T-Shirt Sizing Chart: 3 Brands Side by Side, S to 5XL

Key Takeaways

• A medium is not one number. At that letter, the Comfort Colors 1717 runs a full inch shorter than the Gildan 5000 and Bella + Canvas 3001.
• Chart numbers are a shirt laid flat, so the chest column is half of what a tape reads around your body.
• A women's medium runs 1 inch narrower and 3 inches shorter than a unisex medium.
• For a group, send people the chart and ask for a letter, then cover the silent ones with the middle sizes.

Table of Contents

• The T-Shirt Sizing Chart: Three Tees Side by Side
• How to Read a T-Shirt Size Chart and Find Your Size in One Step
• T-Shirt Size Chart for Men, Women, and Youth
• Which Size to Order When You Are Between Sizes
• How to Collect T-Shirt Sizes for a Group Order
• Extended Sizes: 2XL to 5XL and What Changes at Checkout
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Pick the Column, Then the Letter

Lay a t-shirt that fits you flat on a table and measure it armpit to armpit. Compare that one number with the chest column below and you have your letter on any tee. A t-shirt sizing chart works once you know that trick: every chart lists the shirt laid flat, and every brand cuts its medium differently. The chart below puts three of the tees we make most side by side, so the differences show before you pick a size.

The T-Shirt Sizing Chart: Three Tees Side by Side

The three tees below do not agree on what a medium is. Each row comes from the maker's own spec sheet, in US sizes and inches. Chest width is the shirt laid flat, measured armpit to armpit. Body length runs from the top of the shoulder at the collar down to the hem.

The Gildan 5000 and the Bella + Canvas 3001 share the same chest and length at every letter from S to 5XL. Cut and cloth are what separate them: the 5000 is a classic fit in 5.3 oz cotton. Bella + Canvas calls the 3001 a retail fit, in a lighter 4.2 oz fabric with side seams. The lighter cloth drapes closer to the body.

The Comfort Colors 1717 is the odd one out. Its medium is a quarter inch wider and a full inch shorter than the other two; its 3XL and 4XL run a quarter inch narrower. Comfort Colors garment-dyes the finished shirt, so the maker allows plus or minus 1 1/4 inches on length, against 1 inch on the other two. It is also a relaxed fit in 6.1 oz cotton: a roomy cut with a short hem, so check the length column before rounding down.

That is why a single "standard" chart fails a group order. A person who wears a large in a 3001 is a large in a 5000 too. A 1717 large is more than half an inch shorter, and a tall wearer notices. When you design custom t-shirts, the product page carries that tee's own size grid, so the numbers you order against are the numbers that ship.

How to Read a T-Shirt Size Chart and Find Your Size in One Step

Every number in the chart is a shirt laid flat, so the chest column is half of what a tape measure reads around your body. A 42-inch chest reads as 21 on the chart. That one conversion is all a t-shirt size calculator does for you. It is also the step most people skip before a shirt comes back too tight.

There are two ways to get your number, and the first one is better.

1. Measure a shirt you already like. Lay it flat, smooth it without stretching, and measure straight across from one armpit seam to the other. Then measure from the top of the shoulder next to the collar straight down to the hem. Those two numbers match the chart's columns directly, and they already include the room you like.
2. Measure your body. Wrap a tape around the fullest part of your chest, under the arms, and divide by two. Most people are comfortable with a chest column 1 to 2 inches above that half measurement. That gives 2 to 4 inches of room around the body. A 42-inch chest wants a chest column of 22 to 23, which is a large on all three tees.

Length decides the rest. If you are tall, or you like a tee to cover your belt, check the length column against a shirt you own first. A 5000 in large is 30 inches long, and a 1717 in large is 29 2/5. That difference is small on paper and obvious on a tall frame.

If you need the chart in centimeters, multiply inches by 2.54: a Gildan 5000 large is 56 cm across laid flat and 76 cm long. The same math works on any row above, and the FAQ carries the full converted row.

T-Shirt Size Chart for Men, Women, and Youth

A unisex medium and a women's medium are two different shirts. Most "t-shirt size chart for men" pages show a unisex chart. The Gildan 5000 and Bella + Canvas 3001 are unisex cuts sized on a men's body. A women's tee is a separate garment with its own numbers, and so is a youth tee.

The women's Softstyle is 1 inch narrower than the unisex 5000 at every letter, and 2 1/2 to 4 inches shorter. Gildan calls it semi-fitted, with a narrow rib collar. That is what "women's sizes run small" means in numbers: a different body and a shorter hem. A woman who wears a unisex medium and wants the same room usually takes a women's large, or stays unisex for the length.

A youth XL is 19 inches across and 25 long, which is almost exactly a women's medium (19 by 26). A youth large is as wide as an adult small but 4 1/2 inches shorter. The last column carries the numerical sizes: 4, 6 to 8, 10 to 12, 14 to 16, and 18 to 20. Those are the kids' clothing sizes parents already know, so ask for them when the wearer is under 14.

Which Size to Order When You Are Between Sizes

Pick by the chest column first, then let length break the tie. Chest is the number a shirt cannot hide. An inch too narrow across the chest pulls at the sleeves and the print. An inch too long sits a little lower on the hip.

The cut of the tee decides which way to round.

• Classic fit (Gildan 5000): the pattern already carries room through the body. If your half chest lands between two columns, take the lower letter unless you are tall.
• Retail fit (Bella + Canvas 3001): same numbers as the 5000, in a lighter fabric that follows the torso. Between sizes, take the higher letter if you want any drape at all.
• Relaxed fit (Comfort Colors 1717): roomy through the body and shorter at the hem. Between sizes, take the higher letter for length rather than width.

