Stuck Between Two Legging Sizes? Let the Waistband Decide
- There is no universal answer — the right move depends on the waistband and the fabric, not on the number.
- Sizing up is riskier than it sounds: at one store we counted, only 16% of in-stock leggings offered XXL or larger, so returns and exchanges are thin at the top of the run.
- The gap you are choosing between is usually 2 inches of waist — but it is 4 inches at the XL-to-XXL step on some charts, where a size up is a much bigger move.
- If the item is final sale, choose the size with the more forgiving failure mode — usually the larger one.
Short version — Size down when the waistband is wide and the fabric is a soft, low-compression knit. Size up when the band is thin, the fabric is high-compression, or the rise sits low. When the two options are equally plausible, pick the one whose stock still exists in your color.
Between two sizes is the most common message we get, and the honest answer starts with a question back: what does the waistband look like?
Should you size up or size down?
Work through the garment, not your measurements. Five features settle almost every case.
| What the listing says | Move | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wide or contoured waistband, 4"+ band | Size down | A wide band distributes tension; the smaller size will not dig |
| Thin band, foldover, or low rise | Size up | Narrow bands roll when stretched near their limit |
| "High compression", "power flex" | Size up | Compression fabrics are cut small on purpose |
| "Buttery soft", lounge, loose fit | Size down | Soft knits relax with wear and stay relaxed |
| Drawstring at the waist | Size down | The tie removes the risk of a slightly loose waist |
The drawstring case is the cleanest of the five. If a pair has a functional tie, the larger size solves nothing that the string cannot, and the smaller size fits better everywhere else.
What do your measurements actually decide?
Waist and hip, in that order, and they are frequently in different sizes. Measure the waist at its narrowest point, usually just above the navel, and the hip at the fullest point, usually 7 to 9 inches below.
- Hip lands larger than waist on the chart: buy for the hip. A waistband can stretch; a hip seam cannot.
- Waist lands larger: buy for the waist if the rise is high, for the hip if it is low.
- Both land exactly on a boundary: this is the true between-sizes case, and the feature table above is the tiebreaker.
How many inches are you actually choosing between?
Usually one or two, and the published charts show exactly where the boundary falls. Three brands, three ways of drawing the same ladder:
| Size | Girlfriend Collective waist | Bubblelime waist | CRZ Yoga waist |
|---|---|---|---|
| XXS | 22"–24" | — | 23" |
| XS | 24"–26" | 23" | 24.4" |
| S | 26"–28" | 25" | 26.6" |
| M | 28"–30.5" | 27" | 28.5" |
| L | 30.5"–33" | 29" | 30.5" |
| XL | 33"–35.5" | 31" | 32.5" |
| XXL | 35.5"–39" | 35" | — |
Sources: Girlfriend Collective sizing page, the size chart on this Bubblelime legging page, and the CRZ Yoga size guide, all checked Sept. 8, 2026.
Take a 26" waist through all three. Girlfriend Collective lists it twice — it is the top of XS and the bottom of S, so the chart itself declares you between sizes. Bubblelime puts it one inch above S and one inch below M. CRZ Yoga has it sitting between 24.4" and 26.6", which is close enough to S that the tape has already answered.
Notice the boundary numbers on the Girlfriend chart: 24", 26", 28", 30.5", 33" and 35.5". Land on one of those six and you are in the genuine between-sizes case. Land anywhere else and you are not — you are inside a size, and the letter is settled.
Bubblelime prints its own answer next to the chart on every product page: "If in between sizes, please choose the larger size." That is a fair default for a brand whose steps are an even 2" all the way up. It is a worse default at the top of that same chart, where XL to XXL jumps 4" (31" to 35") and a size up is a much bigger move than it looks.
Why is sizing up riskier than it looks?
Because stock thins fast at both ends of the run, and unevenly by brand. We counted in-stock leggings across five catalogs on Sept. 8 and checked which listings still carried a size XXL or larger.
| Brand | In-stock leggings | Offering XXL or larger |
|---|---|---|
| Baleaf | 83 | 94% |
| Girlfriend Collective | 33 | 85% |
| Senita Athletics | 121 | 76% |
| PopFlex | 75 | 76% |
| Bubblelime | 401 | 16% |
Bubblelime is the cautionary line. It has by far the deepest catalog of the five, and by far the shallowest coverage above XL — 66 of 401 listings. If you size up there and it does not work, the exchange options are limited to a small slice of the store.
What if the item is final sale?
Then the question changes from "which fits better" to "which failure is survivable." A legging slightly too big can be worn with the waistband folded, tied, or under a longer top. A legging slightly too small is unwearable.
On final-sale listings, take the larger size unless the fabric is explicitly a lounge or soft knit. Our sister site's guide to checking sale prices covers how to spot which listings are final sale before you add to cart.
What people get wrong here
- Using a jeans size. Denim numbers and activewear letters are unrelated systems, and the brands do not map to each other. Details in our label comparison.
- Sizing up to avoid see-through. Stretching fabric further is exactly what makes it sheer. Opacity is a fabric problem; size up and it gets worse.
- Ignoring length while solving width. A larger size does not add inseam on most brands. If the length is wrong, see inseam by height.
- Buying two sizes to compare. Reasonable at full price, expensive on final sale, and often the return window is shorter on discounted items.
- Trusting a review that does not state a height. "Runs small" from an anonymous body is noise.
Does compression fabric loosen over time?
It relaxes with wear and recovers in the wash, so a pair that feels tight on day one is usually the right size by week two. A pair you cannot pull on is not.
Are the numbers on brand charts body measurements or garment measurements?
Almost always body measurements, meaning the garment itself is cut smaller and stretches to that body. Compare like with like before deciding a chart runs small.
Should I trust the "size up for tummy control" advice?
No. Tummy control comes from band height and panel construction, and a larger size reduces the compression that produces the effect you are buying.
TL;DR — Wide band, soft fabric or a drawstring: size down. Thin band, low rise or high compression: size up. Buy for the hip when hip and waist disagree. Check whether the larger size even exists in stock — at one store only 16% of leggings go past XL.
What if the size you want is sold out?
Check the length options before you give up, because on the brands that sell multiple inseams, a sold-out size in one length is often available in another. Bubblelime is the clearest example: 59% of its in-stock leggings carry two or more lengths, so "sold out" frequently means sold out in one column of a grid.
Second move: check the same silhouette in another color. Discontinued colorways are where the deep discounts sit, and the fit is identical.
Third, and least appealing: wait, and watch a different label while you do. The ends of a size run are the thinnest part of every catalog we count — at one store only 16% of in-stock leggings reach XXL at all — so a sold-out XS or XXL is often a structural shortage rather than a temporary one. If you cannot wait, our sister site's daily deal board lists what is currently in stock at a markdown, and our inseam pages cover choosing a different length.
Sources
- Size availability counts: our tally of 713 in-stock leggings across the public catalogs of bubblelime.com, baleaf.com, senitaathletics.com, popflexactive.com and girlfriend.com, Sept. 8, 2026.
- Published waist and hip charts: girlfriend.com/pages/sizing, crzyoga.com/pages/size-guide and the size chart on bubblelime.com product page BWWB009, all read Sept. 8, 2026.
- Between-length guidance: Bubblelime inseam guide.