If you shop in the United States, you probably know your size as a number or a letter: an 8, a 10, a medium. Bellcorpus garments are made in Brazil and sized the company’s own way, by your height and weight. The labels look unfamiliar at first, and that is worth a short explanation.
The size range
There are ten sizes:
- Mini Mini and Mini, the two smallest;
- P, M and G, from the Portuguese for small, medium and large (pequeno, médio, grande);
- GG, the next size up;
- EG50, EG52, EG54 and EG56 for fuller figures.
There is no XS to XXL on our pages, and we deliberately do not publish a conversion from one system to the other. The two were not built from the same measurements, so any table matching them would be a guess presented as a fact.
Why not just use your US size?
Because US sizes are less fixed than they look. Women’s clothing sizes in the United States are voluntary, not mandated. A commercial standard published in 1958 by the National Bureau of Standards was declared voluntary in 1970 and withdrawn entirely in 1983, and the ASTM standard that followed in 1995 has not been widely adopted. Over the decades, sizes have drifted, in part through vanity sizing, and size charts vary from one manufacturer to the next.
That is why one brand’s 8 can fit like another brand’s 10. For an ordinary dress, a small mismatch costs you a little ease. For a garment designed to fit close to the body, it matters more, because a size that is too small does not just look different; it can become uncomfortable.
Why height and weight
A smoothing garment has two jobs to do at once. It has to go around you, and it has to be long enough from top to bottom. A bodysuit such as the Open-Gusset Bodysuit with Legs runs from the bust to just above the knee, so a size that suits your hips but is too short in the torso can pull at the shoulders and crotch. Height speaks to the length; weight, taken together with height, speaks to the circumference.
The same idea appears in sewing. New Mexico State University’s extension guide on choosing a pattern size says the pattern type you choose should generally be determined by your height, your stage of figure development and your back-waist length.
The company’s own examples
The fit guide gives three worked examples from Bellcorpus’s own size table, converted from metric:
- 4’11” (1.50 m) and about 90 to 99 lb: Mini Mini
- 5’6″ (1.67 m) and about 157 lb: M
- 5’6″ (1.68 m) and about 187 lb: G
They are reference points, not a full chart. If you sit near one of them, that size is the place to start. If you fall between two, read on.
Measuring at home
Most people know their weight. Height is worth checking rather than remembering, and if you are between sizes, three body measurements help us advise you. The NMSU extension guides give simple, reliable instructions:
- Height: from the top of your head to the floor, without shoes.
- Bust: around the fullest part.
- Waist: at your natural waistline.
- Hips: around the fullest part of the seat.
And a few habits that make the numbers trustworthy:
- Use a tape measure that does not stretch.
- Have someone else take the measurements while you stand normally, if you can.
- Take snug, not tight, measurements. Pulling the tape in does not help; it only risks pointing you to a size that feels too small.
- Write the numbers down as you go, with the date. Bodies change, and the guide recommends measuring again from time to time rather than relying on old figures.
If you are between sizes
Do not guess, and do not pick the smaller size hoping for a firmer hold. A size chosen too small can lead to the pressure marks and tingling described in our article on signs a garment is too tight. Instead, send us your height, weight and, if you have them, your bust, waist and hip measurements, and tell us which piece you are looking at. A strapless piece like the Strapless Hook-Front Bodysuit has to stay in place at the bust, while a brief only has to fit from the waist down, so the right answer can differ from one garment to the next.
The fit guide has the link to reach us. Ask before you order, and we will help you choose.
Sources
- Wikipedia. US standard clothing size. Accessed 2026-10-02.
- New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. Selecting a Pattern Size for Perfect Fit (Guide C-205). Accessed 2026-10-02.
- New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service. Check Your Pattern for Proper Fit (Guide C-220). Accessed 2026-10-02.