Which size do you order from a Yupoo album? A bench-method guide to reading the size chart, measuring your own t-shirt flat, and applying our 1 cm discrepancy rule before checkout.
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Which size do I order? Start with your own tape, not the album
Almost every week someone opens an email to this desk with one line: which size do I order? Attached is an album screenshot. The screenshot is the problem. An album size chart is a set of flat-lay numbers taken by the seller's staff and reprinted across dozens of listings, usually closed with a note about a 1–3 cm tolerance. Ordering from that table alone is a coin toss.
Two kinds of numbers, one confusing table
Body measurements describe the person a garment is cut for. Nike's own men's tops chart works this way: S covers an 88–96 cm chest, L covers 104–112 cm. Garment measurements describe the shirt itself, laid flat and relaxed, edge to edge. Yupoo albums almost always publish the second kind, even when the heading says "size chart".
A chart reading chest 53 cm for L usually means the shirt is 53 cm across, so 106 cm around — not that it fits a 53 cm chest. If a figure looks too small to be a human chest, double it. When a table mixes both systems, trust the column that agrees with the run of other sizes.
The four flat measurements that decide the order
| Measurement | Where the tape goes | Album label |
|---|---|---|
| Chest (pit to pit) | Straight across, relaxed, roughly 2.5 cm below the armhole seam, edge to edge — then doubled for circumference | "chest width", "bust" |
| Body length | Highest point of the shoulder at the collar join, straight down to the hem | "length", "back length" |
| Shoulder | Across the back, shoulder seam to shoulder seam | "shoulder width" |
| Sleeve | Shoulder seam to sleeve opening, along the outside of the sleeve | "sleeve length" |
Where the tape sits changes the answer more than people expect. Industrial practice for machine-washable tees marks chest width about 125 mm below the armhole seam; Jerzees' guide uses roughly 1 inch below the armhole point. A chart working 2.5 cm below the armhole and one working 4 cm will not agree. Measure your own shirt at both depths and watch a centimetre appear without the shirt changing.
The 1 cm rule, and what it is for
On the bench we lay the piece face-up on a ruler board, check seam density with a seam gauge, work the neckband or any zip and button ten times, and measure shoulder, chest, body length and sleeve against the album's stated figures. Any gap above 1 cm is flagged and measured a second time by another pair of hands. If it survives the second pass, it goes in the notes.
Why 1 cm and not the seller's 1–3 cm? That tolerance is an allowance for the seller's cutting spread, not a promise. If the chart says 53 cm and the shirt lands at 54.5 cm, you are inside the tolerance and still a size larger than planned. The 1 cm rule means you never argue about tolerance after the parcel lands: anything above 1 cm is a real difference, worth deciding on before checkout.
Reading a loose cut and a multi-print album
Nike Graphic Short-Sleeve Tees in 30 Print Options, Cut Loose is a useful case: the album runs L through 5XL and states a 1–3 cm tolerance on every listed dimension. We ordered a piece and put it on the board. "Cut loose" is mechanical, not a mood — the shoulder seam sits off the shoulder point, so the chart's shoulder figure reads wider than a regular-fit tee cut for the same body, and the sleeve hangs longer with it. Chest and body length survive a change of cut; shoulder does not.
The 30 print options are the second variable. One chart usually describes the base blank, and a heavyweight print or a garment-dyed run can shift body length by a centimetre or more after the first wash. Cotton jersey commonly moves about 3 percent in length under hot washing — roughly 2 cm on a 70 cm body.
The routine before you check out
- Take the t-shirt you already own that fits best, wash it, let it settle, lay it flat.
- Log all four numbers in centimetres, in one unit, once.
- Decide whether the album's chest figure is a half measure or a full circumference, and double the half figure.
- Pick the size within 1 cm of your own chest, then break ties on body length.
- Read the cut description before the shoulder column — loose, boxy and drop-shoulder cuts all read wide there.
- If two sizes sit inside 1 cm, take the smaller for a close fit and the larger for the album's look. If a chart has no unit or no measurements, ask for a tape photo of the actual piece before you pay.
Where the method runs out of road
- Stretch. A relaxed measurement is the only honest one. Pull a cotton-poly jersey as you measure and you can add 2–3 cm that will not be on your shoulders.
- Shrinkage. First-wash length loss means a shirt that measures exactly right on day one can sit short by month two.
- One chart, many variants. Where thirty prints share a single table, that table describes the base blank, not every option.
- Neckline and hem. Flat numbers say nothing about rib depth or a curved hem, and those two decide how a tee reads.
The numbers in the album belong to the seller; the numbers on your tape belong to you. Measure once at home, order once.