their half-size jumps between L and XL and XXL means that I can get a better fit, provided I know the actual measurements of the garment in question. And most asian market sellers list this information in much greater detail and with better precision than do most western e-commerce sites. I always double- and triple-check the measurements given, but most of the time what would work for me and be considered a Large in western SMLXL sizing will be a XXL in asian sizing, but once in a while may be a just a single-XL, or more rarely XXXL.
One other thing that messed with my head before I got over it was the ubiquitous disclaimer to allow for 1-2cm of "error" in measuring. This isn't because they don't know how to measure, or don't know how to cut, or because there's wide variance in examples of a given tagged size. It's simply because your measurements may not agree entirely with their measurements, and this is more likely than not because you're not doing it exactly the same way they're doing it. And very likely, they know what they're doing, and you're not doing it the way they do it. So your measurement may not agree exactly with theirs, but if you knew their way of doing it, you'd get the same measurement. The 1-2cm of error is yours, in all likelihood, but they're not insulting you by pointing it out, they just want you to understand that their measurements can be off from what you measure. But you can rely on the measurement to be pretty much accurate to their numbers.
The result of this is that I now really like "weird" asian sizing, because it allows me to dial in and nail the fit a lot more precisely, and don't find it weird at all. In fact, I wish we did this in the west. And, considering how so much of our clothing is manufactured over there to begin with nowadays, I really have to wonder why it isn't -- my guess is a combination of tradition and not wanting to confuse western shoppers with a change that suddenly results in everyone buying two sizes too small because they buy the tagged size they've always bought. And partly too, merchants want to deal with fewer sizes because it's simpler and therefore less expensive.
TL;DR: Don't be scared of asian sizing; just know your measurements and trust what the merchant says, even though they all disclaim that measurements must allow for 1-2cm of error.
One last bit, the above may not necessarily apply to raw denim, where shrinkage is more of a factor and fit is likely more critical to comfort and getting the right look. If you are buying some selvedge jeans you'll want to read up carefully on the sizing information and understand how to get the right fit.
Oh, and finally, it can be hit or miss, depending on who you're dealing with, but I've found that merchants on aliexpress are pretty helpful when it comes to answering questions. There may sometimes be a language barrier, and some may not have a lot of interest in talking with customers, but I've had a few who are very friendly and especially knowledgeable about their product, especially merchants who seemed to have a direct relationship with a factory, rather than being a mere retail stockist. Some of them are especially interested to learn what my tastes are and hope that I can speak for my hemisphere and help them improve their product line to appeal to westerners. It's refreshing to deal with friendly experts rather than min-wage sales drones who don't care and just want to move you on quickly or score the biggest commission they can, not caring if you ever come back or not.
Finally, when it comes to buying, you'll find better prices on aliexpress than you will on ebay, and better still on taobao. Ordering through taobao is a pain though, and dealing with a proxy and re-shipping can be more trouble than it's worth, but sometimes you can save half as much again on what you'd pay for an item on taobao compared to what you'd pay for the exact same item on ebay. I found a pair of Bob Dong pants from a merchant on Taobao for about $50 USD less than I could find on ebay, and even with proxy buyer service fees and the cost of re-shipping, still came out way ahead. I still don't know that I recommend it, as even the proxy service websites are hard to navigate and understand, and a lot of them use machine translation which can be off and difficult to make sense of. Still, if you can figure it out, you can definitely save money a lot of the time.
Here's what I've learned:
1) Asian sizing is "slim" compared to "relaxed fit" western sizing. Westerners tend to have somewhat larger frames, but we also tend to be more prone to obesity.
2) When it comes to the multi-XL sizing that seems like just a L or XL in western sizing, it's really because asian sizing uses centimeters rather than inches, and goes up 2 cm per size in the chest. This is about equivalent to 1", which in western sizing would mean a half-size. Which, if you understand this, is really great for those of us who frequently find ourselves "between sizes" in western off-the-rack SMLXL sizing.
