EN 13402 European Clothing Size Standard

EN 13402 is a European standard for labeling clothes sizes, based on body dimensions measured in centimetres, aiming to replace many older national dress-size systems. Apparel Search does not guarantee the accuracy of the information in the standard summaries, since all bodies are different and the standards may have been updated; the information is a clothing size reference to be used at the reader's own risk.

Apparel Search does NOT guarantee the accuracy of information on this page. All bodies are different ... This is simply a clothing size reference that should be utilized at your own risk. The standards may have been updated after we posted this page. Again, this clothing sizing information is just for reference only. Don't blame us if your garments do not fit properly ... Unfortunately, body types and sizes are continuously changing. Good luck with your sewing projects.

EN 13402 is a European standard for labeling clothes sizes. It is based on body dimensions, measured in centimeters. It aims to replace many older national dress-size systems, most likely after the year 2007.

There are three approaches for size-labeling of clothes:

body dimensions: The product label states for which range of body dimensions the product was designed. (Example: bike helmet labelled "head girth: 56
60 cm", shoe labelled "foot length: 28 cm")

product dimensions: The label states characteristic measures of the product. (Example: jeans labelled with their inner-leg length in centimetres or inches, i.e. not the
several centimetres longer
inner leg length of the intended wearer)

ad-hoc size: The label provides a size number or code with no obvious relationship to any measurement. (Example: Size 12, XL)

Traditionally, clothes have been labelled using many different ad-hoc size systems. This approach has led to a number of problems:

Country-specific or even vendor-specific labels create additional costs.
Ad-hoc sizes have changed with time, often due to "vanity labelling", an inflation in body dimensions associated with a size, to avoid confronting aging customers with uncomfortable anthropometric truths.
Mail-order purchasing requires accurate methods for predicting the best-fitting size.
Many garments need to be selected based on two or three body dimensions to fit adequately, and not a single scalar.
Scalar ad-hoc sizes based on 1950s anthropometric studies are no longer adequate, as changes in nutrition and life styles have shifted the distribution of body dimensions.

Therefore, the European standards committee CEN/tC 248/wG 10 started in 1996 the process of designing a new modern system of labelling clothes sizes, resulting in the standard EN 13402 "Size designation of clothes".

It is based on

body-dimensions
the metric system (SI)
data from new anthropometric studies of the European population performed in the late 1990s
similar existing international standards (ISO 3635, etc.)

The EN 13402 standard consists of four parts:

EN 13402-1: Terms, definitions and body measurement procedure

The first part of the standard defines the list of body dimensions to be used for designating clothes sizes, together with an anatomical explanation and measurement guidelines:

head girth: maximum horizontal girth of the head measured above the ears

neck girth: girth of the neck measured with the tape measure passed 2 cm below the Adam's apple and at the level of the 7th cervical vertebra

chest girth: maximum horizontal girth measured during normal breathing with the subject standing erect and the tape-measure passed over the shoulder blades (scapulae), under the armpits (axillae), and across the chest

bust girth: maximum horizontal girth measured during normal breathing with the subject standing erect and the tape-measure passed horizontally, under the armpits (axillae), and across the bust prominence (preferably measured with moderate tension over a brassiere that shall not deform the breast in an unnatural way and shall not displace its volume)

underbust girth: horizontal girth of the body measured just below the breasts

waist girth: girth of the natural waistline between the top of the hip bones (iliac crests) and the lower ribs, measured with the subject breathing normally and standing erect with the abdomen relaxed

hip girth: horizontal girth measured round the buttocks at the level of maximum circumference

height: vertical distance between the crown of the head and the soles of the feet, measured with the subject standing erect without shoes and with the feet together (for infants not yet able to stand upright: length of the body measured in a straight line from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet)

inside leg length: distance between the crotch and the soles of the feet, measured in a straight vertical line with the subject erect, feet slightly apart, and the weight of the body equally distributed on both legs

arm length: distance, measured using the tape-measure, from the armscye/shoulder line intersection (acromion), over the elbow, to the far end of the prominent wrist bone (ulna), with the subject's right fist clenched and placed on the hip, and with the arm bent at 90

hand girth: maximum girth measured over the knuckles (metacarpals) of the open right hand, fingers together and thumb excluded

foot length: horizontal distance between perpendiculars in contact with the end of the most prominent toe and the most prominent part of the heel, measured with the subject standing barefoot and the weight of the body equally distributed on both feet

body mass: measured with a suitable balance in kilograms

These dimensions are meant to be measured preferably without or as few as possible clothes.

