So a medium isn’t always a medium, and that’s more or less the whole problem in one line, because the cutting here starts from Japanese measurements rather than the US numbers most of us buy on autopilot. The hoodies listed under Comme Des Garcon do run from XS up to 5XL, which sounds like plenty of room to find yourself in, except the chest figures behind those letters sit a fair bit tighter than a US chart would give you at the same spot.
Why your usual letter shifts on a Comme Des Garcons hoodie
The house has been drafting to Japanese standards since Rei Kawakubo started it in Tokyo back in 1969, and honestly the shop doesn’t hide it, since its own FAQ says to consider going up a size for a loose streetwear shape rather than something sitting close. In practice a US large wearer usually ends up fairly happy in an XL, although I wouldn’t treat that as a law, because plenty of people measure out fine in their usual letter and would swim in the next one up.
And then there’s the fabric, which nobody factors in until it’s too late to matter. Cotton fleece has a bit of body to it while it’s new, so if the chest feels tight the first time you pull the thing on, it will soften over a few washes, but it isn’t going to get any bigger.
The published chart, in centimeters
The size guide on the site is all in cm, which is a bit annoying if you grew up thinking in inches, though I’ve left it that way below instead of rounding and quietly adding errors nobody asked for. Chest is the number doing most of the work here, since it’s what makes a hoodie read boxy or close, and then length decides whether the hem stops around your hip or somewhere nearer your thigh.
| Size | Chest (cm) | Shoulder (cm) | Length (cm) | Sleeve (cm) |
| XS | 88-92 | 40-42 | 62-65 | 58-60 |
| S | 92-96 | 42-44 | 65-68 | 60-62 |
| M | 96-102 | 44-46 | 68-71 | 62-64 |
| L | 102-108 | 46-48 | 71-74 | 64-66 |
| XL | 108-114 | 48-50 | 74-77 | 66-68 |
| 2XL | 114-120 | 50-52 | 77-80 | 68-70 |
| 3XL | 120-126 | 52-54 | 80-83 | 70-72 |
| 4XL | 126-132 | 54-56 | 83-86 | 72-74 |
If inches are what you think in, a medium chest of 96 to 102 cm lands somewhere around 37.8 to 40.2 and the large picks up from roughly 40.2, running to about 42.5, so the two overlap at the edges, which is normal for any chart but genuinely irritating when you measure exactly 40 and end up parked on the fence.
Measuring the hoodie beats measuring yourself
Honestly, the approach that works isn’t glamorous at all. You want a hoodie that already fits the way you’d like this one to, laid flat with the zipper or the placket closed, a tape run from one armpit seam across to the other, and then you double whatever that comes to. The doubled figure is a garment measurement, which is exactly what the chart quotes, so for once you’re comparing like with like instead of guessing from your own chest.
While the tape is out, grab the length as well, from the bottom of the collar seam down to the hem, and then the sleeve from shoulder seam to cuff edge. Three numbers, and it takes about as long as reading this paragraph.
| Pro Tip: Measure something that’s cotton fleece rather than a thin jersey pullover if you can, because a lightweight hoodie nearly always measures smaller than it wears and a heavy brushed one sits differently across the shoulder. |
Should you size up? It depends on what you actually want
I think this bit of advice gets handed out a little too freely. Going up a letter genuinely does hand you the dropped shoulder and slightly cropped look people are chasing, with the cuffs bunching and the body hanging off you rather than following your shape.
But try the same move on a size that’s already long in the body, and the 3XL and 4XL bodies sit between 80 and 86 cm, which is substantial, and you’re left with something closer to a nightshirt. For anybody under about 5 ft 8, length tends to go wrong well before chest ever does, so I’d read that column first.
- Mid-range on the chest numbers, and you’d like it sitting close, in which case the smaller letter is probably the one.
- Right at the top of a chest range with plans to layer a thick tee underneath, where the bigger letter begins to make sense.
- Tall, with the body length looking short on paper, so take the bigger letter and live with a roomier chest.
The shoulder seam gives you away
Chest measurements have a bit of flex built into them, shoulders really don’t, and a seam that has drifted two inches down your bicep is visible from across the street. Shoulder climbs by around 2 cm per size while chest climbs by 6, which can leave you an XL on paper and still happier in the L shoulder.
What happens to the fit once shoes get involved
Proportion carries more of the look than most buyers expect it to. A boxy hoodie with slim pants and a chunky sneaker somehow manages to look heavy at both ends at the same time, whereas that same hoodie over the low-top canvas shapes in the CDG Converse range stays calmer, mostly because a Chuck 70 low has a thin sole and barely any visual bulk down at the ankle.
So if the hoodie came out roomier than you’d planned for, a low profile shoe quietly drags things back toward balance, and a high top pushes the other way until the volume up top reads like a choice you made on purpose. Neither of those is a mistake, though it does mean the hoodie and the shoes are really one decision you happen to make twice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Comme Des Garcons run small on everything?
Not quite everything, no. The cotton PLAY pieces follow the Japanese chart pretty closely, while a few of the heavier fleece hoodies come out fuller through the shoulder than you’d guess, so measure each piece rather than carrying one blanket rule across the brand.
Is it going to shrink in the wash?
Cotton fleece can tighten up slightly in hot water and a hot dryer, which is reason enough to wash it cold and dry it on a rack, since the measurements then stay roughly where they were the day it arrived.
Why does the chart stop at 4XL when 5XL exists?
There isn’t a tidy answer, since hoodies are offered up to 5XL even though the published chart runs out at 4XL. For that one, measure something you already own and then get in touch with the Brooklyn store during business hours before ordering.
None of this is complicated, it’s just written in a slightly different dialect than the tags you grew up reading. Pull out the hoodie you already trust, take those three measurements off it, compare them against the chart instead of the letter printed inside an old collar, and that’s pretty much the whole exercise. Sort it once, and you’ll know where you sit in Comme Des Garcons sizing for good.
