Fit help
Size Guide: Petite Clothing Size, Korean Sizes and How to Measure
Sizing from Korea and Thailand rarely lines up with a US label, and guessing is how a piece you loved on screen ends up back in the mail. Take six measurements once, keep them in your phone, and let the numbers pick your size from here on.
A petite clothing size is a length, not a smaller size
Two kinds of information hide on every size label. One is how far the garment goes around you at the bust, waist and hip. The other is how far it travels between those points — shoulder to waist, waist to hem, shoulder to cuff. A petite clothing size keeps the first set and shortens the second, so a petite 10 and a regular 10 are meant to measure the same way around and to differ only in length. Petite and small are two different words, and plenty of people need one without the other.
That is also why one chart can never answer everything. We buy in small runs from makers in Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, and no two of them grade a pattern alike. The chart on this page is a general guide, your tape measure is the honest part, and any measurements listed with the piece you are looking at beat both. New to the word? What petite clothes mean walks through the proportions in full.
Why Korean clothes sizing runs smaller than US sizing
Korean clothes sizing is drawn around a different average body and a different idea of room to move. US brands tend to cut in ease; many Korean and Thai makers cut close to the body and let the shape or the stretch do the rest. Once you expect it, the pattern is easy to read: a letter from Seoul usually sits a size or so under the same letter from a US brand, sleeves and rises come up shorter, and shoulder seams are placed for a narrower frame.
There is a second habit worth knowing. Plenty of pieces arrive with Korean clothes sizes printed as one letter and nothing else, or as Free size — a single cut meant to cover a range of bodies. That is easy on a floaty dress and risky on anything with a waist seam. Thai makers do the same. So treat the letter as a label rather than a measurement: every product page carries a Size guide button, and where a piece lists its own measurements, those come first.
- Ease: cut closer to the body, so a relaxed look comes from the shape rather than spare fabric
- Letters: one letter can cover two US sizes, and the step from M to L is often small
- Length: shorter sleeves, a higher rise and shorter hems — kind to a shorter frame, short on a long torso
- Free size: one cut with no grading, lovely on anything that skims, unforgiving on anything fitted
A general women's size chart to measure against
These are body measurements, not garment measurements. Measure yourself, then find the row your numbers sit closest to. It is the same chart behind the Size guide button on our product pages, and it is a general guide rather than any maker's own chart — nobody's pattern was copied to build it.
If your bust lands on one row and your hips on another, that is normal and more useful than a tidy match: it tells you which measurement to buy for and which one to adjust later. Take the row your least forgiving measurement sits in, then read the next two sections before you choose a letter.
| Size | US | Bust (in/cm) | Waist (in/cm) | Hips (in/cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 0–2 | 32–33 / 81–84 | 24–25 / 61–64 | 34–35 / 86–89 |
| S | 4–6 | 34–35 / 86–89 | 26–27 / 66–69 | 36–37 / 91–94 |
| M | 8–10 | 36–37 / 91–94 | 28–29 / 71–74 | 38–39 / 97–99 |
| L | 12–14 | 38.5–40 / 98–102 | 30.5–32 / 77–81 | 40.5–42 / 103–107 |
| XL | 16–18 | 41.5–43 / 105–109 | 33.5–35 / 85–89 | 43.5–45 / 110–114 |
How to measure in five minutes
Wear one thin layer, keep the tape level all the way around, and pull it snug without squeezing. Write the numbers down once and you are finished with this part for good — they are the same numbers every size chart you meet will ask for.
- Bust: around the fullest part with your arms down, tape level front and back
- Waist: the narrowest part of your middle, usually just above the navel — bend sideways and the crease shows you where it is
- Hips: feet together, around the fullest part, tape flat over the seat
- Inseam: inner thigh to the ankle bone, taken in the shoe height you actually wear with that style
- Shoulder: from the bone at one shoulder straight across the back to the other — the number that decides whether a sleeve starts in the right place
- Height: shoes off, heels and back to a wall, because height is what puts you near a petite grade or a regular one
Between two sizes? Let the fabric decide
The size you pick is really a question about give. Fabric with nowhere to go needs the bigger number; fabric that comes back to shape is happiest true to size. Read the fiber list on the product page before you read the size letter — a little elastane changes the answer completely.
The Size guide window on our product pages ends with a default: when you land between two sizes, size up. That is the right call for wovens. Here is when it is not.
- Size up for structure: woven cotton, linen, denim, a set-in sleeve, a zip, a buttoned front or a fixed waist seam
- Stay true or size down for stretch knits: rib, jersey and anything with elastane that is meant to sit close
- Buy for the biggest number: if your bust says M and your waist says S, take the M — a waist is easy to nip in, a bust is not
- Free size: compare your largest measurement with the flat measurement where one is given, and leave an inch or two of room
- Still torn: pick the one you would wear this week, not the one you are sizing for later
The label you will see: free size, S/M/L and the 44/55/66 numbers
Korean makers use three systems at once, sometimes on the same rail: letters, the older 44/55/66 numbers, and Free size. Every size chart Korean clothes shoppers trade online comes with a warning at the top. So does this one: the table below is a rough translation, not a rule. A Korean clothes size printed as 66 means roughly what an M means in letters, give or take a US size, and roughly is doing real work in that sentence.