All body dimensions are measured in centimetres, except for the body mass.

The standard also defines a pictogram that can be used in language-neutral labels to indicate one or several of the above body dimensions.

EN 13402-2: Primary and secondary dimensions

The second part of the standard defines for each type of garment one "primary dimension". This is the body measure according to which the product must be labelled.

For some types of garment, a single measure may not be sufficient to select the right product. In these cases, one or two "secondary dimensions" can be added to the label.

The following table shows the primary and secondary dimensions listed in the standard. Secondary dimensions are shown in parenthesis.

Garment	Men	Women	Boys	Girls
Jackets	chest girth (height, waist girth)	bust girth (height, hip girth)	height (chest girth)	height (bust girth)
Suits	chest girth, waist girth (height, inside leg length)	bust girth (height, hip girth)	height (chest girth)	height (bust girth)
Overcoats	chest girth (height)	bust girth (height)	height (chest girth)	height (bust girth)
Trousers/shorts	waist girth (height, inside leg length)	waist girth (height, hip girth, inside leg length)	height (waist girth)	height (waist girth)
Skirts		waist girth (height, hip girth)		height (waist girth)
Dresses		bust girth (height, hip girth, waist girth)		height (bust girth)
Knits: cardigans, sweaters, T-shirts	chest girth (height)	bust girth (height)	height (chest girth)	height (bust girth)
Shirts	neck girth (height, arm length)		height (neck girth)
Blouses		bust girth (height)		height (bust girth)
Underpants	waist girth (height)	waist girth (height, hip girth)	height (waist girth)	height (waist girth)
Vest	chest girth (height)	bust girth (height)	height (chest girth)	height (bust girth)
Pyjamas Ladies' nightdresses	chest girth (height, waist girth)	bust girth (height, waist girth, hip girth)	height (chest girth)	height (bust girth)
Swim-suits/wear and bodies	waist girth (height, chest girth)	bust girth (height, hip girth, underbust girth)	height (chest girth, waist girth)	height (underbust girth, bust girth)
Bras		underbust girth, bust girth (cup size)		underbust girth, bust girth (cup size)
Corsetry/upper and full body		underbust girth, bust girth (height, hip girth, waist girth)
Corsetry/lower body		waist girth, hip girth (height)
Pantyhose		height (waist girth, weight)	height	height
Stockings		foot length
Socks	foot length
Gloves	hand girth
Head wear	head girth

EN 13402-3: Measurements and intervals

The third part of the standard defines preferred numbers of primary and secondary body dimensions.

The product should not be labelled with the average body dimension for which the garment was designed (i.e., not "height: 176"). Instead, the label should show the range of body dimensions from half the step size below to half the step size above the design size (e.g., "height: 172-180").

For heights, for example, the standard recommends generally to use the following design dimensions, with a step size of 8 cm:

Height	...	160	168	176	184	192	200	...
Range	...	156-164	164-172	172-180	180-188	188-196	196-204	...

For trousers, the recommended step size for height is 4 cm:

Height	...	156	160	164	168	172	176
Range	...	154-158	158-162	162-166	166-170	170-174	174-178

Height	180	184	188	192	196	200	...
Range	178-182	182-186	186-190	190-194	194-198	198-202	...

The standard defines similar tables for other dimensions and garments, only some of which are shown here.

Men

The standard sizes and ranges for chest and waist girth are:

Chest girth	84	88	92	96	100	104	108	112
Range	82-86	86-90	90-94	94-98	98-102	102-106	106-110	110-114
Waist girth	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	100
Range	70-74	74-78	78-82	82-86	86-90	90-94	94-98	98-102

Chest girth	116	120	126	132	138	144
Range	114-118	118-123	123-129	129-135	135-141	141-147
Waist girth	104	108	114	120	126	132
Range	102-106	106-111	111-117	117-123	123-129	129-135

The above table is for drop = −12 cm, where

drop = waist girth − chest girth.

Example: While manufacturers will typically design clothes for chest girth = 100 cm such that it fits waist girth = 88 cm, they may also want to combine that chest girth with neighbouring waist girth step sizes 84 cm or 92 cm, to cover these drop types (−16 cm and −8 cm) as well.

