Beyond the Tag: Why Fit Comes Before Anything Else
Share
One of the first things I learned doing this work is that a size tag tells you almost nothing on its own. A "small" from one decade fits nothing like a "small" from another, and a European cut runs nothing like an American one. I have held two garments side by side, both labeled the exact same size, and watched them turn out to be inches apart at the shoulder. So early on, I made myself a rule: I never trust the tag alone. I measure. Every single time.
When a piece comes to me, I lay it flat, pull out the tape, and write down the real numbers — chest, waist, length, sleeve, whatever matters most for that particular item. Those measurements go right into the listing, alongside the size printed on the tag, not instead of it. I want you to be able to compare it to something already hanging in your closet and know, before it ever ships, whether it will actually fit the way you hope it will. That is not extra effort I am adding for show. It is the least I can do when you cannot try something on before you buy it.
It is part of why a piece like the Tara Jarmon Cherry Red 3/4 Trench Coat, tagged a French XS, gets the same careful treatment as anything else on the shelf. A coat like this has real structure to it — a defined waist, a specific shoulder line — and structure only flatters you when the fit is honest. So I measured it the way I measure everything, and I would rather tell you plainly that it runs small and true to a European XS than let you guess and be disappointed when the box arrives.
I think about sizing honesty as just one small piece of a much bigger idea: that you deserve to be treated with respect before a single dollar changes hands. Not persuaded. Not oversold. Just told the truth, clearly and kindly, so you can decide for yourself. It shows up in the smallest, least glamorous details — a tape measure, an honest paragraph — just as much as it shows up anywhere else.
Every person who visits this little shop has inherent worth, whether they buy something today or simply pass through. My job here isn't to convince you of anything. It's to hand you accurate information, treat your time and your trust as something valuable, and let the rest be your choice.
If a piece like this red trench finds its way to you, I hope it fits the way the numbers promised. And if it does not, I will make it right — that is a promise I keep to everyone who shops here, not just the lucky few. Choose to be kind. Choose to be grateful. Choose to be happy.
— Nina of GiaNina Collective