Čeština
When measuring, you must only be wearing underwear. You also need to consider which sort of underwear, especially when measuring your chest circumference, because changing bra can sometimes also cause a change of a few centimetres. There is a crucial difference between taking measurements in a cloth sports bra or a reinforced push-up bra.
It is very important when taking circumference measurements to keep the tape measure truly horizontal.
The tape measure must not point up or down so that the measurements are not distorted.
To begin with, let’s clarify where exactly the measurements should be taken.
Chest circumference
When measuring chest circumference, guide the tape measure over the breast tips, i.e. the nipples.
Waist circumference
The waist circumference is the narrowest point on the body. It may not always be where the belly button is, as many people often think. Usually it is just above the belly button.
Hip circumference
The hip circumference, on the other hand, is the widest point on the body. It is measured across the buttocks, over the most prominent part.
Do not pull the tape measure around the body when measuring! The tape measure must be “just right” around the body. It must neither stretch nor hang.
And one more important measurement – the length of the garment:
The length of garments for the lower part of the body (skirts) are measured from the waistline, so for this measurement you should, as I wrote above, have a ribbon tied around your waist so you can be sure where to measure the length from.
The length of garments with a lowered waistline:
Skirts and dresses tend to have a lowered waistline – they are called “hip-hanging”. For these, it is necessary to measure how much the skirt is lowered from the waist and continue from that point to the length of the skirt. At the lowering point you need to measure a control circumference at the lowered waistline.
Dress length:
Dress length is measured from the seventh cervical vertebra. For most people the seventh cervical vertebra is easy to feel, it is the most prominent, the place where the neck “ends”. From this point, the length of the back is measured down the middle of the back. It is measured down to the waistline (“marked” with a tied ribbon – the narrowest point on the body) and from there the whole length of the garment is measured downwards.