How to Measure Your Body

Before you start: what you need

• A soft measuring tape (a tailor’s or sewing tape). A metal tape measure won’t wrap around the body.
• A mirror, to check the tape is level all the way around your back.
• Thin, close-fitting clothes or underwear, and a non-padded bra for bust measurements.
• A helper if possible, for shoulders, inseam and height.

Stand straight and relaxed with your feet together, breathe out normally, and keep the tape snug but not tight: you should be able to slip one finger under it. Write each number down as you go, in inches or centimetres.

How to take body measurements: 12 steps

This is how to take body measurements in order, from the neck down. The numbers on the diagram match the steps below.

1. Neck: wrap the tape around the base of your neck, just below the Adam’s apple, where a shirt collar sits. Used for shirt sizes and the US Navy body fat formula.
2. Shoulders: measure across the back from the edge of one shoulder bone to the other. For the full shoulder circumference used in men’s body types, wrap the tape all the way around at the widest point, arms relaxed.
3. Bust or chest: around the fullest part of the bust or chest, under the arms, with the tape level across your back.
4. Underbust: snug around the ribcage directly under the bust. This is your bra band measurement.
5. Waist: around your natural waist, the narrowest part of your torso, usually an inch or two above the belly button. For body fat formulas, men measure at the belly button.
6. High hip: 3 to 4 inches below the waist, across the top of your hip bones. Useful for trousers and for spotting a spoon body shape.
7. Hips: with feet together, around the fullest part of your seat, usually 7 to 9 inches below the waist.
8. Upper arm (bicep): around the fullest part of the upper arm, arm relaxed at your side.
9. Arm or sleeve length: from the edge of the shoulder, over a slightly bent elbow, down to the wrist bone.
10. Thigh: around the fullest part of one thigh, just below the seat.
11. Inseam: from the crotch straight down the inside of the leg to the ankle bone (or to where you want trousers to end).
12. Height: stand with your back against a wall, no shoes, heels together. Lay a flat object on your head, mark the wall and measure from the floor to the mark.

Measuring a female vs male body

Women and men use the same tape method. On a female body, take the bust and underbust and measure the waist at its narrowest point; on a male body, take the chest and, for body fat and trouser sizes, measure the waist at the belly button. Together these numbers show your body proportions, which is how your body type is worked out.

How to measure your body for clothes

Knowing how to measure body size for clothes saves a lot of returns, and you rarely need all 12 measurements. Here’s which ones matter for each type of clothing:

How to measure inseam on your body

Stand straight with your feet slightly apart, in bare feet or the shoes you’ll wear. Place the end of the tape at the top of the inner thigh, right at the crotch, and run it straight down the inside of the leg to the ankle bone. A helper makes this much easier. Alternatively, measure the inseam of a pair of trousers that fits you well, from the crotch seam to the hem.

How to measure rise on your body

Rise is the distance from the crotch to the waistband. Hold the tape at your navel (or where you like trousers to sit), pass it between your legs and up to the same height at the back. Half of that number is roughly the front rise.

How to measure dress length on your body

Measure from the highest point of the shoulder, where a strap would sit, straight down over the bust to where you want the hem: knee, midi or ankle.

How to measure body length for a shirt and pit to pit

• Body length: from the highest point of the shoulder, next to the collar, straight down the front to where you want the shirt to end. For hoodies and jackets, measure down the back from the base of the neck.
• Pit to pit (chest width): the width across the chest from one armpit to the other. On your body, take your chest measurement and divide it by two; that’s what a shirt’s pit-to-pit should be, plus 1 to 3 inches for comfort.
• Body width: brands that list body width usually mean the garment laid flat, so compare it with half your chest or waist measurement.

How to measure your body for weight loss

The scale doesn’t show where you’re losing fat or gaining muscle, but a tape measure does. To track progress:

• Measure the same spots every time: waist, hips, chest, thigh and upper arm are enough.
• Measure at the same time of day, ideally in the morning before eating, on the same side of the body.
• Check every 2 to 4 weeks. Daily changes are mostly water.
• Keep the tape snug, not tight, and write the results in the chart below.

Your waist is the most useful number for health. Check it against your height in the waist to height ratio calculator, or get your body fat estimate, ratios and shape at once in the body measurements calculator.

How to measure your body without a measuring tape

1. Wrap a piece of string, ribbon or a phone charger cable around the body part, keeping it level and snug.
2. Pinch or mark the point where the end meets the string.
3. Lay it flat and measure it with a ruler or a metal tape measure. A sheet of US letter paper is 11 inches long and A4 is 29.7 cm, if you have nothing else.

This is accurate enough for most size charts. For height without a tape, mark the wall and measure the mark later with any ruler.

Common body measuring mistakes

• Tape not level: it dips at the back, which adds an inch or more. Check in a mirror.
• Pulling too tight or holding your breath and sucking in.
• Measuring over thick clothes or a padded bra.
• Looking down to read the tape, which changes your posture. Use a mirror or a helper.
• Using the wrong waist: your natural waist is higher than where most jeans sit.

Frequently asked questions

Use your measurements