Labels vary by maker, and that is the most useful line on this page. Two dresses marked L can be an inch apart at the bust, and a 55 from one supplier can be roomier than an M from another. When a piece lists its own measurements, those win — every time, over any chart here.
| Label on the piece | Usually means | Closest US size | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free size | One cut, no grading, meant to cover a range | About US 0–6 on a skimming shape | Waist seams, zips and fitted sleeves — read the flat measurement first |
| S | Korean S | About US 0–2 | Usually a full size under a US S |
| M | Korean M | About US 2–4 | Where most single-size buys land; check the bust before the waist |
| L | Korean L | About US 4–8 | Often the top of the run, so the step up from M is small |
| 44 | Older number system, near XS | About US 0–2 | Seldom graded below 44 |
| 55 | Near S, the common sample size | About US 2–4 | The numbers and the letters do not line up exactly |
| 66 | Near M | About US 4–6 | A 66 can be roomier than an L from a different maker |
| 77 | Near L | About US 6–10 | Where many Korean size runs stop; 88 exists but is rare |
Korean fashion plus size: what we can and cannot fit
This one deserves a straight answer rather than a hopeful one. Size runs from Korea and Thailand are short at the top end, and Oops, Mine Co. does not run a separate plus size edit today. What we do instead is buy piece by piece, so the size list on each product page is the real answer for that style — it changes maker to maker, and the letter on one dress tells you nothing about the next.
Some shapes reach further than their label suggests, and those are the ones worth hunting for. Tell us what you want to see, too: shopper notes shape what we ask for on the next buying round, and a note through contact us carries more weight here than it would at a chain. If a piece arrives and the fit is not yours, returns come back as store credit and a restocking fee applies, so read the return policy before you buy rather than after.
- Shapes with room to give: wrap dresses, tie and elastic waists, oversized knits, A-line and tiered cuts
- Shapes that hold you to the number: fitted blazers, straight woven skirts, anything with a set waistband and a zip
- Always check: the size list on the product page, then any measurements listed with it — never the letter alone
Three checks before you claim it
Do these in the order they are written and the guessing stops. It takes about a minute, and it is the difference between a package you open twice and one you send back.
Then buy the piece you keep coming back to. That is usually the one that turns into an oops, mine moment the first time someone asks you where it is from.
- Open the Size guide button on the product page and find your row
- Measure a garment you already wear and love flat, then compare it with any measurements listed on the piece — where the piece lists none, match your own numbers to the chart above
- Skim the FAQ for anything still open, and read the return policy so you know where you stand either way
Questions
Do Korean clothes really run smaller than US sizes?
As a rule, yes. Sizing from Korea is drawn for a narrower frame with less ease built in, so a letter from a Korean maker often sits about one US size under the same letter here. Sleeves and rises come up shorter too. Use the chart on this page as a starting point, then check any measurements listed with the piece before you pick.
What does petite clothing size mean?
It means the pattern was shortened, not narrowed. The petite grade keeps the bust, waist and hip measurements of the regular size and takes length out of the torso, sleeve and leg. You still choose your usual size around; the word petite only tells you the seams sit closer together, so a hem reads the way it was drawn.
What does Free size actually fit?
One cut with no grading, usually drawn to cover about a US 0 to 6 on a shape that skims rather than fits. It works beautifully on a floaty dress, wide-leg pants or an oversized knit. It is the wrong bet on anything with a waist seam, a zip or a set-in sleeve. Compare your largest measurement with the flat measurement when one is given, and leave an inch or two.
I am between two sizes. Up or down?
Let the fabric choose. Size up for woven cotton, linen, denim and anything with a zip or a fixed waist seam, because there is no give to borrow. Stay true or size down for ribbed knits and jersey with elastane, which come back to shape. If your bust and waist point at different sizes, buy for the bust and take the waist in.
Do you carry Korean fashion plus size?
Not as a separate edit right now, and we would rather say that plainly. Korean and Thai size runs are short at the top end, and we buy in small batches, so the size list on each product page is the honest answer for that piece. Roomier shapes reach further than their labels suggest. Send us the sizes you want to see and it shapes the next buy.
The label and the chart disagree. Which one do I trust?
The measurements listed with the piece, whenever they are there. Korean clothes sizes are set by whoever made the garment, so one maker's L can be another's M, and the 44/55/66 numbers do not map cleanly onto letters either. Charts narrow the choice down to two sizes. Flat measurements pick the winner — and where none are listed, your own numbers and the chart above decide.
What if the size is wrong when it arrives?
Email hello@oopsmineco.com for an RMA number before you send anything back. Returns come back as store credit, have to be postmarked within seven days of the purchase date with tags still attached, and a $15.00 restocking fee applies — sale items are final. The return policy has the full terms, and they are the reason this page exists. Send the two numbers that did not work as well: too tight at the bust, two inches long in the sleeve. That is how we learn which makers grade well for you.
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