SHEIN size guide: which size to order and how to read each size chart

You wear M, you order M, and the T-shirt arrives in a different size: at SHEIN, the letter is no yardstick. The platform sells different brands, and each brand measures its M its own way. Two plain short-sleeve tees show the size of the problem.

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Our math: from the piece measurements in both guides, the DAZY M has 11 cm more bust than the Essnce M, almost the bust of the Essnce XL. The store says: the DAZY page itself warns that the brand follows Asian sizing and runs smaller than SHEIN.

What this changes when you buy: each piece has its own guide, and that guide is the one that counts. The way not to go wrong is to ignore the letter, open the piece's size guide and compare centimeter by centimeter. The next two sections show how: first your body, then the guide.

Before opening any guide, you need three of your numbers: bust, waist and hips. Rule of thumb, not tested by us: use a sewing tape over light clothing, with the tape touching the skin without pulling. Where to pass the tape for each measurement:

• Bust: at the fullest part, with the tape level, passing under the arms and across the back at the same height.
• Waist: at the narrowest point of the torso, usually a little above the navel, breathing normally.
• Hips: at the widest part of the hips, with feet together.

Write the three down in centimeters. The SHEIN guide shows measurements in centimeters and inches; to compare, stay in CM. The guide itself explains how to measure: if your method matches its method, the comparison comes out right. For T-shirts, blouses and dresses, the bust decides; for trousers and skirts, the waist and hips. If you fall between two of your numbers, use the larger one: extra room can be taken in, a shortfall can't.

What decides the size is knowing which table you are looking at, because the SHEIN guide can have two. The product measurements table is the garment measured flat: the DAZY T-shirt's bust in M is the garment's measurement, not your body's. The body measurements table, when the piece has one, is the body range the brand gives for each letter, and its own note says it is for reference only. Some pieces only have the garment table, like the Essnce; then the comparison is direct, between your measurement and the piece's, and the ease is up to you.

Ease is the difference between the garment and your body, and it shows the cut before you put it on. By the same math, with the DAZY guide, M is meant for a bust of 82 to 86 cm. That leaves 7 to 11 cm of ease in a regular-fit T-shirt with slight stretch. When only the garment measurement exists, stretch takes the place of ease: in the Essnce, with high stretch, the model on the page wears S, which measures 78 cm, 9 cm less than her bust.

The guide warns that the piece measurement can vary by 1 to 2 cm, and the descriptions of both T-shirts warn that the fabric changes size after washing at home. If your measurement falls on the edge of one size, those 2 cm decide. So: fabric with no or slight stretch calls for ease, and on the edge the size above; fabric with medium or high stretch calls for the size whose measurement is equal to or below yours, because a lot of ease in a stretchy piece just ends up baggy.

After the measurements, the most useful thing is the buyers' table, because it shows real people: height, weight, bust, waist, hips and the size each one ordered. Look there for someone with your measurements and see what they ordered. Just above it sits the buyers' fit rating, in percentages: on the DAZY, 93% found it true to size, 6% found it small and 1% large; on the Essnce, the page says 95% found it true to size. A high share saying it runs small is a warning to go up a size.

The model is a height reference. On the DAZY, she is 176 cm tall with an 87 cm bust and wears the international M; on the Essnce, 175 cm and an 87 cm bust, in S. Same bust, different letters, in both brands: it's the letter problem again. The size and fit details button shows the model's measurements on the page itself.

Below the sizes, some pages have a size-finder link that suggests a size. SHEIN's help page says the tool asks for height, age and weight to suggest a letter. When you are logged in, the suggestion appears on its own for some pieces. Use it as a second opinion, never in place of the tape: it does not ask for your bust or your waist, and that is exactly where the letter changes.

A wrong size costs the time of two deliveries: the piece goes back before the right one arrives, which is why the tape comes before the order.

The return policy for your country is in SHEIN's help center. Returns and the store's reputation are covered in Is SHEIN trustworthy?.

The size is settled before the cart, in this order:

• Measure bust, waist and hips and write them down in centimeters.
• Open the piece's size guide and keep it on CM.
• Check whether the table is for the piece or for the body. Compare it with your measurement and count the ease.
• Read the fit type and the stretch: fabric that doesn't stretch calls for ease; fabric that stretches, the size that matches your measurement.
• Check the buyers' fit rating and look in their table for someone with your measurements.
• Allow for 1 to 2 cm of variation in the piece and for the change after washing.
• Keep the order confirmation and the tracking number: a return depends on them, if the piece doesn't fit.

Delivery time, shipping and what to check before paying are in Is SHEIN worth it?. The 4CW5Y is SHEIN's referral code: you search for it in the app, it is not a coupon and gives no discount; current promotions are on the SHEIN page.

• Fabric without elastane, with no or slight stretch (the DAZY T-shirt): the size whose piece measurement gives the ease you want; if your measurement falls on the edge, the one above.
• Fabric with elastane, medium or high stretch, and only the piece measurement in the guide (the Essnce): the size whose measurement is equal to or below yours, as the model on the page does.
• A brand the page warns runs smaller (the DAZY): read the brand's own body table, not your usual letter.
• Between two sizes and unsure: the one that the buyer with your measurements ordered, in the buyers' table; with nobody similar, the ease decides, by the fabric rule.