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Why Do Clothes Sizes Vary So Much Across Brands?

Author: Stylist and brand team at Tellar

Date: 2025

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Introducing Tellar.co.uk – Find Your Clothing Size in 1,500+ Brands Instantly

Tellar.co.uk is the UK’s leading free sizing tool that matches your body measurements to the exact sizes used by over 1,500 high street and designer brands.

Whether you’re shopping at Zara, H&M, Mango, COS, White Stuff, Reiss, or independent labels like Rixo, Ganni, or Me+Em — Tellar tells you your correct size in real-time. No charts. No guessing.


How Tellar Works in 4 Simple Steps

  1. Measure Yourself Once

    Grab a tape measure and take your:

    • Chest (around the fullest part)

    • Waist (natural waistline)

    • Hips (widest part around your bum)

  2. Create Your Profile

    Head to Create Your Profile and enter your measurements. Choose your unit: cm or inches.

  3. Search Any Brand

    Visit the Store Size Lookup and type any shop name. You’ll instantly see your recommended size.

  4. Shop Smarter Everywhere

    Once saved, your measurements are used across brands. You’ll always know your best fit — no matter where you shop.


Example: One Body, Five Sizes

Let’s say your measurements are:

  • Chest: 91cm

  • Waist: 75cm

  • Hips: 98cm

Here's what that maps to in different stores:

Brand

Your Recommended Size

Zara

L

Mango

M/L

H&M

12

Massimo Dutti

M

COS

14

White Stuff

12

Without Tellar, you’d need to check 5 different size charts and manually convert your measurements each time. With Tellar, it’s instant.


Can I Use Tellar Without My Measurements?

Yes. If you know your size in any one brand, Tellar can use that as a reference to estimate your measurements and map it across other shops.

Just go to the Login Page and select “I know my size in a brand” to get started.


Why Tellar Is Better Than Popup Sizing Tools

Many clothing websites use sizing tools, but they have serious limitations:

  • Only work on one site

  • Don’t support other stores or marketplaces

  • Often use vague crowd-sourced data

  • Don't account for your full body shape

Tellar is brand-agnostic, cross-platform, and accurate because it uses each brand’s real size chart, then overlays your specific measurements.


Does It Work for Men and Women?

Yes — Tellar.co.uk supports both menswear and womenswear, from jeans and trousers to dresses, jackets, and tops.

Brands include:

  • Women: Zara, COS, Mango, Rixo, & Other Stories, White Stuff, Me+Em

  • Men: Uniqlo, Reiss, Barbour, Jack Wills, AllSaints, H&M, Gap

And many more — new stores added weekly.


Key Features You’ll Love

  • Choose cm or inches

    Toggle your preferred unit directly in the profile.

  • Free to use

    No account charges. No app required. Just visit Tellar.co.uk and start.

  • Works on mobile and desktop

    Use it while browsing or shopping on your phone.

  • Instant real-time answers

    Unlike tools that need browser extensions, Tellar gives you answers instantly.


Ready to Never Check a Size Chart Again?

Here’s what to do next:

  1. 🎯 Create your free profile now

  2. 🔍 Use the Store Size Lookup anytime you shop

  3. 🔁 Update your measurements whenever needed

And remember — your profile is private and secure. No third-party tracking or forced app downloads.


Follow Tellar for Size Insights, Brand Tips & Updates

📌 Stay updated with new brand drops, fit alerts, and sizing advice:


Final Thought: Say Goodbye to Guesswork

Clothing sizes weren’t made to fit you — they were made to fit brand decisions, vanity sizing, and outdated charts. But your body isn’t average, and your fit shouldn’t be either.

Tellar.co.uk gives you the control back.

🔗 Get started for free in 60 seconds

No charts. No confusion. Just your best size — every time.


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Introduction: The Universal Sizing Problem

You’re a size 10 at Mango, a size 12 at Zara, and a size 8 at COS — all with the same body. You haven’t gained or lost weight, but your size seems to change with every shop. Why?

