How Levi's Says to Size Its Jeans: Measuring, the Size Charts and the Fits

Sizing a pair of jeans before buying online comes down to three numbers and one choice: your waist, your hips, your inseam, and the fit you want on top of them. Levi's keeps its own instructions for all of these in the help-center Product Size Guide. This article follows that guide step by step, including what its men's and women's charts list and how the brand describes each of its fits. Everything below comes from Levi's customer-service pages, as updated October 17, 2024; the charts were published in inches, and we give the centimeter conversions in our usual manner.

One path this article does not cover in depth: sizing Levi's shrink-to-fit, all-raw-cotton jeans, where the size you buy is deliberately not the size you end up with. If a pair on your list is Shrink-to-Fit or 501 in raw denim, see our separate shrink-to-fit sizing piece, and note that Levi's own guidance for the soaking and drying process appears in the same help center.

How Levi's says to measure yourself

The guide's measuring instructions use a soft tape and a relaxed posture at your natural waistline, at the fullest point of the hips, and down the inner leg. Levi's wording for each of the three measurements:

• Waist: wrap the tape around your natural waistline, just above the belly button — snug, but not too tight.
• Hips: measure around the fullest part, keeping the tape parallel to the floor.
• Inseam: measure from the top of the inner thigh down to the bottom of the ankle; this gives the length of the jeans.

The men's and women's size charts

With your three numbers in hand, you match them against the chart for your garment. Levi's lists one chart for men's jeans and one for women's; both are keyed to the same labeled size as a waist measurement in inches, and both give inseam options rather than a fixed length. For a given size, the charts give a waist band (for example 32-33 inches for a men's 32, or 30-31 inches for a women's 30), a hip band, and three inseam lengths — 30, 32 and 34 inches in the men's chart; 28, 30 and 32 inches in the women's chart. That 2-4 inch (roughly 5-10 cm) gap between the waist band edges is worth keeping in mind when you sit between two labeled sizes.

Height, inseam and choosing a length

The charts pair each waist size and inseam with an approximate height range, and Levi's guidance on using it is simple: if your height falls inside the listed range and your waist and hips match, the jeans should fit well. If you are outside the range, the brand suggests adjusting the inseam — a longer inseam if you are taller, a shorter one if you are shorter. Since Levi's publishes the charts with height ranges attached, check the chart rows for your waist size rather than assuming the inseam options apply at every height.

What Levi's means by its fits

The labeled size tells the vendor what to ship; the fit name tells you how much room the jeans carry through the seat, thigh and leg. Levi's defines a set of men's fits (Skinny, Slim, Regular, Relaxed) and a longer list for women (Super Skinny, Skinny, Slim, Bootcut, Straight). In the brand's own terms, its men's Skinny is "Slim through the seat and thigh, with a narrow leg opening," while the Regular is the "Classic fit, sits at the waist, with a straight leg from hip to ankle." On the women's side, Levi's describes its Bootcut as "Slim through the thigh with a slight flare at the ankle" and its Straight as "A classic, straight fit that isn't too tight or too loose, from hip to ankle." For the remaining names, read the definitions side by side before you pick — the differences are mostly one or two zones of extra room.

Stretch, body type and between sizes

The guide closes with practical tips. On fabric, Levi's notes that stretch denim mixes cotton with elastic fibers such as elastane (spandex or Lycra) for extra give, and it grades denim into low-, mid- and high-stretch tiers by elastane content (1-2%, 2-4%, and 5% or more). On fit, the brand suggests considering your body type — for example, an athletic build might prefer a relaxed fit for thigh room — and, when you fall between two sizes, deciding first whether you want a snug or a looser fit and choosing accordingly. For care of stretch denim, Levi's recommends washing inside out in cold water and air drying, with machine heat avoided because it can break down the elastic fibers.

A short checklist before you order, using the steps as Levi's gives them:

• Measure waist, hips and inseam per the guide's instructions, with the tape level and snug but not tight.
• Match your waist and hip measurements to the chart row, and choose an inseam from the listed options.
• Check the height range for that row; adjust the inseam if you are above or below it.
• Pick a fit name by reading its definition, not by guesswork.
• If between sizes, decide first about snug versus looser, and check the fabric content for elastane.

How to check the result: the guide itself is at Levi's customer-service help center, under Size & Fit, and you can compare both charts and the fit definitions against your measurements before you buy. If a specific pair's size options or inseam lengths differ from the chart, the product page you are ordering from is the authoritative source; help-center guidance of this kind can be updated, so it is worth confirming the version you read is current.