What Size Am I in Women's Skirts?
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Guides
Whether you're thrifting or ordering online, most skirts in the world are labeled in women's sizes, at least for now.
Save one of the conversion charts below to roughly know your equivalent size.
Considerations:
- With stretchy waistbands, you can often go a size smaller than the chart shows, as women have larger hip-to-waist ratios
- In more recent decades, certain brands and cultures use vanity sizing, meant to flatter people by assigning smaller size labels to the same garments
- Where the skirt sits on the waist—whether by design or preference—affects the fit, depending on body shape or whether you're wider at the navel or lower waist
US sizing 🇺🇸
EU sizing 🇪🇺
UK sizing 🇬🇧
4 comments
These are great points, thanks @MyopicBookworm.
The flattery factor definitely varies with culture and brand.
Where the skirt sits (by design or preference) will change the fit—or the size determines where it can sit. Body shape will greatly affect this too, for skirts worn higher up. I’ll add this above.
I think it’s more complicated than this… For a start, women’s numbered sizing is inconsistent between manufacturers, and there has been progressive “flattery” over the years, so that women who used to be a size 16 can feel better as they now fit into a size 12 even though they haven’t lost weight! There’s also the waistline issue: the notional waist size of a skirt may not correspond to the waist size on the label of your trousers, if they sit at different points on your middle (which is why kiltmakers don’t use trouser sizes as a guide but measure the customer afresh). I generally take a 32 in men’s trousers, but usually find I need a UK size 12 in skirts, though I do have some older ones labelled as size 14.
@Chris thanks for the tip! I’ll add a note about this above.
I have found that most skirts are actually a size smaller in the US than the chart shows. If skirts have any stretch at the waist at all you are best to go with a size smaller than the chart. It will fit your waist while also being more likely to fit you in the hips too.