The standard also suggests that neck girth can be associated with chest girth according to this table:

Neck girth	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
Range	36.5-37.5	37.5-38.5	38.5-39.5	39.5-40.5	40.5-41.5	41.5-42.5	42.5-43.5	43.5-44.5
Chest girth	88	92	96	100	104	108	112	116

Neck girth	45	46.5	48	49.5	51
Range	44.5-45.8	45.8-47.3	47.3-48.8	48.8-50.3	50.3-51.1
Chest girth	120	126	132	138	144

The standard further suggests that arm length can be associated with height according to this table:

Height	156	160	164	168	172	176	180	184	188	192	196	200
Arm length	60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70	71
Range	59-60	60-61	61-62	62-63	63-64	64-65	65-66	66-67	67-68	68-69	69-70	70-71

Women

Dress sizes

The standard sizes and ranges for bust, waist and hip girth are:

Bust girth	76	80	84	88	92	96	100	104	110
Range	74-78	78-82	82-86	86-90	90-94	94-98	98-102	102-107	107-113
Waist girth	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	94
Range	58-62	62-66	66-70	70-74	74-78	78-82	82-86	86-91	91-97
Hip girth	84	88	92	96	100	104	108	112	117
Range	82-86	86-90	90-94	94-98	98-102	102-106	106-110	110-115	115-120

Bust girth	116	122	128	134	140	146	152
Range	113-119	119-125	125-131	131-137	137-143	143-149	149-155
Waist girth	100	106	112	118	124	130	136
Range	97-103	103-109	109-115	115-121	121-127	127-133	133-139
Hip girth	122	127	132	137	142	147	152
Range	120-125	125-130	130-135	135-140	140-145	145-150	150-155

Bra sizes

See the Bra Glossary

The standard sizes for brassiere are:

Underbust girth	60	65	70	75	80	85	90	95
Range	58-62	63-67	68-72	73-77	78-82	83-88	88-92	93-98

Underbust girth	100	105	110	115	120	125
Range	98-102	103-108	108-112	113-118	118-122	123-128

The secondary dimension cup size can be expressed in terms of the difference

cup size = bust girth − underbust girth

and can be labelled compactly using a letter code appended to the underbust girth:

Code	AA	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
Cup size range	10-12	12-14	14-16	16-18	18-20	20-22	22-24	24-26

Example: Bra size 70B is suitable for women with underbust girth 68-72 cm and bust girth 84-86 cm.

Letter codes

For clothes where a larger step size is sufficient, the standard also defines a letter code. This code represents the bust girth for women and the chest girth for men. The standard does not define such a code for children.

Meaning	Code	Chest girth (men)	Bust girth (women)
extra extra small	XXS	70-78	66-74
extra small	XS	78-86	74-82
small	S	86-94	82-90
medium	M	94-102	90-98
large	L	102-110	98-106
extra large	XL	110-118	107-119
extra extra large	XXL	118-129	119-131
extra extra extra large	3XL	129-141	131-143

Each range combines two adjacent size steps. The ranges could be extended below XXS or above 3XL if necessary, for example:

Code	Chest girth (men)	Bust girth (women)
4XL	141-154	143-155
5XL	154-166	155-167

EN 13402-4: Coding system

The fourth part of the standard is still under review and is expected to be published in late 2007. It will define a compact coding system for clothes sizes. This was originally intended primarily for industry use in databases and as a part of stock-keeping identifiers and catalogue ordering numbers, but later users have also expressed a desire to use compact codes for customer communication. Writing out all the centimetre figures of all the primary and secondary measures from EN 13402-2 can
in some cases
require up to 12 digits. The full list of centimetre figures on the pictogram contains a lot of redundancy and the same information can be squeezed into fewer graphemes with lookup tables. EN 13402-4 will define such tables.

An earlier draft of this part of the standard attempted to list all in-use combinations of EN 13402-3 measures and assigned a short 2- or 3-digit code to each . Some of the industry representatives involved in the standardization process considered this approach too restrictive. Others argued that the primary dimension in centimetres should be a prominent part of the code. Therefore this proposal, originally expected to be adopted in 2005, was rejected.

