A guide to clothes and shoe sizes

A guide to clothes and shoe sizes

Children's clothes are normally sized by age or height. Children of the same age vary in height and build. Consequently sizing by age can be misleading and is unreliable. Sizing by height is generally more reliable and is recommended.

Each Design House and to some extent country has it own interpretation of sizing. French clothes are generally a slimmer fit, where as German clothes are cut on the larger size, but there is no hard and fast rule.

Casual clothes are best worn loose and should be purchased on the big side to look good and feel good. This also means that you will get good use out of them. More formal clothing needs to be a good fit to look its best.

Styles with a loose fit, generally suit children the best and they find them the most comfortable. There are exceptions such as leggings and swimsuits which should be a snug fit to look and feel good.

We are happy to give advice on sizing and the fit of the different Design Houses. As a guide however the following table, linking age and height, may be of help to you in deciding which sizes are appropriate for your children. We recommend that you use the height of your children as a basis for sizing.

Age		Height Inches	Height Centimeters
0-3	Months	22	56
3-6	Months	24	62
6-9	Months	26	68
9-12	Months	28	74
12-18	Months	31	80
18-24	Months	34	86
2	Years	36	92
3	Years	38.5	98
4	Years	41	104
5	Years	43.5	110
6	Years	45.5	116
7	Years	48	122
8	Years	50	128
10	Years	55	140
12	Years	60	152
14	Years	64.5	164
16	Years	69.5	176

Shoes Sizes

Children's feet not only vary in size and width but also in the shape of the foot. The correct fitting of shoes is therefore most important to the development of their feet whilst they are growing.

Here in the UK shoes are presented in either UK sizes or Continental sizes. In addition leading manufactures such as Start-rite offer their shoes in several width sizes. The sizing of shoes is further influenced by the "Last" that the shoes are made on. Shoes of the same size and width fitting but made on different "Lasts" will look very different and fit very different foot shapes.

We recommend that children's feet are measured correctly and that the fit of the shoes is thoroughly checked.

The following Table links the various methods of sizing shoes, but the comparisons are only approximate.

Continental Sizes	UK Sizes	US Sizes
17	1
18	2
19	3
20	4
21	4½
22	5
23	6	7
24	7	8
25	8	9
26	8½
27	9	10
28	10	11

Continental Sizes	UK Sizes	US Sizes
29	11	12
30	12	13
31	12½
32	13	1
33	1	2
34	2	3
35	2½
36	3	4
37	4	5
38	5	6
39	5½
40	6

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