How do Phrase Studios pieces fit?

Our pieces have a relaxed, boxy unisex fit with a slight drop shoulder, true to size to slightly oversized. If you want a closer fit, size down one. Everything runs XS to XL, and the size guide on each product gives garment measurements in centimetres.

How long does shipping take?

We ship worldwide from Belgium. In Belgium and the Netherlands delivery is typically around 2 days, and shipping is free over €100 / $100. Order before 14:00 and your piece is dispatched the same day.

What is your return policy?

You have 14 days to return an unworn piece. Our pieces are made in small numbers and are not restocked once a chapter closes, so use the size guide before you order.

What is The Circle and Pocket Change?

The Circle is our membership. You earn Pocket Change on every order, 1,000 to start and 10 for every €1 you spend, and you redeem it like store credit (100 Pocket Change is €1). Members also get early access to chapter drops.

Which payment methods can I use?

Bancontact, iDEAL, card, and Klarna. Klarna lets you spread payment at checkout.

Do you restock sold-out pieces?

Rarely. Phrase is built in chapters with a finite end. Once a chapter closes its pieces move to The Vault and are usually not reprinted, so if your size is in stock, that is the moment.

Where is Phrase Studios based?

We are an independent streetwear label from Ghent, Belgium, built from friends to friends and produced in small numbers.

Journal

How to buy clothes as a gift without guessing the size

Oct 6, 2026 5 MIN READ Phrase Studios

The easiest way to buy clothes as a gift without guessing the size is to find a piece they already wear a lot, read its label, lay it flat and measure it, then compare those numbers with the size guide of the brand you are buying from. If you are still unsure, choose a forgiving category such as a hoodie or joggers over jeans or shoes.

Most of the worry about how to gift clothes comes down to size, and you rarely need to ask outright. A tape measure and ten minutes with a favourite piece get you most of the way.

Find a reference piece

Start with something they wear often that clearly fits the way they like, ideally the same type of garment you plan to buy: a hoodie to buy a hoodie, a pair of joggers to buy joggers. Good places to look:

The laundry basket. What they wore this week is what they actually like.
The wardrobe or drawer. Photograph the label so you have the brand and size.
A flatmate, partner or sibling. Someone who lives with them can check a label or lend you a piece.
Their photos. If you cannot reach their clothes, look at how their favourite pieces sit on them: close, relaxed or properly oversized.

Measure it flat

Lay the piece on a table or bed, smooth it out without stretching it, and measure in centimetres:

Chest. Straight across from armpit to armpit, often called pit to pit. Double that number to get the full chest circumference, which is how many size guides list it.
Length. From the highest point of the shoulder, next to the collar, straight down to the hem.
Sleeve. From the shoulder seam to the end of the cuff. On dropped-shoulder pieces some brands measure from the centre of the back neck instead, so check how the guide defines it.
Trousers. The waist straight across the top, doubled, and the inseam from the crotch seam to the hem.

Write the numbers down. They are more useful than the letter on the label.

Read the brand's size guide and fit notes

Compare your measurements line by line with the size guide of the brand you are buying from. Check whether it lists garment measurements, taken flat like yours, or body measurements. They are not the same: a hoodie or jumper is cut larger than the body inside it. Then read the fit notes. Many product pages say how tall the model is, which size they wear and whether the cut is slim, regular, relaxed or oversized, which tells you more than the size letter.

At Phrase Studios, for example, the cut is relaxed and unisex, in XS to XL. On the product pages, a 177 cm man wears an M, a 163 cm woman wears an S and a 170 cm woman wears an M. Check our size guide before you order. If the cut names confuse you, here is boxy, oversized and regular explained.

Forgiving vs risky categories

Some clothes tolerate a size that is slightly off; others do not.

Forgiving: hoodies, sweatshirts, joggers with an elastic or drawcord waist, knits and tracksuits. A little extra room usually reads as relaxed rather than wrong.
In between: tees and longsleeves. Length and shoulder width matter, but there is some give.
Risky: jeans and tailored trousers, where waist and leg length both have to be right, and shoes, where half a size changes everything.

If you have very little to go on, lean forgiving. A hoodie is the classic choice for exactly this reason, which is why we wrote about whether a hoodie is a good gift.

Between sizes? Size by the look they like

If you are stuck on what size hoodie to buy someone because their measurements fall between two sizes, decide by how they wear things. If they like their clothes roomy, take the larger size, or stay in their usual size if the cut is already oversized. If they prefer a neater look, take the smaller one. For hoodies specifically, how a hoodie should fit covers shoulders, sleeves and length by height and build.

Plan for the swap

Sizing is never guaranteed, so plan for an exchange before you buy. Read the shop's returns or exchange policy, check how long the window is and whether it runs past the holidays, and ask whether they offer gift receipts so the recipient can swap without seeing what you paid. Keep the tags on until it has been tried. With small brands that make limited runs, a swap for another size depends on what is left, which is worth knowing upfront.

Order early in December

Leave yourself time for one exchange before the day. Carriers get busier in the weeks before Christmas, and small brands can sell through popular sizes. If the brand releases in drops, signing up for its newsletter is the simplest way to hear about the next release in time.

Buying a Phrase Studios piece as a gift

Phrase Studios is an independent studio in Ghent, Belgium, founded in 2023, and one option if you are buying streetwear as a gift. We work in numbered chapters of small heavyweight-cotton runs that are not restocked, so pieces may sell out. The forgiving categories are a sensible place to start: hoodies and sweatshirts or tracksuits, with the fit notes above as your reference. If you want to hear about the next chapter first, The Circle is our newsletter.

Buying clothes as a gift is mostly a little homework: one reference piece, three measurements, a careful read of the size guide and a returns policy you have checked. Do that and you are no longer guessing.

FAQ

How do I find out someone's clothes size without asking?

Check the label on a piece they wear often, then lay it flat and measure the chest from armpit to armpit and the length from shoulder to hem. Compare those numbers with the size guide of the brand you are buying from.

What size hoodie should I buy someone?

Buy the size that matches a hoodie they already wear and like. If they fall between sizes, go larger for a roomy look and smaller for a neater one, and check whether the cut is already relaxed.

What clothes are safest to give if I do not know their size?

Hoodies, sweatshirts, joggers, knits and tracksuits, because they are forgiving on fit. Jeans, tailored trousers and shoes are the riskiest, since small differences in waist, leg or foot size matter.