US to UK Sizes for Clothes

The rules at a glance

If you only remember one table, make it this one. Every row is explained in detail further down the page.

The rules point in different directions for clothes and shoes, which is exactly why people get caught out. A UK clothing number is bigger than the US one; a UK shoe number is smaller.

Women's clothing: US to UK size chart

This is where most of the confusion lives. A woman who wears a US 10 sees "10" on a British website and orders it. What arrives is a UK 10, which is a US 6: two full sizes smaller.

The fix is simple. Add 4 to your US size to get your UK size.

The table also shows the EU and Australian equivalents, because many UK shops list them side by side.

The same offset carries on into plus sizes, so a US 24 is a UK 28. Some UK brands call their plus range "curve", but the numbers still follow the +4 rule. Our guide to plus size numbering around the world goes into more detail.

What those sizes mean in inches

Numbers on labels are only shorthand for body measurements. These are the typical body measurements behind each size band, matching the chart on our dress size calculator:

Notice that the letter stays the same while the numbers shift. A UK Medium and a US Medium are cut for roughly the same body. It's only the numeric labels that are offset.

These are typical ranges, not a standard every brand follows. If a UK shop publishes its own chart in inches or centimetres, trust that over any conversion table, this one included. To get your own numbers, see how to measure your bust, your waist and your hips.

Jeans and trousers

Women's jeans in the UK are sold one of two ways. Some brands use the same numeric sizes as dresses, so the +4 rule applies: a US 10 is a UK 14. Many denim brands skip the dress sizes and label by waist and leg in inches, such as W28 L30. Inches are inches, so a W28 is a W28 on both sides of the Atlantic.

One caution: US denim is often cut more generously than its label, so by waist measurement a size 28 (US 6) is nearer a UK 12 than a UK 10. Our women's jeans size chart gives the body waist for every size from W23 to W36, with a converter.

If a pair of UK jeans gives you the choice, the W and L sizing is the safer one to shop by. The jeans size calculator turns your waist and inseam into both systems, and how to measure your inseam shows you how to get the leg length right.

Petite and tall

Both countries sell petite and tall ranges, and the +4 rule still applies to the size number. The height cut-off is slightly different, though. UK petite ranges are usually for women around 5'3" and under, while US petite usually means 5'4" and under. If you're right on the line, check the brand's height guide. Our explainer on what petite sizing means covers the details, and the petite size calculator helps you check.

Men's clothing: why the numbers don't change

Men have it easier. In both the US and the UK, most menswear is labelled with the body measurement it's cut for, in inches:

• Suits and jackets use the chest measurement, plus a length: 40R means a 40-inch chest, regular length, in both countries.
• Dress shirts use the collar (neck) size, such as 15.5, and sometimes the sleeve length.
• Trousers use the waist and inside leg, such as 32W 32L.

So a US 40R suit is a UK 40R, and a 15.5 collar is a 15.5 collar. The thing that does change is the European label: EU suit sizes are roughly the chest in inches plus 10 (a 40R is an EU 50), and EU shirts list the collar in centimetres (a 15.5 is about a 39). If you're buying from a UK shop that quotes EU sizes, that's where to be careful.

Letter sizes (S, M, L) are nominally the same too, but a UK brand's Large can be cut differently from a US brand's Large. Check the chest measurement on the size guide rather than trusting the letter. For more, see the men's shirt size chart, how to measure your neck size, the men's suit size chart and the men's suit size conversion for the US, UK, EU and Italy.

Shoes: the rule flips

Shoes are the opposite of clothes. A UK shoe size is a smaller number than the US size for the same foot.

Both countries count shoe sizes in the same step, a barleycorn, which is a third of an inch per full size. They just start counting from different points. For men the gap is about half a size; for women it's about two, because US women's sizes start higher than men's.

The women's column shows a range because brands genuinely disagree: some subtract 2, others 2½. A few men's brands subtract a full size rather than a half. The fix is the same as for clothes. If the brand gives a foot length in centimetres or millimetres, measure your foot and use that.

UK sizes are also unisex more often than US sizes. A UK 7 in a pair of trainers is usually the same length whether it's sold to men or women, which is not true of US sizing.

The shoe size conversion tool converts between US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes and works from foot length too. There's more background in our US to UK shoe size conversion guide, the women's shoe size chart and the men's shoe size chart.

Bras: same band, different cups

The band number means the same thing in both countries: a 34 band is a 34 band. The cup letters match from A to DD and then go their own ways. UK sizing adds doubled letters (FF, GG, HH), while US brands tend to use DDD and then skip ahead, with a lot of variation between brands.

So a US 36DDD is a UK 36E, and a US 32G is a UK 32F. Above a D cup, the brand's own chart is more reliable than any general table, because US brands label their larger cups in different ways.

