Do Zara Tags Include Sizing Symbols? A Shopper’s Myth, Debunked

December 21, 2021

Wouldn’t it be nice if sizing was universal and shopping didn’t involve extensive guess work in order to determine what will fit? The age-old issue of inconsistent sizing—especially for women’s clothing—has yet to be solved. Behind every online order or trip to the mall is a group text of women debating how true-to-size a pair of jeans really runs. It’s exhausting! But alas, a wave of hope swept over our collective consciousness when TikTok videos pointing out a possible explainer for sizing at Zara went viral.

Was the retailer with the least user-friendly website in the history of online shopping really about to reveal a sizing secret that could solve all unsatisfactory dressing room woes? It sounded too good to be true—like, way too good to be true.

In a few now-viral TikToks (Like this one by @muddlethroughmummy and this one by @lucyc.jpeg), users demonstrated how the simple circle, square and triangle symbols on Zara’s tags could be used to pre-determine how each item would fit. A circle would signify the item running large, while a triangle would mean it ran small and a square meant it was true to size. Brilliant! Game changing! But unfortunately, a myth.

Believe me, I am just as disappointed to be debunking this theory as you are to be reading it. According to a spokesperson from the brand, the symbols on the Zara tags do not represent the item’s sizing but rather, which Zara collection the piece is a part of. If you aren’t a Zara expert, you may not have even noticed that the retailer consistently carries three different collections of clothing: Zara Woman, Zara Basic and TRF. The symbols correlate to which area of the brick-and-mortar stores the clothing item should be grouped with.

Now for a crash course. TRF stands for Trafaluc. The name does not mean anything, but the collection usually provides trendier pieces at lower price points aimed at a younger consumer. The TRF line is a great way to experiment with seasonal trends without spending the big bucks. Next, there’s Zara Basic, which is pretty self-explanatory. Think classic white t-shirts, practical blazers and denim galore. And finally, Zara Woman has a higher price point with better quality pieces that fit both trendy and classic styles.

I ironically turned to retail therapy to combat my disappointment in the sizing scandal. Go ahead and play retail roulette and order two of each of the cutest things on Zara’s site right (you know you’ll have to return one anyway!). In the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming of consistent sizing—hopefully, Zara or other fashion retailers took notice of the Internet’s collective short-lived relief and will implement some tag symbols of their own!