Chest and shoulder sizing

[skiiper]

About 2 years ago, I bought a wool coat in Germany. The size says 44 (European). The coat fits me pretty well, but I'm actually a suit size 36 (North American). Now I always thought that the conversion between the European size and the North American size is +10, but when I measured the coat from shoulder to shoulder the distance is 44cm, could the size 44 be referring to this measurement instead?

The other thing is, I saw another peacoat online, and this thing has a chest size of 36, but shoulder length of only 40cm, do you guys think this will fit me well?

 

[alliswell]

In my experience, shoulder size is the more consistent measure of the two. A 38 suit coat will have shoulders between 17.75 and 18.25". The chest may vary from 39" to 43". In your case it sounds like you got a US size 34 jacket with a 38" chest measurement, which would fit your size 36 chest pretty snuggly.

And no, the coat won't fit. 40cm is 16", and your shoulders are probably bigger than that. You could measure the size 44 you own to confirm this. Lay it down on its front and measure the distance between the shoulder seams. I'm guessing that this will be 17", which means that a 16" coat won't fit.