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The pieces this guide keeps pointing at, from the XIEERDUO range.
Style Guide · Sizing
Label sizes are a suggestion. The flat measurement chart is the fact.
Take a soft tape to the fullest part of your bust, keep it level all the way around and let it rest rather than bite. Write the number down. Then measure shoulder point to shoulder point across the back. Bust decides the size on nearly every top. Shoulder width is the tiebreaker when the bust number sits between two sizes, and it is the reason two people with the same bust wear different sizes in a fitted tee.
Every listing carries a chart of flat measurements taken from that specific garment. Flat means the top is laid down and measured across, so a 19 inch chest measurement is a 38 inch garment. If the chart gives body measurements instead, it will say so. A medium in a woven blouse and a medium in a stretch knit cami can differ by two inches at the chest and both be right, because the patterns are solving different problems.
Ease is the gap between your body and the fabric. Fitted knits are drawn with negative or zero ease and rely on spandex to sit close. Regular tees carry two to three inches. Tunics, flowy blouses and oversized styles carry four or more, which is why they hang instead of hug.
| Cut | Typical ease | Between sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Ribbed cami, fitted knit tank | 0 to 1 inch | Size up |
| Regular tee, short sleeve top | 2 to 3 inches | Size up if you tuck |
| Woven blouse, puff sleeve | 3 to 4 inches | Size up, wovens do not give |
| Tunic, oversized sweatshirt | 4 inches and more | Stay smaller |
| Workout tank | 1 to 2 inches | Stay smaller for support |
On a fitted knit, go up. The spandex gives you about an inch and that inch vanishes the second you raise your arms to reach a shelf. On a loose cut, stay with the smaller size. Going up on a tunic does not add room where you wanted it, it drops the shoulder seam down your arm and turns the neckline into a slouch.
A pattern scaled up mathematically pinches at the armhole and rides high at the hem, because bodies do not grow evenly in every direction. On the lines we grade through 2XL and 3XL the pattern is redrawn: the armhole deepens, the shoulder widens by less than the chest, the hem drops. That is why a 3XL from a graded line hangs like the small did and a 3XL from a scaled one does not.
Try it on before the tags come off, with the bra you would actually wear under it. Raise both arms. Sit down. If the hem climbs above the waistband when you sit, the length is short for you regardless of what the chart said. Tags on and unworn is what keeps the partner’s return window open.
The pieces this guide keeps pointing at, from the XIEERDUO range.
