"Why's It Small": US Woman Living in SA Calls Out Underwear Size Differences Between America and SA
- American content creator Kourtney Holliday, who moved from the US to South Africa, noticed a surprising cultural difference after three years of living there
- Kourtney, known as @iamkourtneyjade on TikTok, shared a video comparing underwear sizing and cuts between South Africa and America
- South Africans flooded the comments with their own hilarious takes on the comparison
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Source: TikTok
Kourtney Holliday is an American content creator, US Army veteran and digital entrepreneur who packed up her life and moved her family to South Africa. After three years in the country, she has noticed a lot of little differences that only become clear when you actually settle somewhere for good.
On 12 November 2026, she posted a TikTok video under her handle @iamkourtneyjade comparing underwear sizing between South Africa and the United States. In the clip, she pointed out that everything in South Africa tends to run smaller, from road widths and car sizes to portion sizes, and underwear is no exception.
Kourtney explained that she only discovered this after three years of living in the country. When her family visited before the move, they stayed for about a month and had no reason to buy new underwear. It was only when they needed to replace their own that the difference became obvious. She noted that women's and men's options are very different.
South African women's clothing uses a double-digit numeric system that generally aligns with UK sizing and runs about two sizes higher than American numeric sizes. Men's sizing varies by brand and retailer across both countries.
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Watch the video that got South Africans talking below:
Mzansi reacts to the underwear debate
South Africans were quick to jump into the comments section on the TikTok page with their own hot takes:
@Fatzilicious 🍉🇿🇦 said:
"So I'm thin in America?? 😂"
@NgimLo wrote:
"I always knew I was thin, I am just in the wrong country 🤞🏽"
@KwenaP40 added:
"Actually we are not fat, we just in a wrong country 🤔"
@pulengie asked:
"Kanti how gigantic are Americans???" (Translation: "So how gigantic are Americans???")
@Swelihle Luthuli joked:
"Yini amadroz? Amadilozi? 😭😂" (Translation: "What are drawers? Spirits/ancestors?")
More on South Africans and the United States
- Briefly News recently reported on a true crime commentator’s update on another South African refugee case in the USA.
- The United States has issued its highest travel warning for a list of countries, including some in Africa.
- A major American delegation is heading to the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town amid ongoing diplomatic tensions.
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Source: Briefly News
