Taking measurements for Vintage Clothing

[Emer]

Um, how do you meassure yourself for vintage clothes? Google is only bringing up what the meassurements back then used to be in relation to what they are now--but not how to actually meassure myself. So far I've been okay because I'm buying repro clothes, but now I'm ready to venture into real vintage clothing.

When doing the bust, is it across the actual bossoms, or is it your chest?
Is your waist above or below your bellybutton? (Widest or smallest part?)
Are your hips meassured at the widest point, or where they start? (I have high hip bones, does that make a difference?)
When meassuring shoulder to hemline, is the tape meassure put on top of your actual shoulder, or held in front? (Or I've heard the hollow of your throat?)

I'm sorry if there's a thread on this, but again, I wasn't netting much on my search. Thank you!

 

[texasgirl]

I've had the most luck in actually measuring something that fits me good and is similar in style and then comparing it to what I'm thinking of purchasing.

It's a tricky business that's for sure. I've made a few mistakes as I'm sure we all have. Luckily, you can resell vintage items to one of us if it doesn't work out. Start with low priced items so you won't be too upset- good luck!

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

When doing the bust, is it across the actual bossoms, or is it your chest?

Fullest part of breasts.

Is your waist above or below your bellybutton? (Widest or smallest part?)

Smallest part of your waist.

Are your hips meassured at the widest point, or where they start? (I have high hip bones, does that make a difference?)

Around the fullest part of your bum.

When meassuring shoulder to hemline, is the tape meassure put on top of your actual shoulder, or held in front? (Or I've heard the hollow of your throat?)

This one I don't know!

 

[KittyT]

This one I don't know!

Try searching some sewing sites for how to measure garments. It's the same now as it's always been.

Also, when purchasing, don't forget to leave a little room for ease.

 

[kamikat]

Typically, measurements are taken at the fullest part of the bust, at the waist and about 6in below the waist. To find your actual waist, bend to the side and stick your hand into the indent. That is your waist. Remember, you need a couple inches of wearing ease for most areas. If your bust is 36in, you want a top or dress that is probably 38in. If you wear a girdle, you can probably get away with a dress or skirt closer to your actual measurement.

 

[LaMedicine]

When meassuring shoulder to hemline, is the tape meassure put on top of your actual shoulder, or held in front? (Or I've heard the hollow of your throat?)

When you want the length of a dress, you should have someone measure you from the base of your neck in the back to the hemline-- this is typically the back length, and from the hollow of your throat to the hemline for the front length. However, because of the breast, the front length will not be exact enough to indicate fit. Back when (I have a number of decades on me as an adult so I mean in my youth ) when we spoke about the length of a garment, it meant the back length.
For skirt length, we tied a string around the waist, then measured from the string to the hemline at the side and the back.

 

[Laughing Magpie]

On your body - the distance from shoulder to waist is typically measured on the back, from the prominent little vertebrae at the base of your neck to the waistline (and the waistline is determined as kamikat described - it's the smallest circumference). That's a tough measurement to do on yourself, and even for the other ones, it's best to have a helper.

On your clothes - the shoulder to waist should also be measured on the back from the collar or neck hemline to the waistline; the "bust" measurement is usually done across from the bottom of each armpit; and the waist is the narrowest width across (or if there's a seamline there it's obvious what to measure); and the hips are the fullest width across. Another helpful measurement is the "shoulder width" - measured across the back from shoulder seam to shoulder seam at the widest part. Sellers should tell you how they actually did their measurements though.

Remember that vintage sellers are pretty much always giving the measurements of the garment, not of the body that would fit the garment - so I'll also chime in and agree that even though it's good to know your actual measurements, the best way to determine the measurements of a garment that will fit you is to measure garments that you already own!

Get a feel for how different kinds of garments (sweaters, knits, flowing dresses, jackets, etc) vary in their measurements compared to your body.

