Do 80s-Style Clothes Run Small? An Honest Guide to Retro Sizing

Short answer: often yes. And the reason is genuinely interesting, which is not something anyone expects from a sizing guide.

Retro and reproduction clothing is usually cut closer than the same letter size from a high street chain. If you wear a medium everywhere else, there is a real chance our medium fits like your old small. This is the single most common reason a first order comes back, so five minutes here saves a return.

Your size did not change, the label did

There is no legal standard behind S, M, L and XL. None. Every manufacturer decides for itself, and over the past forty years mainstream brands have quietly made each size bigger while keeping the same letter on the tag. The practice has a name, vanity sizing, and it works because people like buying the smaller number.

The result is that a large from 1985 and a large from 2026 are different garments. Smaller specialist manufacturers never drifted as far. So when a retro shirt feels tight in your usual size, the shirt is not mislabelled. Your reference point moved, one flattering centimetre at a time, while you were not looking.

The measurement that settles it

Ignore the letter and read the chart. Every product page here has a table of actual garment measurements. Compare those numbers to a garment you already own and like. That comparison beats every piece of general advice, including all of ours.

Measure the thing you own, not yourself. Lay it flat, do not stretch it.

• Chest. Armpit seam to armpit seam, then double it. This is the number that decides whether something fits.
• Length. Highest point of the shoulder straight down to the hem.
• Shoulder. Across the back, seam to seam.
• Sleeve. Shoulder seam to the end of the cuff.

Then pick the size on our chart with the closest chest number. If you land between two, the next section tells you which way to go.

Which way to round, piece by piece

Shirts and jackets: round up. A camp collar shirt is meant to hang boxy, and a jacket that fits beautifully over a tee is unwearable over a hoodie in November. Between sizes on either, take the bigger one.

T-shirts: depends what you want. A period correct 80s tee is closer fitting than the modern oversized cut. Want the vintage silhouette, take your measured size. Want the current relaxed look, go up one.

Sneakers: your normal size. Our VHS sneakers list both men's and women's conversions on every variant, written as for example 8 Men / 9.5 Women. Order the number you usually wear. If you sit half a size apart between brands, take the larger, because a slightly roomy canvas high top is fine and a tight one is a mistake you feel for months.

Watches and sunglasses: no sizing, but check case diameter and frame width if you have unusually small or large wrists or a wide face. Both numbers are on the listings.

The ladder we actually stock

Most apparel runs XS through 4XL, and a decent number of pieces continue to 5XL and 6XL. If a size is missing from the dropdown it is out of stock rather than unmade, and restocks usually take a few weeks.

Footwear is listed differently. Every variant on a pair like the VHS T-120 Sneakers 1988 carries both numbers, so 8 Men / 9.5 Women is one size and not two options. Pick the one matching the system you normally buy in and ignore the other half.

Two things that catch people out

Sleeve length on jackets. Bomber and flight sleeves are cut to finish at the wrist bone with your arm hanging straight, not over the back of your hand. Long arms should check the sleeve measurement specifically rather than trusting the chest size to carry it.

Dropped shoulders on boxy shirts. The shoulder seam is supposed to sit slightly past your actual shoulder point. That is the cut doing its job, not the shirt being too big. Resist the urge to size down to fix something that is not broken.

Questions we get

Do your sneakers run small? No. They run true. The confusion usually comes from people converting between US, UK and EU sizing rather than reading the variant, which already lists both men's and women's numbers.

I am between a large and an extra large. Which? Shirt or jacket, extra large. T-shirt, large if you want the era correct fit.

Are your sizes Asian sizing? The measurements on the chart are the measurements you receive, whatever the origin of the garment. That is the entire point of publishing them. Use the numbers and the letters stop mattering.

Should I measure myself instead of a garment? You can, but it is less reliable. Body measurements tell you nothing about how much room a cut is supposed to leave, and a boxy shirt is meant to be considerably wider than your chest. Measuring something you already like the fit of removes that guesswork entirely.

Which piece is hardest to size? Jackets, by a distance. They have to fit the chest, the shoulders, the sleeve length and whatever you plan to wear underneath, and getting three of those right still leaves you with a jacket you do not wear. Read the sleeve number before you order a leather jacket in particular, since the sleeves are cut close by design.

If it still arrives wrong

It happens. No chart fits every body, and some of us are shaped in ways the apparel industry has not yet formally accepted. There is a 30 day return and exchange policy, so contact us with your order number and we will sort it out.

Measuring first is still faster than shipping twice, and considerably faster than arguing with a tape measure after the fact.

Related reading: how to wear a camp collar shirt · picking an 80s jacket · the complete synthwave outfit guide

Explore the collections: 80s Men's Fashion · VHS Sneakers · 80s Jackets & Windbreakers