Oversized, relaxed, and true to size describe three genuinely different things, and mixing them up is the number one reason an online order doesn't fit the way it looked on your screen. Oversized fit means a garment is cut with intentionally larger measurements throughout, including the shoulder seam, which is what gives it that dropped, boxy silhouette rather than just a looser one. Relaxed adds room through the body without touching the shoulder or sleeve line. True to size follows your usual measurements.
The shoulder seam is the real tell
The fastest way to tell these apart on a product page is to look for any mention of the shoulder line, not just the body width. A relaxed fit usually keeps the shoulder seam close to your actual shoulder, with the extra room added below it, through the chest and waist. An oversized fit drops the shoulder seam past your actual shoulder point, and that's what creates the boxier, borrowed-from-someone-bigger look. Two t-shirts can share the exact same chest measurement and wear completely differently, all because one keeps the shoulder in place and the other lets it drop. This is also the simplest way to separate an oversized fit from a regular, true-to-size t-shirt: a regular cut keeps every seam close to the body, while oversized changes the shoulder line itself.
Fit isn't only decided by the cut
The pattern isn't the only thing doing the work. Fabric changes how a fit actually reads. A cotton-spandex build with some stretch and recovery pulls a garment slightly closer to the body no matter how it's cut, because the fabric wants to snap back to shape. A 100% cotton build with no stretch drapes looser and softer, so the exact same pattern ends up looking, and sitting, more relaxed and lived-in. Two pieces cut from an identical pattern can genuinely wear differently depending on which build they're made from. Worth checking the fabric composition alongside the fit description instead of treating them as separate questions.
What Size to Order in an Oversized Fit
A size chart tells you the garment's actual measurements, not some size label's assumption about your body. The genuinely useful habit is measuring a piece you already own and love the fit of, laid flat, then comparing those numbers directly against the chart instead of matching your usual letter size. This matters most for oversized pieces, where sizing down from your usual pick often lands closer to what you actually pictured, since the cut is already adding room the label doesn't account for. Chest width and shoulder-to-shoulder are the two numbers worth checking first. They tell you more than garment length usually does.
What this actually looks like in practice
Want a piece that reads intentionally boxy and dropped. Look for oversized in the description and check that the shoulder measurement is noticeably larger than your own. Want extra room without the dropped shoulder. Relaxed is the word to look for, and the shoulder measurement should sit close to true to size. Neither. True to size is built to your standard measurements with no added room anywhere in the pattern, and it's the safest starting point if you're not sure which of the three you actually prefer.
COZY's oversized tees are cut with a deliberately dropped shoulder for that boxy look, while pieces built on the cotton-spandex construction sit closer through the body for anyone who wants less room. Checking the shoulder measurement against your own before you buy is the difference between a fit that looks intentional and one that just looks big. Browse the fits for yourself in the Core Collection.