Bathing suits are available in an impressive range of sizes. Whether you’re a plus or a petite, best believe this category to have something in store for you.
Yet, it can still get difficult to pick the right one. After all, brands don’t just host a size variety that’s inclusive to fit everyone. While shopping, you also have to be mindful of the country size they’re referring to. If you buy a US size 8 swimsuit hoping it will fit you like your UK size 8 one – you will be doomed!
So here in this article, we’ll address how to tackle this. Read on and learn how to convert women’s swimsuit sizes to find your perfect summertime staple across all country sizing systems.
International sizes & measurements
The sizing system a swimwear brand follows mainly depends on the country it hails from. For instance, a brand based out of California will follow the sizing standards of the United States.
Thus, different brands = different sizes.
But that’s where the international swimwear size guide comes into play. Acting as a unified size manual, this chart follows the alphabetical (or alpha) sizing system.
It consists of essential measurements like bust, waist, and hips (either in inches or centimeters) to help you figure out your swimwear size for easy country-to-country size conversion.
The range starts from “XXS” – the smallest size – and can go up to “7XL” – the biggest size.
The chart looks something like this:
| Alpha Sizes | Bust | Waist | Hips |
| XXS | 29” | 23” | 31.5” |
| XS | 30” | 24” | 33” |
| S | 32” | 25” | 35” |
| M | 33.5” | 26.5” | 37” |
| L | 35” | 38” | 38” |
| XL | 36.5” | 30” | 40” |
| XXL | 38” | 32” | 41” |
| 3XL | 40” | 33.5” | 42.5” |
| 4XL | 42” | 35.5” | 44” |
| 5XL | 44.5” | 37.5” | 45.5” |
*Actual measurements may slightly vary from brand to brand.
US swimwear sizes & measurements
The US clothing size system is widely used in the regions of America, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and other places where American fashion is popular.
It uses numerics to denote different sizes. In terms of women’s swimwear, the US size starts from “00” – representing the “XXS” or “Extra Extra Small” size of the international chart. Next comes size “0,” which stands for “XS” or the “Extra Small” size. Likewise, it goes up to size “20” and beyond to denote plus swimwear sizes.
Here is the size chart:
| Sizes | Bust | Waist | Hips |
| 00 | 30” | 24” | 32.5” |
| 0 | 31” | 25” | 34.5” |
| 2 | 32” | 26” | 35.5” |
| 4 | 34” | 27” | 37.5” |
| 6 | 35” | 28” | 38.5” |
| 8 | 37” | 29” | 40.5” |
| 10 | 38” | 30” | 41.5” |
| 12 | 40” | 32” | 42.5” |
| 14 | 42” | 34” | 44” |
| 16 | 45” | 37” | 45” |
*Actual measurements may slightly vary from brand to brand.
UK swimwear sizes & measurements
Used typically across the United Kingdom, this sizing standard also uses numbers to represent various sizes. However, it doesn’t start with a zero. In the UK, clothing sizes start from “2” – the smallest size for adult women – and go up to “32.”
Apart from the UK, it is widely used in the garment industries of Ireland, South Africa, India, Malaysia, and Singapore. In fact, Australia also followed the UK clothing size system (and it still does, to some extent) before finally coming up with its own, called the AU clothing standard.
Here is the guide:
| Sizes | Bust | Waist | Hips |
| 2 | 30” | 22.5” | 33” |
| 4 | 32” | 24.5” | 34” |
| 6 | 33” | 25.5” | 35” |
| 8 | 34” | 26.5” | 36” |
| 10 | 36” | 28.5” | 38” |
| 12 | 38” | 30.5” | 39” |
| 14 | 40” | 32.5” | 41” |
| 16 | 42” | 34.5” | 42” |
| 18 | 44” | 37.5” | 44” |
| 20 | 46” | 40.5” | 46” |
*Actual measurements may slightly vary from brand to brand.
European (EU) swimwear sizes & measurements
The EU swimwear size system is used in European nations like Austria, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, and more. For women’s clothing, it starts from size “30” (XXS) and typically halts at size “48” (5XL).
In this sizing system, the bust, waist, and hip measurements are very precise. That’s because swimwear designed in Europe has a snugger fit than other swimwear. So, being meticulous with the measurements ensures a comfortable fit, no matter what the size.
