Kakobuy Sizing: How to Check a Chinese Size Chart Against the Tee You Actually Get

Editor score 4.0 / 5

Most sizing arguments in this office start with two people reading the same column differently. A Kakobuy listing gives you a row of centimetres, a letter, a model photo, and no promise that the seller measured the garment the way you will. Our desk has been ordering through shopping agents since 2021 and re-running the same three-item basket every 90 days, and sizing is still where the money goes wrong. What follows is the method we use before paying, and the checks we run before approving a top for shipping.

The letter is the least useful number on the page

Treat S, M, L as a batch code, not a size. A Chinese L can land on a US M or a US L depending on the factory, the fabric and the fit block, and the same seller will change suppliers between seasons. The centimetre columns are the only part of the chart that survives a batch change. If a listing shows no centimetre chart at all, we walk away rather than guess.

Body measurements versus garment measurements

Charts describe one of two things, and mixing them costs a full size. Body measurements describe the wearer; garment measurements describe the finished item, laid flat and measured with a tape. Chinese listings lean toward body-measurement labels — 175/92A means height 175 cm, chest 92 cm, standard body type. The trailing letter describes proportions, not cut: Y is a slimmer frame with a larger chest-to-waist drop, A is standard, B and C are fuller with less drop.

Then comes the doubling trap. A half-chest figure is a flat width across one side of the shirt. A size L listed at 54 cm half-chest is roughly 108 cm of fabric around the chest, not 54 cm of circumference. Compare that 108 cm against your own chest plus ease: about 8–12 cm of ease reads as a regular fit, 15 cm and up as relaxed or boxy. Comparing 54 cm to a 100 cm chest is the single most common error we see in reader mail.

Where the tape goes

• Half-chest: straight across the shirt, 2.5 cm below the armhole seam. Doubling it gives the garment circumference.
• Body length: from the high point of the shoulder, where the shoulder seam meets the collar, down to the hem. Some sellers measure from the centre-back neck instead, which adds roughly 2–3 cm. Ask which one.
• Shoulder: seam to seam across the back. Only meaningful on a set-in sleeve; a drop shoulder puts the seam halfway down the arm and makes this number meaningless.
• Sleeve: shoulder seam to cuff, measured along the top of the sleeve.
• Hem width: across the bottom edge. This is what tells you whether the body is boxy or tapered.

What arrived against what was listed

We ordered the Polo Ralph Lauren logo tee from the product catalog through Kakobuy in sizes M, L and XL across two hauls, logged payment, warehouse receipt and QC photo posting, then measured every arrival flat with a steel tape on a hard table. The size L row is typical of the whole set: close, but never exact.

Measurement (size L)	Listed	Arrived	Drift	Accepted tolerance
Half-chest, 2.5 cm below armhole	54.0 cm	55.0 cm	+1.0 cm	±2 cm
Body length, high point shoulder	71.0 cm	70.0 cm	−1.0 cm	±1.5 cm
Shoulder, seam to seam	48.0 cm	48.5 cm	+0.5 cm	±1 cm
Sleeve, shoulder seam to cuff	21.0 cm	20.5 cm	−0.5 cm	±1 cm
Hem width, laid flat	53.0 cm	53.5 cm	+0.5 cm	±2 cm

Everything landed inside tolerance, which is a good result — but note the direction. The chest ran wide and the length ran short on a 100% cotton crew, and both moved the fit toward a shorter, boxier shirt. On our scale that is a 4 / 5 for chart honesty: the numbers were usable, the letters were not the whole story, and a buyer who ordered on the label alone would have been half a size off.

The QC measurements worth requesting for a top

Warehouse photos exist to catch flaws, but a flat photo with a tape in frame catches sizing errors before the parcel leaves China. Once your item is received and photographed, ask the agent for these five, in this order:

1. Half-chest at 2.5 cm below the armhole, tape visible and horizontal.
2. Body length from high point of shoulder to hem, with the measuring origin in shot.
3. Shoulder seam to shoulder seam, laid flat, back facing the camera.
4. Sleeve length from shoulder seam to cuff.
5. Hem width across the bottom edge, so you can sanity-check the silhouette against the chart.

