Sizing, from the workbench
German suit sizes: the formula, and where it stops
The German menswear size is not a brand invention, it is arithmetic: chest measurement divided by two. A 100 cm chest gives size 50. The other two ranges are derived by more arithmetic: the short range is the normal size halved (50 becomes 25), and the long range is the normal size minus one, doubled (50 becomes 98). If you have ever seen odd numbers like 51 or 53, those are belly sizes, the normal size plus one. Which means the whole system rests on one measurement, and that is exactly where it stops. Two men who are both a 50 do not need the same jacket. We work from 47 measurement fields, 31 of them required, because the chest is only one of them.
The three ranges, and how to convert
| Normal size | Short (untersetzt) | Long (schlank) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula | Chest measurement divided by two | Normal size divided by two | Normal size minus one, doubled |
| Number range | 44 to 74 | 22 to 37 | 90 to 122 |
| Example at 100 cm chest | 50 | 25 | 98 |
| Who it is for | Average height and proportion | Compact build, shorter leg, more waist room | Taller and slimmer build, longer sleeve and length |
| What the number does not say | Nothing about shoulder width, arm length or posture | Nothing about how much stomach is actually there | Nothing about whether the shoulder grew with the height |
The formulas follow the standard German Konfektionsgröße definition and are publicly documented. Chest is measured at normal breathing and upright posture, not with the breath held.
The words on the label
Five terms that let you decode any German size marking.
- Normal size
- The main range, 44 to 74, calculated as chest divided by two. It assumes an average height for that chest. Where your height departs from that assumption, everything hanging off it departs too: sleeve length, jacket length, where the waist falls.
- Short size (untersetzt)
- The short range, 22 to 37, calculated as the normal size divided by two. A 50 becomes a 25. Intended for a compact build with a shorter leg and more waist room. The practical point: you are not buying the same size made shorter, you are buying a differently proportioned cut.
- Long size (schlank)
- The long range, 90 to 122, calculated as the normal size minus one, doubled. A 50 becomes 98, a 52 becomes 102. For taller, slimmer builds. The formula also explains why the numbers look so large: they are doublings, not centimetres.
- Belly size
- The odd numbers, 51 to 73, calculated as the normal size plus one. They give more waist room at the same chest. Most buyers never see them because many houses do not stock them, and then wonder why a jacket fits in the chest and pulls at the waist.
- Chest measurement
- Taken at the fullest part of the chest, level all the way round, at normal breathing and upright posture. Hold your breath or pull the tape tight and you measure two to three centimetres short, land one size down, and the shortfall shows immediately as an X pull at the button.
Common questions
What is a German Konfektionsgröße?
For menswear it is the chest measurement in centimetres divided by two. A 100 cm chest gives size 50; 96 gives 48. So it is not an arbitrary number, it is a calculation, and it rests on exactly one body measurement. Everything else about the garment, shoulder width, sleeve length, jacket length, is derived from an average assumption that may or may not describe you.
How do you convert to the short and long ranges?
The short size is the normal size halved: 50 becomes 25, 52 becomes 26. The long size is the normal size minus one, doubled: 50 becomes 98, 52 becomes 102. Both ranges describe the same chest at a different height and proportion. Once you know the arithmetic you can read any label in any range, including on a sale rail with nobody to ask.
Why are there odd sizes like 51 or 53?
Those are belly sizes, calculated as the normal size plus one. They give more waist room at the same chest. Many houses do not stock them, which is why most buyers never encounter them and instead size up, which makes the shoulder too wide. If jackets fit you in the chest and pull at the waist, that is the range to ask for.
What German size is a large or an extra large?
There is no reliable answer, and that is the point. Letter sizes are not standardised: an L can be a 48, a 50 or a 52 depending on the house, and the same brand assigns them differently across its own lines. The Konfektionsgröße is calculated; the L is asserted. When a label carries both, believe the number.
Can you buy by size number without trying it on?
We would advise against it for a jacket. The number addresses your chest and nothing else. Shoulder width decides whether a jacket is even a candidate, and it is not in the size marking; a tailor can alter almost anything, and the shoulder essentially not at all. For trousers, buying by number is far safer, because waist and length are both stated and both alterable.
Why 47 measurements if one number is supposed to do?
Because the one number does not do it, it is only fast. A German size describes a chest and assumes the rest. We work from 47 fields, 31 of them required, because shoulder, back length, front length, sleeve length and seat vary independently of each other and cannot be derived from the chest. For a rail, one number is the right simplification. For a garment being made, it is not.
Suits cut to measurements rather than to a size number
We make made-to-measure suits, trousers and waistcoats in premium European cloth, from a single piece, in about 14 to 20 working days, factory-direct from our Shanghai atelier.