Sizing

Sizing is one of those things that gets most people confused; not at all helped by the fact that there are different standards around the world and in the advent of mega-production, most brands have a hard time following even those. The net result is that a size can be several different measurements depending on who you bought it from, and what day of the week it was made.

To us, that’s an issue.

As a result, at Lab-Gear we’ve made the decision to use old school, traditional sizing (i.e. no S, M, L) and make sure we provide you with enough information for you to determine just how our kit will fit you when it turns up. In the case of ’99 by Lab-Gear’, our women’s line, we went one step further and devised our own system to remove any guess work (because as bad as guy’s sizing might be, women’s is 10 times worse).

All our product pages have a comprehensive size chart when needed, as no two styles, regardless of the size, will have the same fit. We advise you to take the time and benchmark our dimensions against similar items you might already have to ensure a perfect fit.

To benchmark, we lay a garment flat on the floor (front up), and with a tape measure, measure the following measurements (marked with [Bm]) to compare fit.

For tops:

Chest [Bm]:

Measured from arm pit to arm pit, this is width of the garment and for guys, tends to be one of the most important measurements.

Sleeve [Bm]:

Sleeves come in all sorts of lengths and we like to make sure our sleeves are right. Sleeve length is measured from the edge of the collar seam, down the top of the sleeve (often a seam line), to the end of the cuff.

Body [Bm]:

Body, or side seam, lets you know how long a garment is and is measured from the base of the arm pit, down the side seam to the end of the hem.

Collar [Bm]:

For most people this is not an issue but there are some that have issues with collar sizes. Our collar measurement is the width of the collar opening when the garment is laid flat. We measure edge to edge of the collar seam, so the collar opening itself, not the collar.

For pants:

Waist:

This is YOUR waist measurement, not the garment’s. To measure yourself, run a tape measure around your waist, which is just on your hip bones.

Ease:

Ease is designed into every pair of pants, without it you would have a hard time putting them on, and represents the amount ‘over’ the nominal waist size. So an Ease measurement of 2″ means that a 34″ waist pair of pants has 2″ of ease in it, making the actual finished waist 36″ in measurement. Why do we list Ease? Some people like their pants to be a tight fit, so if they measure to be a 32″ waist, they actually might buy a 30 waist, as our 30″ waist has 2″ of ease in it, making the finished garment’s waist size 32″.

Be warned though, ease is designed into a garment for a reason, so if you select to go a size lower, there will be no room to move in the fit. As such, we generally tell people to trust us and select the size that corresponds to their measured waist.

Rise [Bm]:

Rise is the measurement from the centre base of the crotch to the top of the waist band; it’s the centre seam line of all pants. Rise allows you to determine how the pants fit through the crotch/waist area.

Inseam [Bm]:

Measured from the base of the crotch seam, to the end of the inner leg cuff. This is the length of the leg.

Side [Bm]:

Not usually listed but we give it regardless. Side is the measurement from the top of the waist band, down the side seam, to the leg cuff.