How to take your own measurements
Sizing across brands is far from standardized, and it’s one of the top points of frustration when it comes to shopping, especially online.
Unfortunately, you can’t rely on just knowing your most common size, even within a brand. Not only do brands change sizing standards without notice, but each design can be different (and even within that, there can be slight variances in individual items).
General guidelines
Taking the time to accurately get all the measurements you’ll need is absolutely worth it in terms of reducing annoying returns, so let’s talk about how to do it right.
Do:
Keep your measurements current. Take your measurements when you know your body’s changed or every 6 months, whichever comes first.
Use a retractable measuring tape. Not only is it way easier to use when you’re measuring yourself, but it also hits just the right level of snugness for measuring accurately.
Wear just your undies. This matters because most sizes are only an inch or so of difference, with lots as small as half an inch of difference.
Don’t:
Try to account for how you want your clothing to fit. The cut and fabric of every garment is going to fit differently and (good) designers account for this in their sizing.
Read the tape measure as you’re taking your measurements. Moving like this can throw things off, so just mark the spot with your finger, then read it.
Suck anything in or hold your breath. The fit matters, not the numbers.
Measuring the magic three
The three most helpful measurements to know for online shopping are: hips, waist, and chest (meaning your full bust). Use a full-length mirror and ensure the tape measure is level all the way around.
For your hips, the easiest way to explain where exactly you should be measuring is looking for the widest part of you (including your butt).
For your waist, you’re doing something similar: look for the narrowest part of you. If you’re rocking a tum, you’ll probably want to do the opposite here and account for your widest point where your body creases when you bend side to side.
For your chest, look for the fullest point when you’re wearing whatever undergarments you wear most often (this can affect fit pretty drastically, so yeah, you gotta put your underwire bra on if that’s what you usually wear).
Now, if this is feeling like a lot, you can buy most of what you need with these key measurements. But if you’re on a roll, there are a few more measurements that can be helpful to have on hand.
Inseam and more
Your inseam will help you determine what pant length to buy when you have options. You might have an existing pair of pants with a length measurement, but be careful about assuming it’s your actual in-seam. Clothes aren’t always made precisely, and fabric can shrink (for better or worse).
Here are two ways you can take your own in-seam measurements:
Find a pair of pants that fit your body closely without too much stretch and are the length you like. Measure from the crotch to the very end of the fabric and you’ll have a precise preferred in-seam!
To account for the varying lengths you might want for different shoes, put on the shoes you’ll wear most often and use a metal tape measure. If you have a lot of “front stuff” that makes it difficult to see exactly where your crotch is, use something like a standard ruler to extend that point outward to measure down to the floor.
We’ve put together a list of other measurements worth taking note of depending on what you might be looking to add to your wardrobe in the future. Most of these are pretty straightforward but we do recommend measuring both arms/legs to see which one is bigger since you often have a dominant side that may be a bit bigger (and it isn’t always the same as your dominant hand!).
Measuring your shoulders or vertically between measurements (chest to waist, waist to hips) can be a bit trickier but a mirror is your friend here. Or a friend is your friend: call your bestie and take each other’s measurements for an easier time and moral support.
Keeping your measurements in a note on your phone means you don’t have to whip out a tape measure every time you want to buy something.