I'm a 42 Regular most of the time, and depending on pattern and cut can wear anything from a 40 or sometimes even a 38 up to a 44 or 46 in numeric sizing. But when it comes to SMLXL sizing, I'm most often right about exactly a Large, and once in a great while I'll fit an XL or a M. Occasionally I'll be right between L and XL, which can be no big deal if it's a t-shirt, but if it's a leather jacket, it can really suck when both sizes just don't work for me. But with asian sizing, their half-size jumps between L and XL and XXL means that I can get a better fit, provided I know the actual measurements of the garment in question. And most asian market sellers list this information in much greater detail and with better precision than do most western e-commerce sites. I always double- and triple-check the measurements given, but most of the time what would work for me and be considered a Large in western SMLXL sizing will be a XXL in asian sizing, but once in a while may be a just a single-XL, or more rarely XXXL.
One other thing that messed with my head before I got over it was the ubiquitous disclaimer to allow for 1-2cm of "error" in measuring. This isn't because they don't know how to measure, or don't know how to cut, or because there's wide variance in examples of a given tagged size. It's simply because your measurements may not agree entirely with their measurements, and this is more likely than not because you're not doing it exactly the same way they're doing it. And very likely, they know what they're doing, and you're not doing it the way they do it. So your measurement may not agree exactly with theirs, but if you knew their way of doing it, you'd get the same measurement. The 1-2cm of error is yours, in all likelihood, but they're not insulting you by pointing it out, they just want you to understand that their measurements can be off from what you measure. But you can rely on the measurement to be pretty much accurate to their numbers.
The result of this is that I now really like "weird" asian sizing, because it allows me to dial in and nail the fit a lot more precisely, and don't find it weird at all. In fact, I wish we did this in the west. And, considering how so much of our clothing is manufactured over there to begin with nowadays, I really have to wonder why it isn't -- my guess is a combination of tradition and not wanting to confuse western shoppers with a change that suddenly results in everyone buying two sizes too small because they buy the tagged size they've always bought. And partly too, merchants want to deal with fewer sizes because it's simpler and therefore less expensive.
TL;DR: Don't be scared of asian sizing; just know your measurements and trust what the merchant says, even though they all disclaim that measurements must allow for 1-2cm of error.
One last bit, the above may not necessarily apply to raw denim, where shrinkage is more of a factor and fit is likely more critical to comfort and getting the right look. If you are buying some selvedge jeans you'll want to read up carefully on the sizing information and understand how to get the right fit.
Oh, and finally, it can be hit or miss, depending on who you're dealing with, but I've found that merchants on aliexpress are pretty helpful when it comes to answering questions. There may sometimes be a language barrier, and some may not have a lot of interest in talking with customers, but I've had a few who are very friendly and especially knowledgeable about their product, especially merchants who seemed to have a direct relationship with a factory, rather than being a mere retail stockist. Some of them are especially interested to learn what my tastes are and hope that I can speak for my hemisphere and help them improve their product line to appeal to westerners. It's refreshing to deal with friendly experts rather than min-wage sales drones who don't care and just want to move you on quickly or score the biggest commission they can, not caring if you ever come back or not.
Finally, when it comes to buying, you'll find better prices on aliexpress than you will on ebay, and better still on taobao. Ordering through taobao is a pain though, and dealing with a proxy and re-shipping can be more trouble than it's worth, but sometimes you can save half as much again on what you'd pay for an item on taobao compared to what you'd pay for the exact same item on ebay. I found a pair of Bob Dong pants from a merchant on Taobao for about $50 USD less than I could find on ebay, and even with proxy buyer service fees and the cost of re-shipping, still came out way ahead. I still don't know that I recommend it, as even the proxy service websites are hard to navigate and understand, and a lot of them use machine translation which can be off and difficult to make sense of. Still, if you can figure it out, you can definitely save money a lot of the time.
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