How to Measure Your Bust, Waist and Hips for a Size Chart

The size chart wants three numbers and you have a tape, a mirror and about two minutes. Measured over a sweater, at the wrong waist or with the tape pulled tight, those numbers land you a size off, and the parcel goes back. Below is where the tape goes for each, in the words of the pattern standard and five brands’ own guides, and what to do with the fourth number that falls out of them.

The quick version

Measurement	Where	Wear	Tension
Bust	Fullest part of the chest, tape level all round	The bra you will wear with the garment, non-padded	Moderate, not pulled
Natural waist	Narrowest point between hip bones and lower ribs	Nothing bulky	Snug, not tight, breathing normally
Hips	Fullest part of hips and seat, feet together	Non-bulky bottoms	Level, not compressing

Write all three down in inches and centimetres, with the date. Then subtract waist from hips: that fourth number decides which jeans fit, and it is explained at the end.

Bust

The pattern standard defines it as the maximum horizontal girth measured during normal breathing, with the tape across the fullest point, “preferably measured with moderate tension over a brassiere that is expected to be worn underneath.” Three brands say the same thing in plainer words.

• Girlfriend Collective: at the fullest part, “wearing a non-padded and non-compressive bra (or no bra) with arms down and relaxed to your sides”, tape relaxed.
• Universal Standard: tape parallel to the floor, “Do not pull it tight; it should lie flat against your body without compressing.”
• Superfit Hero: “Measure your bust/chest at the widest point. No band or cup sizes necessary.”

Check the back in a mirror. A tape that rides up behind reads small. And note that this is a clothing measurement, not a bra measurement: bra guides run a second tape under or above the bust, which is a different job and is covered in how to measure your bra size.

Waist, and why you want two

The chart’s waist is the natural waist: the narrowest point of the torso, which the standard places “between the top of the hip bones (iliac crests) and the lower ribs”, measured breathing normally with the abdomen relaxed. NYDJ’s guide puts it “usually just above your belly button” and says to keep the tape “snug but not tight”; Universal Standard says “typically an inch or two above your belly button”; Girlfriend Collective calls it “the smallest part of your waist, usually where your torso bends.”

That is the number a dress or a blazer chart wants. Trousers are the complication, because a mid-rise waistband sits below the natural waist. Democracy prints where each of its rises sits: mid rise “Sits just above your high hip”, high rise “Sits at your natural waist”, sky rise “Sits at or above your natural waist”. So take a second measurement where you actually wear your jeans, and write both down with labels: natural 34, jeans 37, or whatever yours are.

Hips

Around the fullest part of the hips and seat, with your feet together, which is NYDJ’s instruction. NYDJ says that fullest point is “usually about 7–9 inches below your natural waistline”; Universal Standard says “approximately 7–9 inches below your natural waist”; Democracy’s chart header states its hip figures are taken “7” from waist”. Girlfriend Collective’s instruction is the shortest: “Measure the fullest part of your bum wearing non-bulky bottoms.”

The inches are where to look, not where to stop. If your fullest point is lower than 9 inches down, measure there.

What four charts do with the numbers

Each of these publishes the inches behind its sizes, so you can test your three numbers against real rows before ordering.

Brand and chart	Bust	Waist	Hips	Sizes covered
Girlfriend Collective L	37½ to 40½ in	30½ to 33	41½ to 44	XXS to 6XL, up to a 60½ bust and 64 hip
Superfit Hero 3X	51 to 54	46 to 50	58 to 62	L to 7X, up to a 71 bust and 90 hip
NYDJ 16		34 to 35½	44 to 45½	00 to 18, 14W to 34W
Democracy 16		35	45	0 to 18, 14W to 24W

Read across a row and the same three numbers can land on different labels: a 35-inch waist with 45-inch hips is a 16 at Democracy and sits at the top of NYDJ’s 16 row, while at Girlfriend Collective it is an XL. That is normal, and it is why the numbers travel and the label does not. Superfit Hero’s page also links a printable paper tape if you do not own a soft one.

The fourth number: your drop

Subtract your natural waist from your hips. That difference is what a trouser pattern assumes, and brands draw their charts around a fixed one: NYDJ’s rows run 10 inches apart from size 00 to 28W, except the 22W row at 9, and Democracy’s run 10 to 10½. Universal Standard cuts two straight-leg jeans on either side of that line, one “for those who have less than a 10” waist-to-hip difference” and one for over 10. If your drop is 12 and a regular cut gapes at the back waist, the pattern is the reason, not the size, and the pairs cut for it are in best jeans for curvy women.

Before you order

• Measure in the underwear you will wear with the garment, and for a dress that means the bra you will wear.
• Keep two waists if you buy trousers, and use the natural one for anything else.
• Let the largest measurement pick the row. Too small at the hip cannot be let out. The lookup itself is in how to find your dress size.
• Re-measure after a weight change or a few months; the chart is stable, the body is not.

The rest of the fit guides are in clothing and fit.

Where these numbers come from

The definitions are the EN 13402 body-measurement standard as summarised on Wikipedia; the brand instructions, chart rows and size ranges are copied from Girlfriend Collective, Superfit Hero, NYDJ, Universal Standard and Democracy’s own size guides on 20 September 2026. The drop figures are our subtraction of each chart’s waist column from its hip column.

Frequently asked questions

How do you measure your bust for a size chart?

Around the fullest part of the chest with the tape level front and back, wearing the bra you will wear with the garment, and without pulling. The pattern standard says moderate tension over a bra; Girlfriend Collective says a non-padded, non-compressive bra with arms down and the tape relaxed; Universal Standard says do not pull it tight. Read the number while breathing normally.

Where is the natural waist?

The narrowest point of the torso, between the top of the hip bones and the lower ribs, usually an inch or two above the navel. A mid-rise waistband sits below there, so take a second waist measurement where your waistband actually rests if you are buying trousers, and label both.

How far below the waist do you measure hips?

At the fullest point of the hips and seat, feet together. NYDJ and Universal Standard both put that at roughly 7 to 9 inches below the natural waist, and Democracy's chart states its hip column is taken 7 inches from the waist. The fullest point is what counts; the inches are a guide to where to look.