How to measure yourself for plus size lingerie

Your dress size is the worst place to start

Ask ten women what size they wear and you will get ten confident answers. Ask them to measure, and about half will land somewhere different from what they said.

This is not carelessness. Dress sizing is not standardised — the same body can be a 16 in one shop and a 20 in another, and plus-size ranges vary more than straight-size ones because there are fewer of them and less convergence between houses. When a brand asks you to convert your dress size into 1X–4X, they are asking you to translate from a language with no dictionary.

Measurements do not have this problem. Forty-four inches is forty-four inches. It takes five minutes to get them, and once you have them written down you never have to guess on this site again.

What you need

• A soft fabric tape measure. Not a metal builder’s tape, which will not sit flat against a curve. If you do not own one, a length of string and a ruler works — mark the string, then measure it flat.
• An unpadded, non-push-up bra, or nothing at all. Padding adds up to two inches at the bust and will send you a size up.
• A mirror, or somewhere you can see your back. The tape rides up behind you more often than not, and a tape that is two inches higher at the back reads small.
• Somewhere to write six numbers down.

Take them at a consistent time

Two things move your measurements, and both are worth knowing about rather than being surprised by.

Through the day. Most people measure slightly larger at the waist in the evening than first thing. The difference is usually under an inch, but it is enough to move you between sizes if you are borderline.

Through the month. Bust and underbust commonly change by an inch or more across a menstrual cycle, and the waist can shift too. If you are measuring for something you will wear on a specific date, measure at the point in your cycle closest to that date.

Neither of these means the measurement is unreliable. It means you should take them at the same time of day when you re-measure, and that if you are between sizes, the larger number is usually the safer one to order.

The six measurements

Take each one twice. If the two readings differ by more than half an inch, take a third and use the middle value. Small errors compound — half an inch out at the bust plus half an inch out at the hip is enough to land you in the wrong size.

Keep the tape snug but never tight. You should be able to slide one finger underneath it comfortably. Stand relaxed, arms down once the tape is in place, and breathe normally. Do not hold your breath or pull your stomach in.

1. Bust

Around the fullest part of your chest, usually across the nipples. Keep the tape level all the way round and check the back in a mirror.

If your bust is very full, the tape will want to slide down at the front and up at the back. Anchor it at the front with one hand, walk the other hand round to the back, and check the level before you read the number.

2. Underbust

Directly beneath your bust, where a bra band sits. Snug — noticeably firmer than the bust measurement — and level at the back.

This is the measurement most size charts skip, and it is the one that decides band fit on anything with a closure. It is also not the same as your bra band size. Bra band sizing involves an addition that varies by brand and country. Write down the actual tape measurement, not your band number.

3. Waist

The narrowest part of your torso, usually an inch or two above the navel. If you cannot find a narrow point — and plenty of bodies do not have an obvious one — bend sideways. The crease that forms is your natural waist.

This is not where your trousers sit. Trousers usually sit lower, at or below the hip bone.

4. Hip

Around the fullest part of your hips and seat, usually seven to nine inches below the waist. Feet together, and take it twice — this is where the tape most often sits too high.

If your seat is fuller than your hip bones, the fullest point may be lower than you expect. Run the tape down and find the widest reading rather than guessing at a height.

5. Torso length

From the top of your shoulder, straight down the front of your body, through the crotch, and back up to the same shoulder.

This is the measurement almost no size chart publishes, and it is the one that decides whether a bodysuit, teddy or one-piece works. Two women with identical bust, waist and hip can need different sizes in a one-piece because one has a longer torso. If the garment’s torso is short for you, it pulls at the shoulders and the gusset no matter how well everything else fits.

It is hard to keep the tape level doing this alone. Take it with someone else if you can, or stand against a wall so you can feel the tape sitting straight.

6. Height

Not a body measurement as such, but write it down. Height changes where a hemline falls more than any other single factor. The same chemise that hits mid-thigh at 5’4″ hits high thigh at 5’9″ — which is why every fit record on this site publishes the model’s height alongside her measurements.

When your numbers straddle two sizes

This happens to most people, and it is not a problem with your body or with the chart. Bodies are not proportioned to a grading rule.

What to do depends on the garment, and specifically on how much it stretches:

• High stretch — the fabric forgives a three to four inch difference. Size down for a closer fit, or stay at the larger size for a skimming drape. Most babydolls and chemises sit here.
• Medium stretch — forgives one to two inches. Go up.
• Low stretch — forgives almost nothing. Always go up. Satin slips and structured pieces sit here.

Every product page on this site states its stretch level, and the sizing advice on each style tells you which measurement matters most for that cut. On a babydoll, bust and torso decide the fit and the waist barely matters. On a bodysuit, torso decides it. On a brief, hip decides it.

Six mistakes that put people in the wrong size

The tape was pulled tight. The single most common error. A tape pulled firm can read two inches under — a whole size.

The tape was not level at the back. Check in a mirror, or measure against a wall.

Measured over a padded bra. Up to two inches added at the bust.

Held your breath, or pulled the stomach in. Measure the body as it actually sits when you are relaxed. A garment fitted to a held breath is uncomfortable for a whole evening.

Used the trouser line as the waist. The natural waist is the narrowest point, higher than most people think.

Skipped torso length. Bust and hip can both be perfect and a one-piece will still pull.

Write them down

Six numbers, once:

Height
Bust
Underbust
Waist
Hip
Torso length
Date measured

Keep them in your phone notes. Re-measure every six months, or after any significant change.

Then compare them to the fit record

Every product page on this site publishes the measurements of the woman in the photograph and the exact size she is wearing. That is a fit record, and it exists so you can compare your numbers to a real body rather than to an abstract chart.

If your numbers land somewhere the chart does not cleanly answer, send them to us. Someone who has handled the sample will tell you honestly whether it will work — including when the answer is that it will not.