Here is the size guide:
| Sizes | Bust | Waist | Hips |
| 30 | 30” | 22” | 31.5” |
| 32 | 31” | 24” | 32.5” |
| 34 | 33” | 26” | 34” |
| 36 | 35” | 28” | 35” |
| 38 | 37” | 30” | 36.5” |
| 40 | 39” | 32” | 38” |
| 42 | 41” | 34” | 40” |
| 44 | 43” | 36” | 42” |
| 46 | 45” | 38” | 44.5” |
| 48 | 46” | 40” | 46” |
*Actual measurements may slightly vary from brand to brand.
Italian (IT) swimwear sizes & measurements
The Italian (IT) swimwear size system is mainly used in Italy. But apart from that, many European and French brands also follow this standard.
Numeric in nature, the smallest size for women’s clothing in IT size starts from “34” (XXS) and includes plus sizes like “50” (4XL) and “52” (5XL) as well.
Here is the size chart:
| Sizes | Bust | Waist | Hips |
| 34 | 30” | 23” | 32” |
| 36 | 31.5” | 24” | 34” |
| 38 | 32” | 25” | 35.5” |
| 40 | 33” | 26” | 37” |
| 42 | 35” | 27” | 38” |
| 44 | 37” | 29” | 39.5” |
| 46 | 38” | 30.5” | 40.5” |
| 48 | 40” | 32” | 42” |
| 50 | 41” | 33.5” | 44” |
| 52 | 45” | 38” | 46.5” |
*Actual measurements may slightly vary from brand to brand.
French (FR) swimwear sizes & measurements
Very closely synonymous with the European sizing system, the French (FR) sizing standard for women starts from “30” (XXS) and goes beyond size “48” (5XL).
Many popular swimwear brands follow this sizing standard. In fact, many European provinces also stick with the FR size guide for their garments for men and women.
Here is the size guide for women:
| Sizes | Bust | Waist | Hips |
| 30 | 30” | 23” | 31” |
| 32 | 31” | 24” | 33” |
| 34 | 32” | 26” | 34” |
| 36 | 33” | 27” | 36” |
| 38 | 35” | 28” | 37” |
| 40 | 36” | 30” | 39” |
| 42 | 38” | 31” | 41” |
| 44 | 40” | 33” | 42” |
| 46 | 42” | 35” | 44” |
| 48 | 44” | 36” | 46” |
*Actual measurements may slightly vary from brand to brand.
Swimsuit conversion chart
If different country sizing systems are confusing you, refer to this swimsuit size conversion chart.
| International Sizes | XXS | XS | S | M | L | XL | 2XL | 3XL | 4XL | 5XL |
| US Sizes | 00 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| UK Sizes | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
| EU Sizes | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 44 | 46 | 48 |
| IT Sizes | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 44 | 46 | 48 | 50 | 52 |
| FR Sizes | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 42 | 44 | 46 | 48 |
| Bust | 29”-30” | 30”-32” | 32”-33” | 33”-35” | 35”-37” | 36”-39” | 38”-41” | 40”-43” | 42”-45” | 45”-47” |
| Underbust | 29.5” | 31” | 32.5” | 34” | 36” | 37.5” | 39.5” | 41.5” | 43.5” | 45.5” |
| Cup Sizes | 30A | 30B | 30C | 30D | 30DD | 30E | 30F | 30FF | 30G | 32A |
| Waist | 22”-23.5” | 24”-25” | 25.5”-26” | 27”-28” | 29”-30.5” | 31”-32.5” | 33”-34” | 35”-36.5” | 37”-38” | 39”-40.5” |
| Hips | 31.5”-33” | 33”-34.5” | 34”-35.5” | 36”-37.5” | 37”-38” | 38.5”-39” | 40.5”-41.5” | 42”-43.5” | 43”-44.5” | 45”-46” |
Containing all the prominent country sizes and measurements, this chart correlates your regional swimsuit size with your foreign size. In simple terms, it helps determine what size you should go for if you are buying a swimsuit that follows a sizing system different than yours.
How it works
Let’s suppose your regular swimsuit size in the UK is 6. In that case, if you want to buy a swimsuit that follows the IT sizing system, then as per the chart, your ideal size would be 38.
Alternatively, you can follow your body measurements to land your perfect swimsuit size across different country standards. All you need is your bust, hips, and waist measurements. If you are heavy on the bust, note down your underbust and cup size, too, to find your perfect fit.
To put this in perspective, if your bust measurement is 39.5”, your hips are 40”, and your waist is 34”, you are ideally a 2XL in the international size range. This means, a size 10 in the US, 14 in the UK, 42 in the EU and FR, and 46 in IT.
However, if you fail to land your exact size, it is always preferable to go a size up.
