UGC for Fashion and Apparel Brands: Try-Ons, Fit, and Briefs

This guide covers the formats fashion and apparel brands commission, the fit information every try-on should include, how to choose creators by size range, shipping and sizing logistics, the fabric and origin claims creators shouldn't improvise, and a brief add-on you can copy. For where the finished videos go on your store, see UGC on ecommerce product pages.

Fashion UGC formats and what each one does

Try-ons and size comparisons do the job product photography can't. Styling content does the job a lookbook can't, because it shows the piece on a real body in a real setting. Most brands need both. For using the finished videos on product pages, see UGC on ecommerce product pages.

Fit information every try-on should include

A try-on without fit information is just a pretty video. Make these items required in the brief, not optional:

• Creator height, spoken or as on-screen text, for example "5'6"."
• Size worn and their usual size in your brand or in comparable brands, for example "wearing an M, I'm usually an M."
• A fit verdict in plain words: true to size, runs small, runs large, roomy in a specific area, cropped on them, length hits at the ankle.
• Movement: walking, sitting, raising arms, bending. This shows how the fabric behaves, where it rides up, and whether it's see-through in daylight.
• 360 views: front, side, and back, with the back given at least as much time as the front.
• Close-ups of fit points, such as the waistband, shoulder seam, hem length, and stretch.

Honest fit beats flattering fit

If a creator says a piece runs small, keep that in the video. The FTC requires endorsements to reflect the endorser's honest opinion, and a shopper who buys their usual size because the video hid a sizing quirk becomes a return. You can still choose which videos to run. But don't edit a creator's fit verdict into the opposite of what they said, and don't script "fits perfectly" for someone it didn't fit.

Choosing creators by size range and body type

Plan your creator lineup the way you'd plan a size run. Start with your size chart and your customer, then fill the gaps.

1. Map your size range. List the sizes you sell (for example XS–3X, or 00–24) and mark the ones that sell most and the ones that get the most fit questions or returns.
2. Cover the range, not just the middle. Pick creators at the small end, the middle, and the extended end. If you sell extended sizes, show them. A shopper in a 2X looks for someone in a 2X.
3. Vary height within sizes. Hems, rises, and inseams look different at 5'1" and at 5'10". This matters for dresses, pants, and outerwear.
4. Match the customer. Consider age range, style, and where your customer wears the clothes (an office, a campus, the outdoors).
5. Check fit honesty in their samples. Good fashion creators already say "this runs big on me" in their past videos.

Our portfolio scorecard covers general quality checks. For fashion, add one question: do their samples show garments moving, from the back, in daylight?

PRODUCT / COLLECTION: [NAME]
SIZE RANGE SOLD: [e.g. XS-3X]

SLOT | SIZE WORN | HEIGHT RANGE   | CUSTOMER / STYLE NOTE      | CREATOR
1    | [XS-S]    | [under 5'4"]   | [e.g. petite, office wear] | [ ]
2    | [M]       | [5'4"-5'8"]    | [e.g. casual, weekend]     | [ ]
3    | [L-XL]    | [5'4"-5'8"]    | [ ]                        | [ ]
4    | [2X-3X]   | [any]          | [ ]                        | [ ]
5    | [ANY]     | [5'9"+]        | [tall: hems and inseams]   | [ ]

GAPS TO FILL NEXT ROUND: [ ]

Sizing and shipping logistics

Fashion UGC goes wrong in the mail more often than on camera. Decide these points before you send the brief, and write them into it.

If the creator keeps the clothes and posts on their own account, that free product is a material connection. The FTC's guidance for influencers says to disclose when you get "free or discounted products or other perks," and that in video, the disclosure belongs in the video itself, not only in the description. See FTC rules for UGC for the wording. If you only run the footage as your own ads, plan the license instead, as covered in UGC usage rights for brands.

Shot list for try-ons and styling videos

• Light: daylight from a window or outdoor shade, so colors read true. Name the colorway in the video, because screens shift color.
• Framing: full body, head to shoes, on a tripod at about waist or chest height. A mirror selfie is fine as a stylistic choice but shouldn't be the only angle.
• Background: uncluttered and not the same color as the garment.
• Turn: a slow 360-degree turn, then a walk toward the camera and away from it.
• Movement test: sit, reach up, and for activewear, squat or stretch.
• Details: a close-up of the fabric texture, a stretch pull, the inside seams or lining, and the label or care tag.
• Opacity check for light colors and leggings, in daylight.
• Styling: for "3 ways to wear," keep the hero piece identical and change the shoes, layers, and accessories, with a clear title card for each look.
• Clean B-roll: 5–10 seconds per look without talking, for ad editors.

