How to Measure Yourself for a Dress Size Online

Three numbers decide your dress size online: bust, waist and hip. Take them with a soft measuring tape over thin clothing or bare skin, held level all the way around and snug enough to stay put without pressing in. Then compare those three numbers against the size chart on the product page you are buying from, rather than against the letter size you usually wear.

What do I need before I start measuring?

A soft tailoring tape, a mirror and five quiet minutes. If you only have a stiff steel tape or none at all, use a ribbon, a phone charging cable or a piece of string: wrap it around, hold the meeting point between your fingers, then lay it flat against a scale or ruler and read the length.

Wear thin, close-fitting clothes, or nothing on top at all. A kurta, a dupatta tucked at the waist or a thick sweatshirt can add an inch or more, and an inch is often the entire difference between two sizes. Wear the bra you will actually wear with the dress, because a padded bra and a soft bra give you two different bust numbers.

Stand normally in front of the mirror. Do not hold your stomach in, do not stand extra straight, keep your feet together and your arms down. You want the measurements of the body that will wear the dress, not of a posed version of it.

Where exactly should the tape sit for the bust?

Around the fullest part of your bust, usually across the nipple line. Take the tape under your arms and across your back, then check in the mirror that the tape at the back sits at the same height as the tape at the front. A tape that creeps up at the back is the most common reason a bust measurement comes out too small.

Breathe normally and read the number on a relaxed out-breath, not while holding your breath in. Keep your arms down by your sides while you read, because lifting them changes the number by a surprising amount.

If a size chart also asks for "underbust", that is taken directly under your bust, where a bra band sits, pulled snug.

Where should I hold the tape to measure my waist?

At your natural waist, which is usually the narrowest part of your torso, often an inch or two above your navel. It is not the line where your jeans sit, which is normally lower. To find it without guessing, bend sideways: the crease that appears is your natural waist. Put a finger on that spot, straighten up, and wrap the tape around it.

Keep the tape parallel to the floor and snug rather than tight. You should be able to slide one finger underneath it comfortably. Many dresses have a defined waist seam, so this is the measurement that decides whether a dress sits where it was designed to sit or rides up under your ribs.

How do I measure my hips without missing the widest point?

Around the fullest part of your hips and seat, which for most people falls roughly 18 to 22 cm below the natural waist. Instead of measuring at one height and hoping, run the tape around at three slightly different heights and keep the largest reading. Check side-on in the mirror that the tape has not dipped at the back, since that is usually where the width actually is.

How do I measure myself when there is nobody to help?

Measuring alone works perfectly well as long as you anchor one end of the tape.

1. Hold the zero end of the tape flat against your body with your left thumb.
2. Carry the rest around your back with your right hand and bring it around to meet the zero end in front.
3. Look straight down, or use the mirror, and read the number where the tape crosses itself.
4. If the tape slides at the back, press your back flat against a wall for a second to level it, then step forward slightly and read.
5. Take every measurement twice. If two readings differ by more than half an inch, take a third and use the middle one.
6. Note the numbers down in both inches and centimetres, with the date. Charts use both units, and you will not want to repeat this next month.

Which measurement should I go by if I fall between sizes?

When two numbers point to one size and the third points to another, going up is usually safer for anything fitted. A tailor can take a side seam in for very little; letting a seam out is often impossible because there is no fabric left inside.

Why does my size change from one label to another?

Because there is no single standard behind the letters S, M and L. Every label drafts its own pattern block, so the same letter can differ by a couple of inches between two labels, and even between a woven cotton dress and a stretch knit one from the same label. Fabric changes things too: something with elastane in it can fit a smaller listed measurement comfortably, while rigid cotton or linen cannot.

That is exactly why the size chart on each product page is the thing to trust. Open it every single time, even on a repeat purchase, and match your three numbers to it before you choose. If a page lists garment measurements, meaning the flat width of the dress, remember that number will be larger than your body number because it includes ease for movement.

Keep your measurements saved in your phone notes and you can size any dress in the collection or any co-ord set in under a minute. If something still arrives wrong, read what to do when a dress doesn't fit before you cut the tags off, and check the returns and exchanges policy for how the process works. For hem length, the midi dress length guide by height explains where a hem will actually land on you.