Why the same letter means three different things
Buy a Chinese L, a European L and an American L, lay them on the same bed, and you get three different garments. The Chinese L is built for a body around 170 cm and a chest near 92 cm. The European L assumes roughly 176 cm and 100 cm across the chest. The American L is closer to a European XL with extra length. The letters have not drifted; they were never the same measurement to begin with.
Chinese labels often skip the letter entirely and use the national notation, which reads as height over chest: 170/88A, 175/92A, 180/96A. That number is more honest than a letter because it describes the body the pattern was cut for, not a market tier. If an album shows both a letter and a height/chest figure, trust the figure. If it shows only a letter, assume it is the Chinese standard and add roughly one step to reach your usual size.
Measuring a garment you already own
Do not measure your body. Bodies are three-dimensional and moving; garments are flat and still, and a flat garment is the only thing you can compare against a size table photographed on a factory floor. Pick the piece that fits you the way you want the new one to fit, lay it flat on a table without stretching it, and take two numbers.
The first is chest, measured pit to pit straight across the front with the garment buttoned or zipped closed, then doubled. The second is body length, from the highest point of the shoulder seam to the hem. Those two numbers travel between albums. Shoulder width and sleeve length vary by pattern block and will mislead you; chest and length are the constants.
Compare your doubled chest figure to the album's garment chest column, not to its "fits chest" column. If the table only offers a body figure, add 8 to 12 cm for a regular cut or 14 to 20 cm for an oversized one — which is the difference between a hoodie that skims and a hoodie that swallows.
Shrinkage is the number nobody prints
Cotton jersey loses three to five percent of its length on the first hot wash. Brushed fleece loses two to four percent across the body and rather less in length. Viscose blends can lose more and will keep losing for three or four cycles. None of this is a defect, and none of it appears on the size chart, which is why a garment that fits perfectly out of the bag can be a size small by February.
Treat shrinkage as a known tax rather than a lottery. Buy the size that fits after a wash, not before, and if you are between sizes on a cotton tee, take the larger one with the full expectation that it will land closer to the smaller after a month. Wash cold the first two times and the figure drops to one or two percent — the single cheapest fit adjustment available to you.
Why "size up once" is lazy advice
The advice exists because it is right often enough to survive, not because it is true. It assumes every error points in one direction, and they do not. Asian patterns run narrow in the shoulder and short in the sleeve but often generous through the body on a relaxed cut. Sizing up fixes the sleeve and hands you a body that hangs past your hips. On an oversized hoodie that reads as intentional; on a coach jacket it reads as borrowed.
What actually helps is knowing which measurement is the binding constraint for a given garment. On a zip-up, it is the chest — a jacket that will not close cannot be salvaged by a longer sleeve. On a tee, it is the shoulder, because a dropped shoulder seam changes the whole silhouette. On trousers, it is the waist plus the rise, and no amount of sizing up fixes a rise that sits wrong.
So the useful question before ordering is not "should I size up" but "which number would ruin this piece if it were wrong". Answer that from the flat measurement, and the letter on the label stops mattering. The MVT fleece notes apply the same logic to sets, where the top and bottom share one label.
Shoes and apparel are not the same problem
Apparel sizing is linear: chest, length, a sleeve. Shoe sizing is volumetric, and the number on the box describes a last shape rather than a distance. Two pairs marked 42 can differ by half a size in the toe box and a full size across the instep, which is why a shoe can feel long and tight at the same time.
That is also why shoes get half sizes and clothing mostly does not. A half size changes the volume of the last in a way a size letter cannot change a chest measurement. If you are ordering both from one album, measure the insole of a shoe you already wear and the chest of a top you already wear, and compare each against its own table. The Koala batch guide covers the shoe side of the same question in more detail.
The table, in the order you should read it
Read right to left. Start with the chest figure that matches a garment you own, then work back to the letter. The CN notation is the most reliable anchor because it describes the body the pattern was drafted for.
| CN label | EU | US | UK | Garment chest (cm) | Fits body chest (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 165/84A | 44–46 | 34–36 | 34–36 | 96–100 | 84–88 |
| 170/88A | 46–48 | 36–38 | 36–38 | 102–106 | 89–93 |
| 175/92A | 48–50 | 38–40 | 38–40 | 108–112 | 94–98 |
| 180/96A | 50–52 | 40–42 | 40–42 | 114–118 | 99–104 |
| 185/100A | 52–54 | 42–44 | 42–44 | 120–124 | 105–110 |
Oversized cuts add 6–10 cm to the garment chest at the same label. If a listing says "oversized" and gives no measurements, treat the table above as one step too small.
Sizing questions, answered
Is a baymax yupoo size chart in cm or inches?
Almost always centimetres, sometimes unlabelled. If a chest figure reads 108 and you assumed inches, you have your answer — 108 inches would be a tent. When a table gives no unit, treat anything between 80 and 130 as centimetres.
Should I order my usual size or one up?
Your usual size, measured. Ordering up blindly assumes the error is uniform, and it is not: Asian patterns run narrow in the shoulder and short in the sleeve while often being generous through the body. Take the flat chest measurement first, then decide.
How much will an oversized hoodie shrink?
Two to four percent on a brushed fleece if you wash cold, more if you use a dryer. On a 112 cm garment chest that is roughly 2 to 4 cm — noticeable in the length, rarely enough to change the size you should have bought.
Do shoes and clothing use the same "size up one" rule?
No. Shoe sizing is about last volume and gets half sizes; apparel sizing is linear and does not. A half size on a shoe changes the toe box meaningfully. A size letter on a hoodie changes everything at once, including the parts that already fitted.
What if the album lists only body measurements?
Add 8 to 12 cm for a regular cut and 14 to 20 cm for an oversized one to estimate the garment chest. Then confirm with the seller in writing before paying — a one-line question is cheaper than a return, and most sellers answer it same day.
Fit, confirmed
Send your chest number, get the right label
WWTop Yupoo lists garment measurements on the clothing shelf, so you can compare a flat number instead of guessing at a letter. Ask before dispatch and the size gets checked against the actual piece.
Links carry ref=yupoo.lifestyle so the shop knows how you arrived.