Creators planning their own sample shoots can use our list of sample video ideas. The shot list above is for brand briefs.

Returns-aware messaging

A fit-focused video can help a shopper pick the right size, but only if it's honest and specific. Write the brief to encourage that:

• Ask creators to tell viewers who the piece suits and who might size up or down ("if you're between sizes, I'd go up").
• Ask them to point out anything a shopper could be surprised by: a sheer fabric, a cropped length, a stiff fabric that softens with wear, a dry-clean-only label.
• Don't script claims you can't support, such as "never pills," "wrinkle-free," or "lasts for years." Durability and performance claims about fabric need evidence like any other product claim.
• Keep size and fit language consistent with your size chart and product page, so the video and the page don't contradict each other.

Fabric, origin, and "Made in USA" claims

Fashion creators often add details the brief didn't ask for: "it's 100% cotton," "made in the USA," "this is bamboo." Those are product claims, and the FTC has specific rules for them. This is general information, not legal advice.

• Fiber content. The FTC's guide to the Textile and Wool Acts says that if a written ad for a textile product mentions or implies a fiber, the fiber content required on the label must also appear in the ad, minus the percentages. If a creator names a fiber in on-screen text or a caption you publish, match it to the label and include the full fiber content in the ad copy.
• Exact fiber names, especially "bamboo." Give creators the fiber names from your label. The FTC says that unless a product is made directly with bamboo fiber, it "can't be called bamboo," and should be labeled and advertised with the proper generic name, "such as rayon, or 'rayon made from bamboo.'" A creator saying "these bamboo pajamas" can turn a correct label into an incorrect ad.
• Made in USA. Under the FTC's standard, an unqualified "Made in USA" claim means all or virtually all of the product is made in the US. That includes implied claims, such as flags or "American-made quality" in a video. Since the Made in USA Labeling Rule took effect in 2021, unqualified claims that don't meet the standard can bring civil penalties, including online.
• Eco and durability claims. "Sustainable," "recycled," "never pills," and "waterproof" all need evidence like any other claim. Put the ones you can support on the approved list, and keep the rest out.

Fashion brief add-on

Paste this under your main UGC brief.

SIZING
Please send by [DATE]: height, usual size in [BRAND or similar],
and (optional, only if you're comfortable) measurements.
We'll ship: [ONE SIZE / TWO ADJACENT SIZES: X and Y]
Wrong fit? Message us by [DATE] for a swap before filming.

PRODUCT
Items: [STYLE NAME - COLOR NAME - SIZE]
Keep or return: [YOU KEEP IT / RETURN BY DATE, LABEL INCLUDED]
Prep: steam or press before filming.

REQUIRED IN EVERY TRY-ON
- Say or show: "I'm [HEIGHT], wearing a [SIZE]"
- Your honest fit verdict: true to size / runs small / runs large
- Front, side, back + slow 360 turn
- Walk, sit, reach (activewear: squat/stretch)
- Close-ups: fabric, stretch, waistband/hem, care label
- Daylight; name the color as "[COLOR NAME]"

STYLING (if requested)
Hero piece: [ITEM]. Looks: [WORK / WEEKEND / EVENING]
Same hero piece in every look; change shoes, layers, accessories.

FABRIC AND ORIGIN (say exactly, or don't mention)
Fiber content: [FROM LABEL, e.g. 60% cotton, 40% polyester]
Origin: [FROM LABEL, e.g. Imported / Made in USA]

PLEASE DON'T
- Claim durability or performance we haven't listed
  (e.g. wrinkle-free, never pills, waterproof)
- Call the fabric "bamboo," "organic," or "sustainable"
  unless it's on this brief
- Comment negatively on anyone's body, including your own
- Use filters that change the garment's color

DELIVERABLES
[N] x vertical 9:16 edits, [LENGTH] each
5-10 sec silent B-roll per look
DISCLOSURE (if posting on your account): in the video itself.

When the lineup and brief are ready, you can post the brief on CreatorsUGC (our platform), where creator profiles show sample videos, so you can check fit honesty and framing before you choose.

FAQ

Sources

1. Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers — Federal Trade Commission
2. FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking — Federal Trade Commission
3. Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business — Federal Trade Commission
4. Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts — Federal Trade Commission
5. How to Avoid Bamboozling Your Customers — Federal Trade Commission
6. Complying with the Made in USA Standard — Federal Trade Commission

CreatorsUGC publishes this guide. We run a UGC marketplace, so we have an interest in the topic — we link to independent sources for facts and label illustrative examples.