If you haven't been measured in a while, start with the bust size calculator, then use the US to UK bra size conversion and the bra size chart.

Kids' clothing: from numbers to ages

US children's clothing is labelled with toddler sizes (2T, 3T) and then plain numbers (4, 5, 6, and so on). UK children's clothing is almost always labelled with an age range, such as "4 to 5 years", usually with a height in centimetres underneath.

Children of the same age can differ a lot in height, so match on height, not age. The height printed on most UK labels makes this easy: measure your child standing against a wall, then pick the label that covers that height. If they're between two, size up, as they'll grow into it. The kids' clothing size calculator and kids' clothing size chart help, and for shoes there's the kids' shoe size chart by age.

Why US and UK sizes are different

It would be easier if everyone used the same numbers. They don't, because the two systems grew up separately, and neither country requires shops to follow its own standard.

In the US, the main reference is the ASTM tables of body measurements. ASTM D5585 covers women's "misses" sizes, and ASTM D6240 covers men's sizes by chest measurement. These are voluntary: brands use them as a starting point for patterns, not as a rule. They've also drifted. When D5585 was first published in 1995, the misses range ran from size 2 to 20. The current 2021 edition runs from 00 to 20. Adding smaller numbers at the bottom of the range is a sign of vanity sizing, where the same body gets a smaller number over time.

In the UK, women's sizes trace back to BS 3666, a British Standard that designates women's clothing sizes by body measurements rather than garment measurements. There's also the European standard BS EN 13402-3, which sets out labelling based on body measurements in centimetres. It's published in the UK, but in practice most British shops still use the familiar 8, 10, 12 numbers. Like the US tables, none of this is compulsory, so a UK 12 at one shop isn't guaranteed to match a UK 12 at another.

The two systems happen to sit about four sizes apart for women, and that gap has become the convention that shops, conversion charts and this page all use. It's reliable enough to get you to the right size most of the time. It's not reliable enough to replace the brand's own chart when you're between sizes.

Words that change across the Atlantic

Sizes aren't the only thing that gets lost in translation. Clothing words change meaning too, and a few can lead to the wrong order:

If you search a UK shop for "pants" expecting trousers, you'll be looking at a page of underwear. Search for "trousers" instead.

How to order the right size from a UK shop

Conversion tables get you close. These habits get you the rest of the way:

1. Measure yourself with a soft tape: bust, waist and hips for women, chest, neck and waist for men. Our guide on how to measure for clothing online walks through each one, and the body measurement calculator keeps them in one place.
2. Open the brand's size guide, not a general chart. Most UK shops list measurements in both centimetres and inches.
3. Compare your measurements, not your US size, with the guide. If you land between two sizes, choose by the measurement that matters most for that garment: bust for a fitted top, hips for a skirt, waist for trousers.
4. Read the reviews for fit. Comments like "runs small" or "size up" from other buyers are worth more than any chart.
5. Check the returns policy before you pay, especially the cost of sending something back from the US.

UK consumers have a legal right to cancel most online orders within 14 days of delivery under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and then 14 more days to send the goods back. If you're ordering from outside the UK, don't assume the same terms apply to you: check the shop's own returns page for international orders, and look out for import duties or fees at checkout.

When to use this page and when to use the converter

This page is the full reference: every category, the reasons behind the numbers, and the edge cases. If you just want a quick answer for one garment, the US to UK size converter is faster. And if you're shopping from somewhere else in Europe, the US to EU size converter and the international size converter cover the other systems. Australian sizes follow the UK closely for women's clothing; the Australian size converter has the details.

For the older, shorter version of these charts, see our US to UK clothing size conversion post, and for specific dress sizes, the dress size conversion for US 4, 6, 8 and 10.

For shops selling to both countries

If you run an online clothing store with customers in the US and the UK, the label confusion above lands on you as returns. The most reliable fix is a size chart on every product page that shows both sizes along with the actual measurements in inches and centimetres, so nobody has to guess. Our free size chart generator makes one, and Tailor Size Guide for Shopify adds size charts and a size recommender to each product.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and standards

1. ASTM D5585-21, Standard Tables of Body Measurements for Adult Female Misses Figure Type, Size Range 00–20The US reference for women's misses sizes. The 1995 edition covered sizes 2 to 20.
2. ASTM D5585-95, Standard Table of Body Measurements for Adult Female Misses Figure Type, Sizes 2-20The historical edition, used here to show how the size range has shifted.
3. ASTM D6240, Standard Tables of Body Measurements for MenThe US reference tables for men's sizes by chest measurement.
4. BS 3666, Specification for size designation of women's wear (BSI)British Standard that designates women's sizes by body, not garment, measurements.
5. BS EN 13402-3, Size designation of clothes: body measurements and intervals (BSI)European labelling standard based on body measurements in centimetres.
6. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, Part 3The 14-day cancellation period for goods bought online by UK consumers.