Ladies' Fit

A ladies' fit pattern contours in at the side seam to follow a woman's waist, drops the shoulder width down from a men's block, shortens both the sleeve and the overall body length, and often opens the neckline slightly wider or lower than a unisex crew. Most ladies' tees use side-seamed rather than tubular construction, since the shaping requires a seam to sew the taper into.

Bella+Canvas 6004, Next Level 3900, and Gildan's 64000L are the standard ladies'-fit references in the industry, and all three run about a full size smaller than their unisex counterparts — a ladies' medium sits closer to a unisex small. We tell every bridal party and bachelorette order the same thing before they finalize sizes: size up one from whatever they'd normally wear in a regular women's top, or the fit runs tight across the hip on anyone between sizes.

Choose ladies' fit when an order skews female and the group wants a flattering, contoured shape rather than the boxier unisex default. Because sizing isn't standardized brand to brand, pull an actual size chart for the specific style before quoting a group order — a ladies' large from one manufacturer can measure differently than a ladies' large from another.

Buyers often treat ladies' fit as simply a unisex shirt scaled down to smaller numbers. It isn't a scaled copy — it's a separate pattern with its own waist taper, shoulder width, and sleeve length, which is exactly why the same size letter doesn't translate evenly between a unisex and a ladies' style.