Size Guide
Sizing children's clothes online is genuinely hard. Children of the same age can be a head apart in height, and every brand cuts differently. So this page gives you the measurements that actually decide a size, rather than asking you to trust a label.
We do not offer size exchanges, which makes getting this right the first time more important. If you are unsure after reading this, write to us and we will tell you what we would pick.
1) Start with height, not age
If you take one thing from this page: measure your child's height and use that. Age is a rough guide and a poor one — two six-year-olds can easily be 10 cm apart, and neither of them is unusual.
| Size | Height | Age guide |
| 2-4Y | 92–104 cm | Approximately 2 to 4 years |
| 4-6Y | 104–116 cm | Approximately 4 to 6 years |
| 6-8Y | 116–128 cm | Approximately 6 to 8 years |
| 8-10Y | 128–140 cm | Approximately 8 to 10 years |
Two-year bands are a deliberate choice, not a shortcut. Our cuts are relaxed rather than fitted, so a garment does not stop working the moment a child grows a centimetre. It is meant to fit at the start of a band and still fit near the end of it — and to have a realistic second life on another child afterwards.
2) How to measure your child
You need a soft tape measure and about two minutes. Measure over light clothing, not over a jumper, and keep the tape snug but not tight — you should be able to slip a finger under it.
- Height — stand your child against a wall without shoes, heels together and back straight. Mark the top of the head with a flat object held level, then measure from the floor to the mark. This is the measurement that decides the size.\
- Chest — around the fullest part of the chest, under the arms, with arms relaxed at the sides. Keep the tape level all the way round.
- Waist — around the natural waist, the narrowest part, usually just above the belly button. Ask them to breathe normally rather than hold it in.
- Inside leg — from the top of the inner thigh down to the ankle bone, standing straight.
Write the numbers down. You will want them again in three months, and again for the next brand.
3) How to read our measurements
The tables below give the measurements of the garment itself, laid flat and unstretched — not of the child. This matters, and most size guides never explain it:
- Chest, waist and hip are measured flat across the garment, from one side to the other. To compare with a measurement you took around your child, double the number in the table. For example, a 2–4Y T-shirt has a chest width of 34 cm flat — that is 68 cm all the way round, against a chest of roughly 53–55 cm on a three-year-old. The difference is the room to move, and it is intentional.
- Lengths — front length, sleeve length, inside leg — are measured as stated and are directly comparable.
4) Garment measurements
All figures in centimetres, for the garment as it arrives. These are the measurements that decide a size; if you need a figure that is not here for a particular garment, write to us and we will measure it for you.
T-shirts and long-sleeve T-shirts
| Measurement |
2-4Y |
4-6Y |
6-8Y |
8-10Y |
| Chest width — flat |
34 |
36 |
39.5 |
42.5 |
| Front length — shoulder to hem |
40 |
45.5 |
50.5 |
55.5 |
| Sleeve length (T-shirt) |
12.5 |
14 |
15.5 |
16.5 |
| Sleeve length (Long sleeve) |
33.5 |
37.5 |
40.5 |
44.5 |
Sweatshirts and hoodies
| Measurement |
2-4Y |
4-6Y |
6-8Y |
8-10Y |
| Chest width — flat |
36 |
38 |
41.5 |
44.5 |
| Front length — shoulder to hem |
40 |
45.5 |
50.5 |
55.5 |
| Sleeve length — including cuff |
34 |
38 |
41 |
45 |
Shorts and joggers
| Measurement |
2-4Y |
4-6Y |
6-8Y |
8-10Y |
| Waist width — flat, relaxed |
24 |
25 |
26.5 |
28 |
| Hip width — flat |
35 |
37,5 |
40 |
43 |
| Inside leg (Shorts) |
10 |
12 |
13.5 |
15 |
| Inside leg (Joggers) |
34.5 |
44 |
49 |
56 |
Waistbands are elasticated and stretch roughly 6 cm beyond the relaxed measurement above, comfortably and without losing their shape.
5) Tolerances and shrinkage
Two reasons a garment you measure at home may not match the table to the millimetre. Both are normal, and we would rather tell you than have you think something went wrong.
Manufacturing tolerance
These are knitted cotton garments made by people, not injection-moulded parts. Every measurement carries a tolerance of roughly one centimetre on smaller and larger sizes ( Example: A 6–8Y T-shirt with a stated chest width of 39.5 cm may measure anywhere between 38.5 and 40.5 cm and is entirely correct).
Shrinkage
Organic cotton shrinks. Ours can shrink by up to 5%, almost all of it in the first one or two washes and mostly in length.
This is normal for untreated natural fibre, it is not a fault, and we have allowed for it in the cut. Washing at 30°C, skipping the tumble dryer and reshaping while damp keeps it to a minimum — our Care Guide explains how.
Every figure in section 4 is the garment as it arrives, before its first wash.
6) How our clothes are cut
Albor is designed to be put on by the child wearing it, and to move the way children actually move.
- Relaxed through the body, so there is room to climb, reach and sit on the floor.
- Wide necklines, so a jumper goes over a head without a struggle or a protest.
- Flat seams, so nothing rubs at the shoulder or under the arm.
- No sewn-in labels at the neck, because that is the part children pull at.
- Ribbed cuffs and waistbands, which hold their shape and give a little as a child grows.
7) Between two sizes?
Take the larger one. Our cuts are relaxed, sleeves and legs can be turned up for a season, a two-year band means the bigger size will be right for longer — and cotton gives back a little in the first washes, which makes the larger size age better.
The exception is if your child is at the very bottom of a band and you want the garment to fit properly now rather than in six months. In that case take the smaller size and accept a shorter run.
8) If the size is wrong
We do not offer exchanges. Return the item and place a new order for the size you need — that gets the right size moving immediately instead of waiting for the first parcel to travel back and out again.
You have 30 days from delivery to return. Within the first 14 days you get everything back including the delivery you paid; after that, the product price. Our Returns Policy sets it out in full.
9) Still not sure
Write to care@alborkids.com with your child's height, their age, and which garment you are looking at. We will tell you which size we would choose.
Sizing is the thing families tell us they find hardest about buying clothes online. Telling us what did or did not work is the fastest way this page gets better.
