How to choose your jeans size when you shop online
You found the perfect pair of jeans, you love the cut, you love the colour… and then you close the tab. Because one question keeps nagging: what if the size is wrong? It is the number one reason we hesitate before buying denim online, and it is a fair one, because with jeans two centimetres change everything. The good news is that a tape measure and five minutes remove most of the risk. Here is how to do it.
Start with your real measurements
Never order based on the size you wore three years ago. Take three measurements, standing, in underwear or a thin garment. Measure your waist at the narrowest part of your torso, just above the navel, without pulling the tape tight and without holding your stomach in. Measure your hips at the fullest point of your seat, feet together. Measure the inseam from the groin down to the ankle, along the inside of the thigh: this is the number that decides the length.
No tape measure at home? Take a piece of string, a shoelace or a strip of fabric, wrap it around the area, mark where the ends meet with a pen, then lay the string flat along a ruler or a builder's tape. The result is just as reliable. Save your three numbers in your phone, you will reuse them for every order.
FR, EU, US, UK: reading the label
Several sizing systems often appear on the same label. French sizing (34, 36, 38, 40…) is the most common in Morocco. Italian sizing usually runs two points higher than French, so a FR 38 becomes an IT 40. US sizing runs two steps lower, so a FR 38 is often a US 6. UK sizing is generally four points above US, so that US 6 becomes a UK 10. Some jeans are labelled in inches, which is the waist measurement of the garment, not yours. In every case, ignore the number and compare your centimetres with the measurement chart on the product page. That is the only reference that never lies.
High, mid or low rise changes everything
The rise decides where the jeans grip you. High rise jeans close around the navel, where your waist is narrowest, so your waist measurement is the one to follow. Low rise jeans sit on the hips, several centimetres lower, where the body is wider, so your hip measurement takes over. Mid rise, the most versatile of the three, sits in between. Same body, same brand: you can genuinely wear two different sizes depending on the rise.
Cuts, and the one that forgives the most
Slim jeans hug the leg and forgive nothing: one size off is both visible and uncomfortable. Straight jeans are a safe bet, clean without clinging. Bootcut and flare are fitted at the top then open from the knee, so the waist and the length are what matter. Baggy and wide leg are meant to be roomy, which makes them the most forgiving cuts of all, and one size off often goes completely unnoticed. Between two sizes on a wide leg, take the smaller one; on a slim, take the larger one.
Read the fabric composition
Denim that is 100% cotton, the rigid non-stretch kind, barely gives: it relaxes a little at the thighs and knees during the day, then goes back after a wash. If it is tight when you try it on, it will stay tight. As soon as there is 1 to 3% elastane, the fabric follows your body, settles after a few minutes and stretches noticeably more. With rigid denim, never order too snug; with stretch denim, avoid going too big, or it will gape at the waist after a few hours.
And if I still get it wrong?
It happens, and it is not a problem. In Morocco you have 14 days to return an item that does not fit, unworn and in its original condition. On MODEACC, every product page shows a size guide with the real measurements of the garment, and you can filter the catalogue by size so you only see what exists in yours. If you are torn between two sizes, ordering both is a valid option: delivery is free from 500 DH, and you simply send back the one that does not fit.
