How to chose your vintage pattern size

Vintage sizing is not what you may expect. It is not easily comparable or translatable to the modern sizing charts. When you discover the world of vintage patterns, you will be asking yourself: What is my vintage size? It depends on what decade of the 20th century your pattern is from, not just because of the number, but also the fit and the ease that was in vogue at the time.

You may have heard that Marylin Monroe used to wear a size that is today standard XL or even XXL. And then you look at the photos of the petite woman and ask yourself how that was possible. Her US size was 16 and if you only look at it from today's perspective, that would indeed be XXL. But in her times, 16 was closer to what today's S size is, equivalent of modern US size 4 or 6.

How?

Sizes have gone through many changes in the past, and I am quite sure, those weren't the last. You may have heard the term 'vanity sizing' which refers to the constantly shrinking size numbers. With no diet and effort you can suddenly fit into clothes one size smaller. Just to make the buyers happy and feel good enough about themselves to buy more. The magic was to change the number on the label to a smaller one, while the actual garment size in cm or inches was the same. Look how the small size evolved over the past few decades:

	US Size	EU Size	bust	waist	hips	what happened
1950s	12–14	38–40	34–36 in  86–91 cm	26–28 in  66–71 cm	36–38 in  91–97 cm	Structured fit, little ease
1960s	10–12	38	34–35.5 in  86–90 cm	26–27.5 in  66–70 cm	36–37.5 in  91–96 cm	Slight shift begins
1970s	8–10	36–38	34–35.5 in  86–90 cm	26.5–28 in  67–71 cm	36–38 in  92–97 cm	Early vanity sizing
1980s	8	36–38	34.5–36 in  87–91 cm	27–28.5 in  68–72 cm	36.5–38.5 in  93–98 cm	More ease in garments
1990s	6–8	36	34.5–36 in  87–91 cm	27–28.5 in  68–72 cm	36.5–38.5 in 93–98 cm	Vanity sizing accelerates
2000s	6	34–36	34.5–36 in  88–92 cm	27–28.5 in  68–72 cm	37–39 in  94–99 cm	Modern standard, stretch fabric
2010s–2020s	4–6	34–36	34.5–36 in  88–92 cm	26.5–28.5 in  68–72 cm	37–39 in  94–99 cm	Sizes shrink further

So the key, you may think, is in the measurements, right? I also thought so. And bought a bunch of cute vintage patterns on Etsy...

Not surprisingly, they turned out to be a complete misfit.

You may be disappointed to learn that there is no golden rule as to the vintage pattern sizes. I learnt mine by trial and error. To save you the trouble (and hopefully also money on the wrong-sized pattern) I will share some tips with you.

1. To begin with, stick to the bust measurement. It is the most important part of the pattern, since it also determines the fit around your shoulders and it is also the most difficult to modify.

Unless your body type is closer to a pear, that should do it for the whole pattern. And adjusting the garment around your waist and hips should be way easier. One more thing to take into account: vintage patterns are way more cinched at the waist than any modern style. With or without a corset - that was the beauty standard. Even with a perfect hourglass figure you may need to make a few adjustments.

2. Always make a mock up before cutting from the final fabric. I know, this is tedious, and you may think: what if it is so nice I want to wear the mock up? Well, do wear it. But make it from a cheaper fabric, one that you would not be disappointed to discard if things do not go well.

3. Another good tip I can share is to measure your half-body: bust and then back. Divide by two, and add 1-2 cm for ease. Then compare with the bodice pattern piece. This should give you a good idea of how the garment is going to fit before even making the mock up.

Measure your half body: seam to seam

4. Finally, even if your measurements match the ones on the envelope, you may still feel that something is off. I encourage you to try a smaller or larger size. You may find that they are a much better fit. I went for one smaller as an experiment, and everything started to fit so much better. I did have to adjust a waistline or other, but overall, it was an unexpected improvement.

I hope you find this article helpful when choosing your next sewing project.