77kids by american eagle announced the debut of its first back-to-school collection this week. What is most interesting about this debut to me, are the size and fit features that came with it. In addition to great new styles and an all-new kids’ denim line, 77kids has revamped its website to make finding the right size and fit of clothing for your child incredibly easy to do.

77kids goes above and beyond the basic size chart by offering a Size Wizard tool, a visual fit guide for kids’ denim, and international fit guidelines to help customers who use the metric system.

Of these features, the 77kids Size Wizard is my favorite. Simply type in your child’s gender, age, and 2 key measurements, and the wizard will automatically locate the size of clothing that is most likely to fit the child. Easy. The Size Wizard does have its drawbacks, though…here’s a quick assessment:

• Pros: All you need to know are your child’s height and weight. The tool recommends the larger size when your child’s measurements fall into two consecutive size ranges. The wizard allows you to enter either British or metric measurements.
• Cons: The wizard does not include other body measurements – like hip or chest – that are found on the official 77kids size chart. If your child’s height and weight measurements differ by more than one size, the wizard will not recommend a size.
• Overall: If your child’s measurements are relatively on track, this is a great tool for finding sizes quickly. If your child’s measurements are not typical, or if you want to know hip, chest, or sleeve length size guidelines, you’ll have to look at the full size chart and locate the best size yourself.

The 77kids Jeans Fit Guide is an interactive guide showing children wearing the different styles of jeans available on the site. The guide allow shoppers to zoom in on products and rotate the child to see the jeans from different perspectives. A video aspect of the guide shows the kids jumping up and down and turning in circles to show off the jeans and how they fit. If you prefer still images, the product pages now include photographic detailing typically found on higher-end, adult fashion sites. The photos give you different perspectives of the product and up close shots of stitching and styling details. If you can’t see the product in person, these tools help you visualize what your child might look like in them.

International fit guidelines are typically an afterthought for most brands. And, unfortunately, standard conversion charts aren’t very useful, because sizes vary by brand. 77kids took steps to better support international customers, though, by offering their specific size charts in cm and Kg, as well as by allowing shoppers to enter metric units into the Size Wizard.

I don’t typically rave about retail sites, but this is one that appeals to me because it helps take the guess-work out of finding children’s clothes that fit. What’s your take on these new tools?

Sources:

• http://www.ae.com/77kids/
• http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090728005242&newsLang=en