T-shirt measurements chart: eight real styles compared

On a t-shirt measurements chart, the columns in inches are the ones that matter — the letter is just the name a brand gives a set of numbers. The short version: across the seven unisex styles below, a Medium measures 20.0–20.5" across the chest laid flat and 29.0–29.5" long. The ladies' cut in the same catalog publishes 17.5" across at Medium. Same letter, different garment. The tables on this page put eight real styles' published chest and length specs side by side, size by size, so you can see exactly where the industry agrees and where it quietly doesn't.

This page is part of the size charts shelf. If you want a number of your own to compare against, the pit-to-pit measurement guide covers the one measurement that settles most sizing questions.

Chest first, because chest decides most fits. Seven of these styles are unisex; the Gildan G500L is a women's ("missy") cut and stops at 2XL, so its 3XL cells are empty. All values are inches, laid flat.

Two patterns are worth naming. First, the unisex styles agree more than their reputations suggest: at every size from M to 3XL, at least five of the seven publish the identical chest number, and the unisex spread is 0.5" everywhere except S, where the Next Level 3600's 19.0" opens it to a full inch. Second, the Comfort Colors C4017 runs consistently bigger — half an inch wider at every size, and longer from Medium up (29.5" against 29.0" at M, 30.75" against 30.0" at L, 32.0" against 31.0" at XL). At 2XL and 3XL it is joined at the long end by the Champion T525C and Hanes 5250T at 33.0" and 34.0", while the Gildan tees, the 3001C, and the 3600 hold 32.0" and 33.0". The full ranking is at which blank runs biggest.

One thing the chart cannot show: the Bella+Canvas 3001C publishes exactly the same chest and length as the Gildan G500 at every shared size, yet the two wear differently — the 3001C is cut side-seamed to a retail silhouette and has a reputation for wearing slimmer. Chest and length are two of the eight points of measure ShirtMath tracks for tops; taper, drape, and fabric are not on a spec sheet at all. Treat matching numbers as necessary, not sufficient.

The headline finding in this data is not brand-to-brand drift — it is cut-to-cut distance. A Gildan G500L ladies' Medium publishes a 17.5" chest. The unisex Mediums in the same catalog publish 20.0–20.5". That is a gap of up to three inches of flat width between two shirts that both say M — and flat widths double when you think in circumference: 17.5" flat is a 35" garment around the body, 20.0" flat is a 40" garment. At L the gap widens to 3.5": 19.0" against 22.0–22.5".

Length behaves the same way: the ladies' Medium is 26.0" long where unisex Mediums run 29.0–29.5". For scale, the ladies' Medium chest (17.5") is identical to the published chest of the unisex Next Level 3600 in XS. None of this is a brand being dishonest — a missy block and a straight block are different garments that happen to share an alphabet. The separate problem of the letter drifting over the years within one block is vanity sizing, and it stacks on top of this. "Medium" names a position in a run, not a size of shirt; only the numbers transfer between charts.

Shared sizes hide the edges of each run. The Gildan G500 and Hanes 5250T go to 5XL, the Next Level 3600 starts at XS and stops at 4XL, the G500L stops at 2XL, and the rest run S–3XL. At the top of the big runs the G500 and 5250T publish the same chest — 30.0" at 4XL, 32.0" at 5XL — but the Hanes runs a full inch longer at both sizes.

Six of these blanks have dedicated pages with more detail: Gildan G500, Bella+Canvas 3001C, Next Level 3600, Hanes 5250T, Champion T525C, and Comfort Colors C4017.

"Unisex" is a men's block with a more welcoming name. A block is the base pattern a size run is graded from: the unisex block is a straight tube with minimal taper from chest to hem, sized primarily by chest. A women's missy block is shorter, narrower, and shaped. The catalog shows the consequences as numbers rather than adjectives.

Grading steps. Most unisex styles here add exactly 2.0" of flat chest per size — four inches of circumference — from S to 3XL. The Next Level 3600 grades in 1.5" steps from XS through L before switching to 2.0". The ladies' G500L grades unevenly: 1.0" from S to M, 1.5" from M to L, then 2.0" — tighter steps at the small end, where fit tolerance is tightest.

Length. Unisex styles add roughly an inch of body length per size, from 28.0" at S to 33.0–34.0" at 3XL. The G500L adds about half an inch per size and spans just 25.5–28.0" across its entire run — its 2XL (28.0") is exactly as long as every unisex Small.

What this means when you shop. A unisex t-shirt size chart is, in effect, the men's chart. Anyone moving between cuts should pick by the chest number, not the letter — sizing down in unisex narrows the shirt but keeps the straight, long-bodied shape. Men's dress shirts sidestep the letter problem by sizing on two measurements directly; the dress shirt size chart decodes that system, and the women's clothing chart covers how numeric women's sizes map to letters.

The chart works best in reverse: instead of asking what size you are, start from a shirt whose fit you already trust.

If you would rather have the comparison done for you, the shirt size calculator turns a chest and length measurement into a size across systems.