# International clothing sizes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-clothing-sizes/706136>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 2, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-clothing-sizes/706136 "2014-12-02T17:21:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-clothing-sizes/706136/1 "2014-12-02T17:21:29Z")

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I signed up for the big reddit gift exchange this year, and my giftee has stated that he’s a size L. I designed a t-shirt and ordered a large, but then it occurred to me that he’s from Singapore, and maybe an L there is like an M here. Maybe I should have ordered a medium. But then I thought, no, he knew this was an international gift exchange, and the website I ordered it from just has sizes, not “fat American” sizes. Surely an L is just an L. But is it?

Should I just send him the large? Am I overthinking this?

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**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-clothing-sizes/706136/2 "2014-12-02T17:56:37Z")

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> [@steronz](#):
>
> Am I overthinking this?

Yes

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**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/international-clothing-sizes/706136/3 "2014-12-02T18:08:02Z")

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Maybe not- I tried on a Malaysian ‘XL’ size when over there… Well… I say tried on, tried to try on, but the seams would have split if I’d actually persisted. I’m an ‘M’ or occasionally ‘L’ in the UK.

No idea if that was standard, or just one shop’s funny sizing though.