How to Measure a Dress?

First Things First

Before we start with the measuring, lay down the garment on a flat hard surface and smooth out any wrinkles.

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Steps to Measure a Dress

1. Bust: The measurement is taken from side seam to side seam directly under the armhole or sleeve.
2. Waist: This is the smallest part of your waist. The measurement is taken from side to side directly at the waistline
3. Hip: This is the widest part of your hip, across the hipbone. Measurement is taken approximately 7–9 inches below the natural waistline. The measurement is taken from side to side directly at the hip line
4. Flare: This is length of the flare of your dress. Flare is the bottom wide length of your dress.
5. Strap to Hem: This measurement is obtained from the top of the strap down to the hem.
6. Waist to Hem: The length measurement is obtained from the top of the waistband to the bottom of the hemline.
7. DONE

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Pro Tip: If you are selling clothing online, sign up for the free size chart creator.

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Tips for Taking Measurements:

• Take all measurements lying flat. Do this on a clean floor or table. Hanging clothes can stretch as you measure and if you have them on a dress model of a different size this can skew your measurement.
• Use a flexible tape measure at least 36″ long. Don’t try to take clothes measurements with standard 12″ ruler you’ll end up with an inaccurate measurement. If you have no tape measurement handy and this is somewhat of an emergency, you can always download a printable measuring online.
• Measure twice! If you don’t get the same measurement both times try again.
• Record measurement to the nearest ¼ inch. Anything more specific is irrelevant but remember lying flat measurements are generally doubled (e.g. lying flat waist of 12.5″ can be understood as a 25″ waist) so a ¼ inch could make a difference.
• Take measurements when you’re taking photos. Trying to measure as your listing at your desk ends up taking a lot more time and energy moving back and forth between tasks.

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