US Women’s Size to French

Women’s sizing works differently from men’s, and it catches people out. A men’s 40 is literally a 40‑inch chest, so the maths is exact. A women’s US 8 is not “8” of anything — it is just the eighth step on an arbitrary ladder, and every country numbers that same ladder differently. Line them up against the bust and the pattern appears: the UK adds four to the US number, Germany and the wider EU add thirty, France adds thirty‑two, and Italy and Russia add thirty‑six — so one garment that fits a 91‑cm (36‑inch) bust is a US 8, a UK 12, a EU 38, a French 40, an Italian 44 and a Japanese 11, all at once. Letters sit on top of that ladder, each one covering two US sizes: S is a US 4–6, M a US 8–10, L a US 12–14. Korea’s 44–99 run works the same way, and China codes the garment as height/bust — 165/88A means a 165‑cm frame with an 88‑cm bust. Because the steps are bands rather than points, converting always snaps to the nearest standard size, and no chart can beat the brand’s own: women’s sizing carries decades of vanity sizing, so the same body can be a 6 in one shop and a 10 in the next. Measure your bust at its fullest point with the tape level and snug, treat the number as a starting point, and size up if you are between sizes or prefer room.