Japanese sizing for petites

Hi,

I'm heading to Japan in a few monthes, and am hoping to do a bit of clothes shopping there. My friends have told me that Japanese sizing is smaller than US sizing, and that's made me - a small petite - rather excited! However, I wonder if the proportions will be right.

As a petite here in the US, I've had immense trouble finding clothes that fit due to the fact that I have a shorter torso than the average fit model. Hems are easy enough to adjust, but anything with sleeves is pretty hard to alter.

Can anyone please tell me what the torso length is like in Japanese sizing?

If it helps, I'm 5'1"/155cm, 100lb/45kg, back measurement ~15"/38cm.

Thank you!

You're about the average size in Japan. Should have no problems finding clothes that fit you.

Thanks for the reply!

Do you notice Japanese women having shorter torsos though? Not all petites are made equal, and if the average woman there has a long torso/short legs, that's bad news for me (short torso/long legs).

My overall impression of the proportions of Japanese women's clothing was that they were fitted for a longer torso, shorter legs. I had great success buying skirts in Japan but nice pants for women always had too long a 'rise' for the length of the legs.

A above, generally speaking Japanese people have longer torsos. I am 5'9" and tops here tend to fit me perfectly lengthwise if that gives you some idea (although I am also short in the torso for my height). I disagree somewhat that you are average size here- the average for Japanese women under 40 or so is closer to 5'4", so you will still be on the small side for Japanese sizing. Clothing very often only comes in one or two sizes as well, other than at places like Uniqlo.

As Japanese have proportionally shorter legs, do they also have proportionally shorter feet?

I'm around 163cm and usually a size US7.5 (which is around average for a white woman of my height). Would the average 163cm Japanese woman have smaller feet?

Japanese women tend to have rather short legs, that`s true...

And, yes, they also have small feet.
In Europe, I always have to buy m shoes in the kids sections, but I fit a S or M size here in Japan...
However, it becomes a problem if your feet are over 24 cm... (should be around a US women 7 size, or Europe 38 size)... You wont be able to find shoes at regular shops...

Even among asians, Japanese have proportionally longer torso/shorter legs.

I once read that the average Japanese person's legs are 1% point shorter than that of the average Chinese person. So at a height of 1.55m (5'1''), the average Japanese person's legs are 1.55cm shorther than the average Chinese (which is not really significant).