Kakobuy Sizing Guide: How to Measure Yourself and Pick the Right Size Before You Ship

Sizing complaints almost always start the same way: the buyer ordered their usual letter, and the parcel arrived a size off. Our testing team treats sizing as a pre-shipment decision. After dispatch, a wrong size means a return, a reship and three lost weeks. Before dispatch, it is a two-minute fix.

Start With a Garment, Not With Your Body

Listings on Kakobuy and Yupoo normally publish a centimetre chart and nothing else — no conversion table, no "fits like a US large." That chart describes the finished garment measured flat, not a body circumference. So measure the shirt you already wear most, not yourself.

Lay it on a hard surface, smooth the wrinkles without pulling, and record four numbers:

• Chest width — armpit seam to armpit seam, straight across, about 2 cm below the armhole.
• Shoulder width — outer shoulder seam to outer shoulder seam, across the back.
• Body length — highest point of the shoulder, beside the collar, straight down to the hem.
• Sleeve length — shoulder seam to cuff.

Keep them. A 52 cm flat chest width and a 104 cm chest circumference are different statements — the garment includes ease. Doubling a flat width is a sanity check, not a rule, because stretch and cut change the result.

Read the Chart as Three Controlling Numbers

Most tops fail at one point only, usually the chest or the shoulder. Compare in this order:

Number	What it decides	Our rule when it is close
Chest width (flat)	Room through the torso	2 cm under your reference tee means size up; 2 cm over reads relaxed
Shoulder width	Whether the seam sits on your shoulder	1.5 cm is the limit; past it the sleeve head pulls or collapses
Body length	Whether the hem works tucked or untucked	2 cm changes what the tee is for

Compare numbers, not labels. A size M from one factory and a size M from the next are not the same garment.

Two centimetres of chest is visible in a mirror; two centimetres of length moves a hem out of the range where an untucked tee looks deliberate. Sleeve, hem opening and neck rib are preferences, not dealbreakers.

Confirm Against the Flat-Lay QC Photos

The chart says what the seller intends. The QC photos show what is actually in the warehouse, and the gap between the two is where the useful information sits. We ask the agent for top-down photos with the tape visible across chest, shoulder and length, plus a neck-label shot. Across our last five tee orders, flat-lays came in 0.5–1.5 cm under the published chart — inside the stated 1–2 cm tolerance, but enough to matter if you were already on the edge of a size.

Four things to check:

• The tape is straight and the garment is unstretched. A tee measured on a hanger reads short.
• The unit. Some agents shoot in inches; 21 in across the chest is 53.3 cm.
• The tag. The printed neck label must match the size you ordered before you approve shipping.
• For shoes, ask for the insole laid flat and measured, not the outsole. Insole length runs roughly 1 cm longer than heel-to-toe foot length, so a 27 cm insole suits about a 26 cm foot.

Shrinkage and Colourway Variance

Two variables sit outside the chart, and both have cost us.

Shrinkage. Untreated 100% cotton can contract 3–5% on a first wash, and heat pushes it further; blends hold their shape better. On a 70 cm body length, 3.5 cm can disappear. If a cotton tee is already borderline on length, or you tumble dry, take the larger size.

Colourway variance. We have seen one style measure differently across the chest in two colours, usually when one colour uses a heavier or differently dyed fabric. Do not assume the black and the white share a chart. If a listing splits colours across two or three series, ask the agent which series your colour belongs to.

A Worked Example: the Multi-Colour Logo Tee

We ran this process on the multi-colour Polo Ralph Lauren logo tee in the product catalog (reference $20.90, loose fit, M–XXXL, stated 250–300 g cotton, 1–2 cm tolerance). It is a good teaching case because it is exactly the kind of item bought on the letter alone.

• Cut first. Discussion around this brand repeatedly notes that regular cuts run true while slim cuts run small, and the listing does not name its cut. We asked the agent rather than guessing.
• Shrinkage is the live risk. Complaints about this brand cluster on shrinkage after washing, which argues for cold washing and air-drying a 100% cotton crew. If you tumble dry, read the chart as your post-shrink measurement and add one step.
• Check your colourway. Because the colours are split across series, confirm the measurements of your exact option.

Our verdict: measure your best tee, compare the flat chest width, and stay true to size if it lands within 1 cm. Size up one if you are between sizes, want the loose fit to read loose, or plan to machine dry. Size up two only for a deliberately oversized drape — the cut already adds room. As a sizing prospect we score the listing 4 / 5: usable numbers and a stated tolerance, but no labelled cut.

The Order of Operations

1. Measure a garment you already like. Record chest, shoulder and length in centimetres.
2. Compare only those numbers against the listing chart.
3. Add one size if cotton plus machine drying is in play.
4. Order, then read the QC flat-lay and the tag shot before you approve shipping.
5. Ask the agent for anything missing — extra measurements, the insole, the cut. Sizing questions sent during China working hours came back to us in under an hour; one sent at 22:00 Rotterdam time waited until the agent's morning.

Handle this before the parcel leaves the warehouse and sizing stops being a returns problem.