EN 13402 is a European standard for labelling clothes sizes. It is based on body dimensions, measured in centimetres. It replaces many older national dress-size systems in popular use before the year 2007. Acceptance of this form of standardization varies from country to country. For example, the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs has commissioned a study[1] to categorise female body types with a view to harmonising Spanish clothing sizes with EN-13402. Few other countries are known to have followed suit.
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There are three approaches for size-labelling of clothes:
Traditionally, clothes have been labelled using many different ad-hoc size systems. This approach has led to a number of problems:
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
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. All body dimensions are measured, preferably without or as few as possible clothes, 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 following body 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. Where men’s garments use the chest girth, women’s clothes are designed for a certain bust girth.
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, leaving out the redundant words girth, length and size for better overview. Secondary dimensions are shown in parentheses.
| Garment | Men | Women | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackets | chest, height, waist | bust, height, hip | height, chest | height, bust |
| Suits | chest, waist, height, inside leg | bust, height, hip | height, chest | height, bust |
| Overcoats | chest, height | bust, height | height, chest | height, bust |
| Trousers/shorts | waist, height, inside leg | waist, height, hip, inside leg | height, waist | height, waist |
| Skirts | — | waist, height, hip | — | height, waist |
| Dresses | — | bust, height, hip, waist | — | height, bust |
| Knits: cardigans, sweaters, T-shirts | chest, height | bust, height | height, chest | height, bust |
| Shirts (m), Blouses (f) | neck, height, arm | bust, height | height, neck | height, bust |
| Underpants | waist, height | waist, height, hip | height, waist | height, waist |
| Vest | chest, height | bust, height | height, chest | height, bust |
| Pyjamas, Ladies' nightdresses | chest, height, waist | bust, height, waist, hip | height, chest | height, bust |
| Swim-suits/wear and bodies | waist, height, chest | bust, height, hip, underbust | height, chest, waist | height, underbust, bust |
| Bras | — | underbust, bust, cup | — | underbust, bust, cup |
| Corsetry/upper and full body | — | underbust, bust, height, hip, waist | — | — |
| Corsetry/lower body | — | waist, hip, height | — | — |
| Pantyhose | — | height, waist, weight | — | height |
| Stockings | — | foot | ||
| Socks | foot | |||
| Gloves | hand | |||
| Headwear | head | |||
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 cm."). 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 cm.").
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 | 180 | 184 | 188 | 192 | 196 | 200 | … |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range | … | 154–158 | 158–162 | 162–166 | 166–170 | 170–174 | 174–178 | 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.
The standard sizes and ranges for chest and waist girth are defined in steps of 4 cm:
| Chest girth | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 100 | 104 | 108 | 112 | 116 | 120 | 126 | 132 | 138 | 144 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range | 82–86 | 86–90 | 90–94 | 94–98 | 98–102 | 102–106 | 106–110 | 110–114 | 114–118 | 118–123 | 123–129 | 129–135 | 135–141 | 141–147 |
| Waist girth | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 100 | 104 | 108 | 114 | 120 | 126 | 132 |
| Range | 70–74 | 74–78 | 78–82 | 82–86 | 86–90 | 90–94 | 94–98 | 98–102 | 102–106 | 106–111 | 111–117 | 117–123 | 123–129 | 129–135 |
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:
| Neck girth | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46.5 | 48 | 49.5 | 51 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 44.5–45.8 | 45.8–47.3 | 47.3–48.8 | 48.8–50.3 | 50.3–51.1 |
| Chest girth | 88 | 92 | 96 | 100 | 104 | 108 | 112 | 116 | 120 | 126 | 132 | 138 | 144 |
The standard further suggests that arm length can be associated with height:
| 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 |
The standard sizes and ranges for bust, waist and hip girth are mostly based on a step of 4 cm, for larger sizes 5 cm:
| Bust girth | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 100 | 104 | 110 | 116 | 122 | 128 | 134 | 140 | 146 | 152 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range | 74–78 | 78–82 | 82–86 | 86–90 | 90–94 | 94–98 | 98–102 | 102–107 | 107–113 | 113–119 | 119–125 | 125–131 | 131–137 | 137–143 | 143–149 | 149–155 |
| Waist girth | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 94 | 100 | 106 | 112 | 118 | 124 | 130 | 136 |
| Range | 58–62 | 62–66 | 66–70 | 70–74 | 74–78 | 78–82 | 82–86 | 86–91 | 91–97 | 97–103 | 103–109 | 109–115 | 115–121 | 121–127 | 127–133 | 133–139 |
| Hip girth | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 100 | 104 | 108 | 112 | 117 | 122 | 127 | 132 | 137 | 142 | 147 | 152 |
| Range | 82–86 | 86–90 | 90–94 | 94–98 | 98–102 | 102–106 | 106–110 | 110–115 | 115–120 | 120–125 | 125–130 | 130–135 | 135–140 | 140–145 | 145–150 | 150–155 |
The European standard EN 13402 also defines bra sizes based on the "bust girth" and the "underbust girth". Bras are labeled with the under bust girth (rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cm), followed by a letter code that indicates the "cup size" defined below, according to this table defined by the standard.
The standard sizes for brassiere are based on a step of 5 cm:
| Underbust girth | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | 100 | 105 | 110 | 115 | 120 | 125 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range | 58–62 | 63–67 | 68–72 | 73–77 | 78–82 | 83–88 | 88–92 | 93–98 | 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
and can be labelled compactly using a letter code appended to the underbust girth:
| Code | AA | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | J | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup size range | 10–12 | 12–14 | 14–16 | 16–18 | 18–20 | 20–22 | 22–24 | 24–26 | 26–28 | 28–30 | 30–32 |
Example 1: Bra size 70B is suitable for women with underbust girth 68–72 cm and bust girth from 82–84 cm to 86–88 cm.
Example 2: A woman with an underbust girth of 89 cm and a bust girth of 108 cm has cup size 19 cm (= 108 cm – 89 cm) or "D". Her underbust girth rounded to the nearest multiple of 5 cm is 90 cm. Therefore, her bra size according to the standard is 90D.
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. Each range combines two adjacent size steps. The ranges could be extended below XXS or above 3XL if necessary.
| 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 | 98–107 |
| extra large | XL | 110–118 | 107–119 |
| extra extra large | XXL | 118–129 | 119–131 |
| extra extra extra large | 3XL | 129–141 | 131–143 |
| 4XL | 141–154 | 143–155 | |
| 5XL | 154–166 | 155–167 |
The fourth part of the standard is still under review. 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 characters 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.[2] For example, an item designed for 100 cm bust girth, 104 cm hip girth and 176 cm height could bear the compact size code "100BG". This proposal was agreed upon in 2006, but later disregarded.[3] A paper by Bogusławska-Bączek published in 2010 showed that there were still significant difficulties in identifying clothing sizes.[4]
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