Ask for a single photo per measurement with the tape readable, plus one full-length flat-lay so you can see the tape positions in context. Kakobuy charges a small per-item fee for extra photos, and in our last haul the added shots arrived two days after the standard set — cheap insurance against a 19-day parcel containing the wrong size. Weigh the parcel on arrival too: a garment that is 30–40 g lighter than the batch we retained is usually a thinner jersey, not a smaller shirt.

Tolerance and shrinkage: why a 1 cm gap becomes a 2 cm gap

Cut-and-sew production works to roughly ±1–2 cm on chest and ±1.5 cm on length, so any single garment is a sample rather than a specification. Then cotton jersey that has not been pre-shrunk can lose 2–4% of its length in the first hot wash. Our size L tee came in 1 cm short on length and gave up another 1 cm across three 30 °C washes, no dryer. If you are between two sizes on length and the fabric is plain cotton, take the larger one.

Sizing up gives you a shoulder seam that sits a centimetre long and a hem you can live with. Sizing down cannot be fixed at home. When a chart row sits exactly on your number, take the next row up.

Before you pay, in order

1. Lay your best-fitting tee flat and measure the five numbers above in centimetres. Photograph the tape positions so you repeat it the same way next time.
2. Open the listing chart and confirm whether it lists body or garment measurements.
3. Double every half-chest figure, then add ease — 8–12 cm for regular, 15 cm and up for relaxed.
4. Pick the row that matches your measured shirt, not the row that matches the letter you wear.
5. Request the five QC measurements before approving, and compare them against the same chart row you ordered from.

We re-measure every basket every 90 days so this comparison stays like for like, and any sizing table we publish carries its tested-on date; past 90 days it is flagged for retest until new numbers land. That cadence matters more in sizing than anywhere else, because factories swap fit blocks quietly and a chart that was honest in March can be two centimetres optimistic by June.

How we tested

We ordered the Polo Ralph Lauren logo tee through Kakobuy in sizes M, L and XL across two hauls, logging payment, warehouse receipt, QC photo posting and delivery. Each arrival was weighed, then measured flat with a steel tape at the five points above. The basket is rerun every 90 days.

Sources and notes

• Chinese Size To US Size Conversions Explained — Kiwi Sizing

  Explains the 160/84A label format, Y/A/B/C body-type codes, and the distinction between body and garment measurements.

• How to measure t-shirt size — Sunday Glossary

  Source for the 2.5 cm below-armhole half-chest rule, the centre-back-neck length variation, tolerance ranges and 3–5% jersey shrinkage.

• How to Measure Half Chest (Garment Measurement) for tops — Online Workwear

  Step-by-step flat half-chest method and the note that T-shirt and polo measurements vary because of fabric stretch.

• Kakobuy quality-control checklist

  Used for the sequence of QC checks: confirm option identity first, then inspect visible details, then ask for measurable evidence tied to a garment that already fits.

• KakoBuy vs Other Shopping Agents 2026 — CNFan

  Basis for the note that additional QC photos are available on request for a small per-item fee at Kakobuy.

Does a Chinese size L equal a US size L on Kakobuy?

No fixed conversion exists. A Chinese L commonly lists a 52–56 cm half-chest, which reads closer to a US M in some fit blocks and a US L in others. Ignore the letter and match your own flat measurements to the centimetre row.

Which QC measurements should I request for a T-shirt before approving it?

Ask for five: half-chest 2.5 cm below the armhole, body length from high point of shoulder to hem, shoulder seam to shoulder seam, sleeve length, and hem width. Each should be photographed flat with the tape readable, ideally in a single full-length shot.

How much drift between the chart and the QC measurement is acceptable?

Up to 2 cm on chest and hem and 1.5 cm on length is normal cut-and-sew tolerance. If the QC photo sits outside that, request an exchange before shipping; drift under 1 cm is not worth the delay.