Sizing that doesn't lie: TTS, CN sizes, and the half-size you'll regret

TTS, and why 'true to size' is a range

TTS means 'true to size' — the item fits the label. But even retail TTS varies: a 42 in one brand can fit like a 41.5 in another. Treat TTS as 'close to your usual,' never as 'identical to your usual.'

On agent finds, the seller's own buyers often note 'runs half a size small' in the row. That note is gold. Ignore it and you've just ordered your first return.

Reading a CN size tag without panicking

CN sizes are usually in centimeters of foot length for shoes, or a label number for apparel that doesn't map cleanly to US/UK. Don't convert in your head — convert with the seller's chart, because the chart is what the factory used.

When the row gives a CN number and a foot-length, trust the foot-length. It's the one measurement that doesn't lie about which size you actually are.

Measure your body, not the tag you hope fits

Grab a soft tape. Bare foot on the floor, heel to longest toe, both feet — they're not identical. Chest and waist relaxed, not sucked in. Write the numbers down; the tag you 'usually wear' is a memory, the tape is fact.

Then match the fact to the seller's chart, not to the size you'd grab in a Western store. That single habit fixes most 'why is this tight' moments.

Shoes vs apparel: different rules

Shoes you size to foot length and then nudge for batch — some batches run narrow, some long. Apparel you size to body measurement and then nudge for cut — oversized tees are cut to drape, not to hug.

Mixing the two up is how people end up with shoes a size big and tees a size small. Keep a separate note for each in your head, or just write it in the sheet.

Exchanges are a myth here — size right the first time

You're shipping across a border through an agent. There is no 'send it back and swap a size.' Wrong size means a second order, or a item that sits in the closet. The cost of guessing wrong is real money, not a polite shrug.

That's why the notes column exists. Someone already wore the size you're thinking about. Read it like it's the only review that matters — because for fit, it basically is.

The notes column is your size oracle

When a row says 'I'm usually M, took L, perfect,' that's more useful than any chart. It's a real body, a real item, a real outcome. Stack two or three of those and the right size stops being a gamble.

If the row has no size note, that's the signal to slow down — not to guess faster. Go read the batch reviews for fit before you commit the order.

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