Tips On How To Take Your Own Clothing Measurements At Home

When you’re shopping for clothes online, it’s important to have your most up-to-date body measurements on hand to help you find the perfect fit. At LTD, we’re trying to improve the customer experience by including more specific sizing details for select apparel products. But if you’re going to take advantage of the new sizing details, it definitely helps to have a few crucial clothing measurements to use as a reference point. Find some tips on how to take your own clothing measurements at home in this how-to guide for women’s apparel.

Gather Your Measuring Tools

The most important tool you need to take your own measurements is a flexible measuring tape. Flexibility is crucial to finding your exact measurements. It is also a nice tool to have in the house for a variety of other tasks that require measurements on surfaces that aren’t perfectly linear. You’ll even find the flexible measuring tape very helpful for a variety of arts and crafts projects. It’s also important to try to take your measurements in front of a mirror.

Tips for Using Measuring Tape

It might seem obvious, but for most people who haven’t taken their own measurements, it is helpful to know right from the start that it’s easier for certain measurements if you don’t start at zero. It’s easier (and actually more accurate in some cases) to move in just a few inches, record the measurement and then subtract those few inches from the overall total.

Measuring Tip: Remove clothes that will get in the way of taking accurate measurements. But keep wearing clothes that you would wear with the specific garment you’re measuring for. For example, if you’re going to be wearing a bra under the blouse you’re shopping for, take your bust measurement wearing a bra to get the most accurate bust measurement.

Clothing Measurements – How to Measure Bust

When measuring the bust, wrap the tape measure around your back and under your arms. Then pull the tape measure around the most prominent part of the bust. Don’t pull too tight, and also try to make sure that the measuring tape is straight in the back, doesn’t dip, and doesn’t have any tangles that will distort the measurement. When measuring alone, try to do so in front of a mirror so you can check the back and ensure your measuring is level.

Clothing Measurements – How to Measure Waist And Hips

There’s a difference between measuring the waist and measuring the hips. For measuring the waist, wrap the measuring tape around your torso at the bellybutton. If measuring your hips, wrap the measuring tape around your hips at the fullest part of the hip area. The hips are typically a more helpful measurement than the waist when trying to determine the right fit for apparel like pants and capris, while the waist measurement comes in handy if you’re shopping for apparel like summer dresses, including those swing, sheath or maxi dresses.

LTD’s Garment Measurements – Definitions

When shopping for women’s apparel online at LTD, you’ll have access to size charts that will make it easy to compare your own measurements and find the perfect size. Here are the definitions included in the size charts to keep in mind while taking your measurements at home. These measurements include body measurements that you can measure, such as bust, waist and hips, as well as clothing measurements like sweep, length and inseam to help you get a better idea of how the garment is tailored or how it will hang on the body.

Bust is measured at the fullest point of the bust.

Waist refers to the natural waist, which is the narrowest part of the torso, located between the bottom of the rib cage and the navel.

Hip is measured around the fullest part of the hip area.

Sweep refers to the circumference of the bottom hem of the garment. Measure by laying the garment flat and measuring the hem from end to end. Then, double the measurement to get the circumference.

Length is measured from the highest point of the shoulder to the hem of the garment.

Rise is the distance from the middle of the crotch seam to the top of the waistband.

Inseam is the length from the crotch seam to the hem.

Remember to always double or triple-check your measurements to make sure they’re all accurate before you start shopping. Once you have your measurements recorded, you’re all set to start searching for new additions to your spring and summer wardrobe. LTD has an exciting new selection of women’s apparel for the season change. Check out a few of our new dresses, tops, fashion accessories and more to update your wardrobe for less!