One honest limit: no chart fixes a shirt that is the wrong cut for the wearer. A 1717 reads boxy on a slim frame at any size, and a 3001 reads fitted on a broad one. For a mixed group, the 5000's classic fit is the safest single cut, because it sits between the other two on room and length. If you cannot decide between two sizes for yourself, order one shirt in each; there is no minimum, so the test costs one extra tee.

How to Collect T-Shirt Sizes for a Group Order

Send people the chart, not the question, because "what size are you?" returns the letter from whatever shirt they wore last, slim or boxy. Send the chest and length rows for the tee you are ordering, and ask for the letter that matches a shirt they like, laid flat. That takes each person two minutes and removes the guess from your end.

A plain shared sheet is enough: name, cut (unisex, women's, or youth), size, and a deadline about a week before you order. Let each person choose the cut. A woman who prefers the unisex length should get it, and the youth column should be asked for by numerical size. Both cuts of one design count toward the same volume price, so offering the choice costs nothing.

Some people never answer. Cover them with the two middle sizes on the unisex chart, a large and an extra large, and add one of each as a spare. Read which sizes came back before you close the sheet. A group that skews small or tall shows it in the replies.

"The largest shirt size offered was a 2x. I easily need a 3x, and one of my coworkers needs a 4x," a teacher wrote on Reddit after a school spirit-day order. A range that stops early reads as a message about the people above it, so order every size someone asks for. The Gildan 5000 and Bella + Canvas 3001 run to 5XL.

Gifts shipping to employees' homes have a collection playbook in our employee gift guide. Shirts for a shelf, where nobody can be asked, follow the retail size curve in our brewery merch guide. Everything else, a team, a crew, a class, or a reunion, is the sheet above. When the sizes are in, enter the count per size on the product page.

Extended Sizes: 2XL to 5XL and What Changes at Checkout

Extended sizes are ordinary rows on the chart, not a special order. The Gildan 5000 and Bella + Canvas 3001 run to 5XL, the Comfort Colors 1717 to 4XL, and the women's 64000L to 3XL. Each step up adds 2 inches across the chest laid flat, which is 4 inches around the body, and about 1 inch of length.

Someone who asks for "a big one" needs that 2-inch step more than a letter. A 3XL on the 5000 is 28 inches across, a 56-inch chest with no room at all. A wearer with a 52-inch chest is therefore a 3XL, and a 4XL would hang.

Two things change at checkout. First, the size grid is per product: the page lists the sizes that tee comes in, and a missing size is not made. Second, on many tees the sizes from 2XL up carry a small per-shirt upcharge, shown in that grid before anything goes in the cart. It is the same whether you order one 2XL or twenty.

The rest of the price does not split by size. Every shirt of one design counts toward the same volume price. A run of 30 tees across seven sizes prices as a run of 30, and the per-shirt cost keeps falling as that count grows. The same print goes on a small and a 4XL, and you approve one proof for the whole run.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size t-shirt should I order if my chest is 42 inches?

A 42-inch chest is 21 inches laid flat. Order the chest column 1 to 2 inches above that. That is a large (22 inches) on the Gildan 5000, Bella + Canvas 3001, and Comfort Colors 1717. Take an XL only if you want a loose fit or need the extra inch of length.

Is a unisex medium the same as a men's medium?

Yes. Unisex tees such as the Gildan 5000 are cut on a men's body, and a "men's t-shirt size chart" is almost always the unisex chart. A unisex medium is 20 inches across laid flat and 29 inches long. The women's medium is the different one, at 19 by 26.

Do women's t-shirts run small?

Women's tees are cut smaller on purpose. The Gildan women's Softstyle is 1 inch narrower than the unisex Gildan at the same letter, and 3 inches shorter at a medium. The body is semi-fitted. A woman who wears a unisex medium and wants the same room usually takes a women's large.

How much bigger is a 2XL than an XL?

A 2XL is 2 inches wider laid flat, which is 4 inches around the body, and about 1 inch longer than an XL. That holds on the Gildan 5000, Bella + Canvas 3001, and Comfort Colors 1717. The same 2-inch step continues to 5XL, so a 3XL fits a 56-inch chest with no room.

What is a t-shirt size chart in cm?

Multiply inches by 2.54. On the Gildan 5000 the chest laid flat runs 46, 51, 56, 61, 66, 71, 76, and 81 cm from S to 5XL. Lengths run 71, 74, 76, 79, 81, 84, 86, and 89 cm. Double the chest for the measurement around the body.

Pick the Column, Then the Letter

The letter on a tag is the least reliable thing about a t-shirt. The chest column is the reliable thing. You now have a t-shirt sizing chart with three tees side by side. The women's and youth cuts share the letters and none of the numbers.

Before you order:

• Measure a shirt you like laid flat, armpit to armpit, and match that number to the chest column.
• Check the length column against the same shirt if you are tall or the tee is a 1717.
• For a group, send the size chart and collect letters, then cover the silent ones with the middle sizes.
• Read each product page's own size grid, because the sizes offered and the extended-size upcharge are set per tee.

When the sizes are in, order custom t-shirts in every size the group needs under one design. There is no minimum, and you approve a proof before we print a single shirt. Have a question about your order? Contact us, we'll get back to you the same day.