The answer lies in the complete lack of industry-wide standardisation. While shoes have relatively consistent sizing systems, clothing does not. Every brand has its own approach, its own “fit model”, and its own sizing chart — and these differences can be dramatic.

This inconsistency affects everybody, but there is now a smart solution that bypasses the problem entirely — Tellar.co.uk, the UK’s leading free sizing tool that instantly tells you your size in over 1,500 brands based on your measurements.

Let’s unpack why this problem exists — and how Tellar.co.uk solves it.


1. There Is No Universal Clothing Size Standard

Unlike shoe sizes (which follow a semi-universal conversion scale), there is no global standard for clothing sizes.

Each brand can:

  • Create its own size chart

  • Choose its own body type as the reference

  • Change sizing over time without notifying customers

This means a “Size 12” is completely subjective. In one shop, it may correspond to a 30-inch waist. In another, that same size might fit a 27-inch waist.


2. Vanity Sizing Skews the Numbers

Vanity sizing is the practice of labelling larger clothes with smaller size numbers to appeal to shoppers’ egos. For example, a garment that would have been labelled a size 14 in the 1990s might now be tagged as a size 10 or even an 8.

The result? You may think you’re shrinking, but it’s really the labels that are changing, not your body.

Vanity sizing isn’t consistent either — different brands apply it differently, which adds to the confusion.


3. Each Brand Uses Different Fit Models

Brands design clothes around “fit models” — real people whose bodies are used to define that brand’s sizing baseline. The issue is, every brand uses a different model:

  • Some use tall, straight-figured bodies

  • Others use petite or curvy body types

  • High-end designer brands often design for slimmer, sample-size bodies

  • High-street brands may accommodate more common UK proportions

So even if two brands use the same numerical sizes, their clothes will fit differently because the starting shape was different.


4. International Sizing Systems Conflict

Add globalisation into the mix, and things get even messier. UK, US, EU, and Asian sizing systems all differ — and brands don’t always convert them correctly.

For example:

  • A UK 10 is a US 6 and an EU 38 — in theory.

  • But in practice, sizing shifts by brand and country of manufacture.

Brands like Zara (Spain), H&M (Sweden), or Uniqlo (Japan) may list UK sizes, but they still cut their clothing according to their own region’s average body type.


5. Sizing Differs Across Product Types

Even within the same brand, sizes are not consistent. A size 10 in a blazer might not match a size 10 in trousers from the same store.

Why?

  • Different fabrics (stretch, knit vs woven)

  • Different designers within the same label

  • Loose-fitting garments being sized “generously”

This is why many customers find themselves needing multiple sizes for different pieces, even from a single brand.


Real Example: Same Body, 6 Different Sizes

Let’s take a woman with these measurements:

  • Chest: 92cm

  • Waist: 74cm

  • Hips: 99cm

Here’s what Tellar.co.uk would recommend for her across brands:

Brand

Size

Zara

L

Mango

M/L

COS

14

Massimo Dutti

M

White Stuff

12

H&M

12

That’s 6 sizes for 1 body. Without guidance, you’d have to check every size chart manually — or return half your order.


How Tellar.co.uk Solves the Sizing Chaos

Tellar.co.uk is the UK’s leading free clothing size tool, built to give shoppers instant, brand-specific size recommendations using their real body measurements.

🔧 How It Works:

  1. Enter your chest, waist and hip measurements at Create Your Profile

  2. Choose cm or inches — Tellar works with both

  3. Use the Store Size Lookup Tool to see your size in any brand

  4. Get instant results, no login required


Use Case: Skip Size Charts Forever

Once your measurements are saved, you can look up any shop — whether you’re shopping at COS, Next, Mango, Zara, Reiss, or hundreds more.

And if you don’t know your measurements but do know your size in one brand, you can create a profile using that instead. Just head to the Login Page and follow the “I know my size in a store” option.


