Measuring Yourself

Place tape around neck where collar usually sits. Measure around your bare neck. Take a loose measurement at this point for a comfortable fit -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the neck.

Measure around fullest part of your chest (usually at the nipple). Hold the tape sufficiently easy -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the body. Keeping tape up under armpits, and make sure that it is centered well over shoulder blades in back and over fullest part of the breast in front.

Measure around your body, where your belly is. Hold the tape sufficiently easy -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the body. Thin people should measure at their thinnest point and large people at their widest.

Place tape around neck where collar usually sits. Measure around your bare neck. Take a loose measurement at this point for a comfortable fit -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the neck.

Place tape around neck where collar usually sits. Measure around your bare neck. Take a loose measurement at this point for a comfortable fit -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the neck.

Measure your body from the end of one shoulder to the other end of shoulder (place the tape at the end of shoulder bone, where the arms are connected).

Measure around the fullest part of the wrist. Hold the tape sufficiently easy -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the body. Take the measure around your bare wrist, not over your shirt.

Open and turn up shirt collar. Place tape around collar band and measure from center of collar button to far end of buttonhole. (FIT TIP -Another way is to use a shirt with a well-fitting collar. Lay the collar out flat and measure from center of collar button to far end of buttonhole)

Undone the cuff button. Bend elbow slightly, measure from center of collar in the back, across the shoulder seam to the elbow, down to the place where your cuff should end (somewhere between your wrist bone and knuckles). (FIT TIP-The sleeve must be long enough to fit well even when the arm is bent. Otherwise the cuff recedes far behind the wrist if you bend or lift your arm.

Measure around waist just above trousers waistband, at the height you normally wear trousers. Measure exactly, to a tightness you would feel comfortable wearing -allow room for one index finger between the tape and the body for proper fit. Do not measure over belt or waistband. (FIT TIP- Another way is to take one of your best fitting pair of trousers and measure around trousers waistband from center of button to far end of buttonhole.)

Stand with heels together. Measure around hips at widest point of seats. Hold the tape sufficiently easy - allow room for one index finger between the tape and the body. Make sure your trouser pockets are empty before applying the tape measure.

Measure from top of waistband in the front, passing tape through your legs and pulling comfortably at the crotch, to top of waistband in the back. Total measurement is your rise.

Have standard dress shoes on at this step, and adjust trousers to waist position you normally wear trousers. At your side, start tape from top of waistband and measure down to length desired (measure to the bottom of the desired length, even if you intend to have cuffs). If you are not wearing shoes then measure to the floor. (FIT TIP - The length should be long enough so that the trousers bottoms touch the shoe all the way around.)

Keep trousers in the same position as in taking trousers length. Measure from the crotch seam down to length desired, following the inside leg seam of your trousers. Make sure you measure down to the same point as for trousers length. (FIT TIP - Another way is to take a pair of trousers with the correct length for you, then measure from bottom of trousers leg up along the inside leg seam all the way to the crotch.)

Measure around the width of your trousers thigh at the widest point possible, which should be a couple of inches below the crotch. Measure the circumference over your trousers. (FIT TIP - Another way is to lay the trousers flat, with the front and back creased smooth. Measure across the width of trousers thigh and double the measurement.

Measure around the width of your trousers thigh at the widest point possible, which should be a couple of inches below the crotch. Measure the circumference over your trousers. (FIT TIP - Another way is to lay the trousers flat, with the front and back creased smooth. Measure across the width of trousers thigh and double the measurement.

Measure, at back, from the end of one shoulder seam to the end of the other shoulder seam.

Turn up collar. Measure, at back, from the center of the lower collar seam to length desired. Make sure you measure down the seam in the middle of the back. (FIT TIP - The jacket should be long enough to completely cover your buttocks. The well-cut jacket falls to the palm of the hand or the tip of the thump.)

Measure sleeve from shoulder seam straight down to length desired. Start from the center of shoulder seam, and make sure to curve over the top of the sleeve all the way to the bottom, or else the measure may come out short. (FIT TIP - Jacket sleeve should fall just to the bottom of the wrist.