Here is the single most common mistake people make buying a graphic tee online: they order their "comfort size," which is almost always one size larger than the shirt that actually fits them. It feels safer. Nobody wants a shirt that is too tight. But the result is a shoulder seam hanging halfway down the bicep, a hem past the hips, and a shirt that reads as sloppy rather than relaxed.
The fix takes about two minutes and a tape measure, and it works for any shirt in our tee collection. No guessing, no ordering two sizes and returning one.
The two-minute method: measure a shirt you already love
Forget what size you think you are. Go to your closet and find the t-shirt that fits you best - the one you reach for constantly, the one that looks right in photos. Lay it flat on a table, smooth out the wrinkles, and measure two things.
Width: measure straight across the chest from armpit seam to armpit seam. Length: measure from the highest point of the shoulder straight down to the bottom hem. Write both numbers down. That is your target. Now match those numbers to the chart below and order that size, regardless of what letter it is.
This works because you are no longer comparing yourself to an abstract idea of "medium." You are comparing a shirt to a shirt. It is the closest thing to trying it on before you buy.
Our actual measurements
Here is the full size chart. Every measurement is in inches, and every shirt in the collection uses these numbers.
A few things worth pointing out. The width column climbs by two inches per size, which is a meaningful jump - going up one size is not a subtle change. The length only climbs by one inch per size, so if you are tall and slim, you may find the length runs shorter than you would like even in a size that fits your chest. And the chest column is a body measurement, not a garment measurement, which is why it reads as a range.
Width matters more than chest
If you only pay attention to one number, make it the width. The chest range is a rough guide based on average body proportions, but width is the actual physical dimension of the garment you will receive. Two people with the same chest measurement can want completely different widths depending on whether they like a closer cut or room to move.
Measure the shirt, trust the width, and the chest range becomes a sanity check rather than the deciding factor.
How the unisex cut actually runs
Every tee in the collection is a unisex fit, which means one cut sized to work across body types rather than separate mens and womens patterns. In practice that means it runs slightly small on men and roughly a half size large on women.
So if you are a man who normally wears a medium, you may well want a large. If you are a woman who normally wears a medium and likes a fitted look, a small will probably be closer to what you have in mind. If you want the relaxed, slightly oversized look on purpose, size up from there deliberately - the difference between "intentionally oversized" and "accidentally too big" is entirely about whether you chose it.
See how it actually moves
Photos flatten everything. A shirt on a hanger tells you almost nothing about how the fabric drapes, how the print sits when someone moves, or how the cotton falls across the shoulders. This is the 1% Low Battery tee on an actual person, in motion.
That soft drape is the 100% combed and ring-spun cotton doing its job. It is pre-shrunk, so what you see is what it stays after washing, and it has shoulder-to-shoulder taping so the neckline does not stretch out and go wavy after a month.
Between two sizes? Here is which way to go
If your measurements land between sizes, the answer depends on what you want the shirt to do.
Size down if
You want a cleaner, more tailored look, you plan to tuck it, or you are layering it under a jacket where bulk becomes a problem. A slightly snug tee reads as deliberate. Remember the cotton is pre-shrunk, so it will not shrink its way into fitting you later.
Size up if
You want the relaxed streetwear silhouette, you run warm and want airflow, or you are tall and need the extra inch of length more than you need the narrower width. Just know you are getting two extra inches of width along with it.
Buying one as a gift
Shopping for someone else without tipping them off is the hard version of this problem. Two approaches work. The first is to quietly measure a shirt they already own and wear constantly - same method as above, just done in secret. The second is to default to their everyday size and lean toward the larger option if you are genuinely torn, because a slightly roomy tee gets worn and a too-tight one goes in a drawer.
If the shirt is for a milestone gift and you truly cannot get the sizing, a ceramic mug sidesteps the problem entirely - one size fits everyone.
The short version
Measure a shirt you already love, match the width first, and order that size no matter what letter it is. Remember the unisex cut runs slightly small on men and slightly large on women. Size down for a cleaner look, up for a relaxed one. Do that, and the shirt that shows up fits like the one you already reach for every week.
Ready to pick a design? Browse the tee collection, and if you want help styling it once it arrives, our graphic tee styling guide covers the rest.