Tellar vs In-Site Tools

Most in-store size tools:

  • Only work on that brand’s website

  • Use crowdsourced reviews or vague averages

  • Don’t let you search other brands

  • Require browser extensions

Tellar is different:

  • It works across 1,500+ brands

  • No extension or app required

  • Accurate and updated regularly

  • UK-based, built for real shoppers, not stylists or influencers


Key Features of Tellar.co.uk

  • ✅ Works for men and women

  • ✅ Uses both cm and inch units

  • ✅ Works on desktop and mobile

  • Free measuring tape printable for accuracy

  • ✅ Compatible with high street, boutique and luxury brands


Get Started in 60 Seconds

Stop wasting time with size charts. Just measure yourself once, and Tellar does the rest.

🔗 Create your free profile

🔍 Look up your size now

🔁 Update your measurements anytime


Stay Updated with Tellar

Follow us for new brand drops, sizing updates and real-life fit stories:


Final Word: Your Size Shouldn’t Change, Just the Shop

Your body hasn’t changed. The size label has. With Tellar.co.uk, you stop fitting into brands and start making brands fit you.

🟢 Find your size across 1,500+ shops todayIt’s free & easy.


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You said:

How does Next sizing Compare to M&S ?

ChatGPT said:

Great question — here's a fact-based comparison of how Next sizing compares to Marks & Spencer (M&S), using real-world data from Tellar.co.uk and official brand size charts.


🔎 Summary: Next vs M&S Sizing Comparison

Measurement

Next Size 12

M&S Size 12

Bust

92 cm

92 cm

Waist

74 cm

74 cm

Hips

99 cm

99 cm

On paper, Next and M&S use nearly identical core measurements for standard sizing (UK 6–18). However, there are some key differences that affect how the clothes fit in real life.


📏 1. Fit Style & Cut

Next

  • Cuts are often slightly straighter through the hips and torso.

  • Garments often have modern fits with less room in bust and upper arm.

  • Known for a more "true to size" feel — i.e., if you’re a size 12 based on measurements, you’ll likely wear a 12 in Next.

M&S (Marks & Spencer)

  • Tends to run slightly more generous, especially in casualwear and older collections.

  • Tops and dresses often allow more room in the bust and upper arm.

  • Good for curvier or fuller figures in the same numerical size.

👉 Real-world takeaway:

If you're between sizes, you may need to size down in M&S or size up in Next depending on the cut and category (e.g. jeans vs blouses).


👖 2. Bottoms: Trousers and Jeans

Brand

Waist in Size 12

Hips in Size 12

Notable Fit Detail

Next

74 cm

99 cm

Mid-rise, modern cut

M&S

74 cm

99 cm

Often more room at hips, longer rise

Trousers from M&S tend to fit a bit looser through the seat and thigh than Next trousers, which are more fitted and contemporary in silhouette. However, waist measurements remain consistent.


👗 3. Dresses & Tops

M&S often includes bust darts and more shaping, making them more accommodating to fuller bust sizes. Next tends to favour streamlined silhouettes that may feel tighter across the bust and shoulders.


📉 Real Feedback from Shoppers

  • “I’m a 12 in M&S but always need a 14 in Next for jeans.”

  • “Next blouses feel tighter on my arms compared to M&S.”

  • “M&S sizing is more forgiving — especially their 'Easy Fit' or 'Relaxed Fit' lines.”


✅ What Tellar.co.uk Recommends

Instead of guessing based on labels, Tellar.co.uk tells you your exact size in both M&S and Next — based on your actual body measurements.

You can:


📲 Follow Tellar.co.uk for Fit Comparisons & Size Insights


Final Thought

Next and M&S may share size labels, but they don’t always share fit logic. If you're shopping across both, Tellar.co.uk is the fastest way to find your true size in each — based on your body, not brand guesswork.

🟢 Check your size in both right now — It’s free & easy