Size Guide

To discover whether or not a vintage garment will fit you, I advise fetching your best fitting item of clothing, a notebook, a pen and a tape measure. Then simply follow my guide below.

1) Lay your garment flat on the floor, smoothing out any folds.

2) Take the measurements in line with the illustration below.

3) Keep your measurements to hand for each time you you shop with Miss Pigeon Vintage.

4) Contact me, if you’d like any further information on a garment and it’s fit.

Why I choose to work this way.

Vintage sizing and modern day sizing simply don’t match up. Sizing clothes is a big issue in the fashion industry, but particularly in the vintage fashion industry.

My moral compass really struggles to label a vintage item as a specific modern size for lots of reasons. Here are a few of them:

  • Sizing clothes is arbitrarily decided by individual fashion houses/designers/shops. Meaning one shop’s “size 14” could measure the exact same as the next shop’s “size 8”.

  • Unfortunately this is not regulated, meaning that some sizing systems are cashing in on people’s poor perception of their own body.

  • With worldwide internet shopping an ever growing way to buy our vintage fashion, it is important to note the distinct differences between clothing sizes in different countries. A modern day UK size 16 is considered “large”, whereas a US size 16 is considered “extra large”. In Japan, a size 16 doesn’t even exist.

  • Clothing sizes are gendered. This can affect:

    • People who are exploring new ways to style themselves

    • People who are transitioning

    • People who identify as non-binary

  • People who struggle with their mental health as a result of body confidence issues can be very triggered by numbered sizing. As presented in an experience with a customer of mine who flatly refused to consider a dress that she loved, purely because it had been labelled as a size that she did not want to be. After losing a considerable amount of weight, seeing that size just was not an option for her. This means that people are refusing beautiful garments because of a number sewn into them, rather than checking the measurements against their body shape.

Essentially, labelling a vintage garment with one size takes the fun out of choosing your new-to-you style, and I’m here to make sustainable styling enjoyable for everyone.

If you’d like any help regarding sizing, please don’t hesitate to contact me. In the meantime, get over to the vintage shop, it’s a lot less serious there.