Since then, several new proposals have been presented to the CEN working group. One of these, tabled by the European Association of National Organisations of Textile Traders (AEDT), proposes a 5-character alphanumeric code, consisting of the 3-digit centimetre figure of the primary body dimension, followed by one or two letters that code a secondary dimension, somewhat like the system already defined for bra sizes. For example, an item designed for

bust girth: 100 cm (100)
hip girth: 104 cm (B)
height: 176 cm (G)

would bear (in addition to the explanatory pictogram) the compact size code "100BG". This proposal was agreed upon in a March 2006 meeting in Florence and a final draft was produced by AEDT on 6 June 2006.

Three Ways to Label a Size, and Why One Was Chosen

EN 13402 begins from a comparison of the three approaches for size-labeling of clothes. Under body dimensions, the product label states for which range of body dimensions the product was designed, as a bike helmet is labelled with head girth or a shoe with foot length. Under product dimensions, the label states characteristic measures of the product itself, as jeans are labelled with their inner-leg length, which is not the same as the inner leg length of the intended wearer. Under an ad-hoc size, the label provides a size number or code with no obvious relationship to any measurement, such as Size 12 or XL. Traditionally, clothes have been labelled using many different ad-hoc size systems, and that approach led to a number of problems: country-specific or even vendor-specific labels create additional costs, and ad-hoc sizes have changed with time, often due to vanity labelling, an inflation in body dimensions associated with a size to avoid confronting aging customers with uncomfortable anthropometric truths.

Two further pressures made reform urgent. Mail-order purchasing requires accurate methods for predicting the best-fitting size, because a customer who cannot try a garment on needs a label that states real measurements. And many garments need to be selected based on two or three body dimensions to fit adequately, and not a single scalar; scalar ad-hoc sizes based on 1950s anthropometric studies are no longer adequate, as changes in nutrition and lifestyles have shifted the distribution of body dimensions. Therefore the European standards committee CEN/TC 248/WG 10 started in 1996 the process of designing a new modern system of labelling clothes sizes, resulting in the standard EN 13402, Size designation of clothes. It is based on body dimensions, the metric system (SI), data from new anthropometric studies of the European population performed in the late 1990s, and similar existing international standards such as ISO 3635.

Defined Measurements, a Pictogram, and Primary Dimensions

The first part of the standard, EN 13402-1, defines the list of body dimensions to be used for designating clothes sizes, together with an anatomical explanation and measurement guidelines: head girth, neck girth, chest girth, bust girth, underbust girth, waist girth, hip girth, height, inside leg length, arm length, hand girth, foot length and body mass. Each girth is defined by exactly where the tape passes and how the subject stands and breathes; waist girth, for example, is the girth of the natural waistline between the top of the hip bones and the lower ribs, measured with the subject breathing normally and standing erect with the abdomen relaxed. These dimensions are meant to be measured preferably without or as few as possible clothes, all body dimensions are measured in centimetres except for body mass, and the standard also defines a pictogram that can be used in language-neutral labels to indicate one or several of the body dimensions, so a label can be read across Europe's languages at a glance.

The second part, EN 13402-2, defines for each type of garment one primary dimension, the body measure according to which the product must be labelled, and allows one or two secondary dimensions to be added where a single measure is not sufficient to select the right product. For men's jackets the primary dimension is chest girth, with height and waist girth as possible secondary dimensions; for women's jackets it is bust girth, with height and hip girth secondary; for children's jackets, height is primary. Trousers for both men and women are labelled primarily by waist girth. The system this creates is deliberately different from a dress size number: instead of asking what a Size 12 means this year at this brand, the shopper matches their own measured centimetres, taken by the standard's own procedure, to the ranges printed on the label. Whether a garment fits then becomes a comparison of measurements rather than an act of faith in a code.

Common Questions

What is EN 13402?

EN 13402 is a European standard for labeling clothes sizes, also titled Size designation of clothes. It is based on body dimensions measured in centimetres and aims to replace many older national dress-size systems.

What problems does EN 13402 address?

Traditionally clothes have been labelled using many different ad-hoc size systems, creating country-specific and vendor-specific labels and extra costs. Ad-hoc sizes have changed over time, often due to vanity labelling, and mail-order purchasing requires accurate methods for predicting the best-fitting size.

What are primary and secondary dimensions in EN 13402?

The second part of the standard defines for each type of garment one primary dimension, the body measure according to which the product must be labelled. Where a single measure is not sufficient, one or two secondary dimensions can be added to the label, such as height and hip girth alongside bust girth for women's jackets.