The difference between your actual measurements and those of a garment is called "ease". You'll find that you can have as much as 4" ease across the bust in a flowing blouse or shirtdress, or as little as 1" in a slim, fitted one. Meanwhile, in a tight fitted sweater, you might even want a bit of negative ease so that it stretches to fit your curves. On pants, especially of thick, sturdy fabric, I don't actually like any waist ease, for instance.

One other trick I have for finding garments that fit (especially because I'm not in the enviable position of always already owning a similar garment to measure!) is to look at the style and decide which of the measurements is probably the most "important" and use that to guide me.

Sometimes the most important measurement is the one part of your body that gives you the most fitting trouble - for example, I have relatively wide shoulders, especially for my petite frame, so I've grown to know what shoulder width I need. So even if everything else looks like it would fit, if there isn't at least 15" across there, I know it will be too small.

Other times the most important measurement is the one that defines the most fitted part of the garment. For instance, I've discovered that a whole lot of ease in the bust is almost irrelevant - if the waist is small. If the waist was what the designer intended to be the tightest measurement on you, then you let the bust and hip ease be as large as the designer intended too. Same applies to the shoulder width in tops and dresses.

In this way I've bought dresses that were being marketed to women with 40" busts, but they look fine on my 34" bust because (in my case) the waists were 27-28" with 15" shoulder widths.

Maybe I think too much about this! Anyway, I hope some of it was helpful!

 

[Sunny]

Get a feel for how different kinds of garments (sweaters, knits, flowing dresses, jackets, etc) vary in their measurements compared to your body.

The difference between your actual measurements and those of a garment is called "ease". You'll find that you can have as much as 4" ease across the bust in a flowing blouse or shirtdress, or as little as 1" in a slim, fitted one. Meanwhile, in a tight fitted sweater, you might even want a bit of negative ease so that it stretches to fit your curves. On pants, especially of thick, sturdy fabric, I don't actually like any waist ease, for instance.

One other trick I have for finding garments that fit (especially because I'm not in the enviable position of always already owning a similar garment to measure!) is to look at the style and decide which of the measurements is probably the most "important" and use that to guide me.

Sometimes the most important measurement is the one part of your body that gives you the most fitting trouble - for example, I have relatively wide shoulders, especially for my petite frame, so I've grown to know what shoulder width I need. So even if everything else looks like it would fit, if there isn't at least 15" across there, I know it will be too small.

Other times the most important measurement is the one that defines the most fitted part of the garment. For instance, I've discovered that a whole lot of ease in the bust is almost irrelevant - if the waist is small. If the waist was what the designer intended to be the tightest measurement on you, then you let the bust and hip ease be as large as the designer intended too. Same applies to the shoulder width in tops and dresses.

In this way I've bought dresses that were being marketed to women with 40" busts, but they look fine on my 34" bust because (in my case) the waists were 27-28" with 15" shoulder widths.

Maybe I think too much about this! Anyway, I hope some of it was helpful!

Extremely well said! :eusa_clap I've also had a lot of success in "strategic" fitting like this... as well as failures when I ignore them. My critical measurement is hip, since my upper body and waist are all in proportion to each other. So even if everything else works, I need to have at least 39" for the hips or I'm sunk. Long sleeves, too; I need 24" or more. But like you, I'm fine with lots of bust ease, as long as the rest fits okay.

 

[Miss Sis]

Not to confuse anybody, but it's a bit trial and error sometimes. For instance, my bust measures 37" but dresses etc with 36" busts - measurement, not sized '36' - fit much better than a 38" measurement. I think this might be to do with having a small ribcage but don't really know! To start with I bought larger things thinking I needed it but soon found that wasn't the case.

I guess it also depends on the style of dress etc you are buying. Obviously with a very fitted shift dress you will have to make sure all the measurements are good, wheres with a circle skirt, say, you just need to check the waist measurement since the hips are free.

If you are buying on-line rather than in a shop where you can try before you buy, there is always the risk it won't fit. Sellers have been known to give widely varying measurements that don't always match the garment when you get it!