Last week, Ranbir told me that he always used to buy “L” size
T-shirt till now. However this time, when he bought “L” size T-shirt, it was
very Loose Fit. He was very happy, as he thought that he has lost his weight. He
went back home immediately and checked his weight. To his surprise, there was
no change in his weight. So what has led to this change? Why same size T-shirt
is now Loose Fit (mis-fit) to him? Was there any change in T-shirt size? He was
Puzzled. He checked the size of present T-shirt and the T-shirts he bought
earlier. He was shocked to see the difference. Both these T-shirts were “L”
size, but dimensions of these T-shirts were different. Why is it so? He
wondered. This change is nothing to do with his weight, but just a change in Brand.
Whether we believe it or not, every brand has its own size chart.
Yes! You read it right – Every Brand has its own size
chart. Size may be similar, but not same. Ranbir had changed his brand this
time, which led to mis-fit of his T Shirt. Please see below size charts of different brands.
In our Corporate world, we get Customised T-Shirts quite frequently. This is the most famous Corporate Gifts (Customized Gifts) usually given to their employees. While buying Customized T-shirt for Company, A Buyer will refer only to size chart in terms of “S, M, L, …”. But it is very important to refer to
this size chart in terms of inches and centimeters, for the reasons mentioned above. Since most of us fail to do
this, we often get a mis-fit T-Shirts, even though we pick up same size all the time. Without
realizing the root cause of the problem, we very conveniently blame the Supplier or the T-Shirt Buyer. But this is not the real root cause.
Is this the only reason of difference?
What care should we take while buying Customized T-shirt for Conference or Corporate T-shirts?
For this, let us look at reasons, which may lead to differences in T-shirt sizes:
T-shirt Sizes Vary by Brand:
As we discussed, T-shirt sizes
differ from brand to brand. Difficult to believe by many, like Ranbir, but it is
True. Recently Myntra, a famous online store in India, declared that they get
50% rejections just because of difference in sizes between brands. Just imagine
the amount of time and money being wasted by them. On top of it, they also face
the agony of their customers. Click Here to read the
article published in Economic Times. Every brand has their own size chart. So
if you look at size chart of Brand X and Brand Y, it will be different.
Difference will be in terms of chest size, length of T-shirt, Shoulder size and
sleeve length. Please refer to this link
for understanding such difference in sizes.
T-Shirt sizes Vary by Country:
Every country has
their different size chart, because of difference in body structure of people
in different countries. You will find that Asians are usually smaller than
Europeans and Americans. Hence every brand will have different size charts in
different country to make a fit for its citizens. Asian L size may be similar to American S or M size. Please click here to see difference in Body Mass Index by Country. This clearly shows the
difference in human body and hence T-Shirt manufacturers need to have difference
size charts for different continents / countries.
Difference due to manufacturing:
Usually every
brand will declare their sizes with a margin of 0.5 inch to 1 inch. This is due
to stitching or even type of material. This is quite normal. So even when you
buy a T-Shirt of same size (say “L”) of the same Brand, you may find a small
difference between the two T-shirts. This difference arises due to
manufacturing. Though this might be a small difference, however if you
compare the extreme ends, you may look at a big difference. For example, higher
end of Size “S” and lower end of Size “M” may be same size due to manufacturing
error. However this should be negligible concern to anyone of us, as this error
is more controllable and a minor error.
So what care should be taken while buying Customized T-Shirts for Company?
As we have seen, We usually go by Customized T-Shirt by sizes in terms of “S, M, L ….”.
Rather we should ask for size chart in terms of inches or centimeters. Usually, sizes can be offered in terms of Chest Size, T-Shirt Length, Shoulder Length, Sleeve Length, etc. However, The most
important dimension among all these is, Chest Size. This is MUST. But we can not ignore
the significance of other dimensions. If possible, get other details also from
your Customized T-Shirt supplier. Second most important item is length of T-Shirt.
Shoulder length and Sleeve length are good to have, as usually brands take care
of this very well and pose almost negligible risk. If you take care of this, it will eliminate
risk of getting wrong size T-Shirts.
We would be keen to hear your thoughts and point of
view. Please drop your comments. Please share this article with your friends
and colleagues.
