EN 13402 is a European standard for labeling clothes sizes. It is based on body dimensions, measured in centimetres. It aims to replace many older national dress-size systems, starting in the year 2006. Standardization, in the context related to technologies and industries, is the process of establishing a technical standard among competing entities in a market, where this will bring benefits without hurting competition. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... 2006 (MMVI in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 labeled "foot length: 28 cm")

• product dimensions: The label states characteristic measures of the product. (Example: jeans labeled with their inner-leg length in centimeters or inches, i.e. not the – several centimeters 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 labeled 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 body CEN started in 1996 the process of designing a new modern system of labeling clothes sizes, resulting in the standard EN 13402 "Size designation of clothes". CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, was founded in 1961 by the national standard bodies in the European Economic Community and EFTA countries. ...

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: The International System of Units (symbol: SI) (for the French phrase Syst me International dUnit s) is the most widely used system of units. ... The International System of Units (abbreviated SI from the French language name Système International dUnités) is the modern form of the metric system. ... Standards are produced by many organisations, some for internal usage only, others for use by a groups of people, groups of companies, or a subsection of an industry. ... Logo of the International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards bodies. ...

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. Horizontal is an orientation relating to, or in parallel with the horizon, and thus perpendicular to the vertical. ... Girth generally refers to the circumference of a cylindrical object, such as a penis. ... A human head In anatomy, the head of an animal is the anterior part (from anatomical position) that comprises the mouth, the brain and various sensory organs (e. ... An ear is an organ used by an animal to detect sound waves. ... Self-retracting pocket tape measure A tape measure or measuring tape is a ribbon of cloth, plastic, or metal with linear-measure markings, often in both imperial and metric units. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Thyroid cartilage. ... In anatomy, cervical is an adjective that has two meanings: of or pertaining to the neck. ... A diagram of a thoracic vertebra. ... In anatomy, the scapula, or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). ... The armpit (or axilla) is the area on the human body directly under the area where the arm connects to the shoulder. ... Chest of a human male The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. ... A bust can be one of: Bust (sculpture), a sculpture depicting a persons chest, shoulders, and head, usually supported by a stand. ... A woman wearing a brassiere. ... The term breast, also known by the Latin mamma in anatomy, refers to the upper ventral region of an animals torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. ... The term breast, also known by the Latin mamma in anatomy, refers to the upper ventral region of an animals torso, particularly that of mammals, including human beings. ... The waist is the part of the abdomen between the ribcage and hips. ... Human male pelvis, viewed from front Human female pelvis, viewed from front The pelvis is the bony structure located at the base of the spine (properly known as the caudal end). ... The human rib cage. ... In anatomy, the abdomen is a part of the body; in humans, it is the region between the thorax and the pelvis. ... The buttocks (often called butt or ass in colloquial American speech and arse in British speech) are rounded portions of the anatomy located on the posterior of the pelvic region of the great apes and humans. ... A crotch can be any region or an object, where a trunk splits into two or more limbs. ... The acromion process, or simply the acromion, is an anatomical feature on the scapula. ... The ulna (Elbow Bone) [Figs. ... The metacarpus is the intermediate part of the hand skeleton that is located between the fingers distally and the carpus which forms the connection to the forearm. ... Download high resolution version (813x926, 22 KB)Example of a clothes size pictogram according to EN 13402-1 I, the creator of this image, hereby release it into the public domain. ...

All body dimensions are measured in centimeters, 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.

Look up jacket in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A jacket is an outer garment worn by both men and women, for warmth or fashion. ... Suits from the 1937 Chicago Woolen Mills catalog A suit, with varieties such as a business suit, three-piece suit, lounge suit or two-piece suit , comprises a collection of matching clothing consisting of: a coat (commonly known as a jacket) a waistcoat (optional) (USA vest) — without this it is... An overcoat is a long coat worn over other clothing. ... Chez TrouserChez Trouser The origin of modern mens trousers: a sans-culotte by Louis-Léopold Boilly. ... 1970s satin track shorts Catherine Bach popularised Daisy Dukes by wearing very short cut-off denim pants in The Dukes of Hazzard Hot pants with dark tights and knee-length boots Shorts are a garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area and the upper part of... A skirt is a traditionally feminine tube- or cone-shaped garment which is worn from the waist and covers the legs. ... A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment which hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs. ... Knits are fabrics made by one or more threads disposed in a complex interlocking pattern — threads are drawn through previously formed loops and themselves form new loops. ... Cardigan could refer to any of the following: the cardigan sweater Cardigan, a town in Wales Cardiganshire, a Welsh county Cardigan, an electoral district in Canada the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, a breed of dog Lord Cardigan, charge of the Light Brigade The Cardigans, a Swedish pop group This is a... A jumper from Marks & Spencer A sweater, pullover, jumper or jersey is a relatively heavy garment intended to cover the torso and arms of the human body (though in some cases sweaters are made for dogs and occasionally other animals) and typically supposed to go over a shirt, blouse, t... T-Shirt A T-shirt (or tee shirt) is a shirt with short or long sleeves, a round neck, put on over the head, without pockets. ... Business shirt Look up Shirt in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A shirt is a piece of clothing for the trunk of the body. ... A blouse A blouse most commonly refers to a womans shirt, although the term is also used for some mens military uniform shirts. ... A pair of mens briefs Undergarments, also called underwear or sometimes intimate clothing, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. ... A vest is a type of mens garment. ... Categories: Stub | Clothing ... A woman wearing a brassiere. ... It has been suggested that Waist cincher be merged into this article or section. ... A person wearing pantyhose Pantyhose (also known as tights) are close fitting coverings of the body from the waist to the feet, most frequently worn by women. ... A stocking is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment covering the foot and lower part of the leg, but usually not intended to conceal the leg. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A glove (Middle English from Old English glof) is a type of garment which covers the hand. ... Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on ones head. ...

EN 13402-3: Measurements and intervals

The third part of the standard defines preferred numbers of primary and secondary body dimensions. When developing a product, designers must choose numerous lengths, distances, diameters, volumes, and other characteristic quantities. ...

The product should not be labeled 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:

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

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:

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 neighboring 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:

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

Women

Dress sizes

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

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (589x875, 15 KB)Example of a clothes size pictogram according to EN 13402-1 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Bra sizes

The standard sizes for brassiere are:

The secondary dimension cup size can be expressed in terms of the difference Image File history File links Download high resolution version (795x875, 15 KB)Example of a clothes size pictogram according to EN 13402-1 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

cup size = bust girth − underbust girth

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

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.

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

EN 13402-4: Coding system

The fourth part of the standard is still under review and is expected to be published in early 2006. It describes a compact coding system for clothes sizes. It is mostly intended for industry to use in databases and as a part of stock-keeping identifiers and catalogue ordering numbers. 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 centimeter figures on the pictogram contains a lot of redundancy and the same information can be squeezed into fewer digits with lookup tables. EN 13402-4 defines several such tables. They list all in-use combinations of EN 13402-3 measures and assign a short 2- or 3-digit code to each.

Related links

• shoe size

A shoe size is a numerical indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. ...

External links

• All change for clothes sizes – press release by the British Standards Institute
• Dress size harmonization – press release by the British Standards Institute
• Size coding – a Powerpoint presentation explaining EN 13402-4
• John Scrimshaw: One size really might fit all. Fashion Business International, March 2004.