Consumer Preferences for Size Description Systems of Men's and Women's Apparel

This investigation of consumers' preferences for various size description systems includes a survey of 332 men and women who assessed various sizing systems for men's and women's apparel. Subjects, in general, prefer size labels (or tags) indicating body measurements as opposed to those that did not. Preferences among six size description systems differ significantly. Subjects strongly prefer the most informative size description system over the system currently used in the United States for women's ready‐to‐wear garments. Consumers prefer a sizing system that features both pictograms and key body dimensions rather than one that uses key dimensions alone.