What's My Size?

If you do any shopping online at all, you should know your measurements.

I'm not saying measurements are "nice to have," or an optional thing to make shopping easier, I'm saying that if you don't know your measurements, you are blatantly doing yourself a disservice that can and probably often does result in frequent returns, wasted money, and ill-fitting outfits.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

While there are plenty of brands with inconsistent sizing and size charts that are nothing more than some numbers in a table that don't reflect their actual garments at all, taking wild guesses about your size is just as useless. Not to mention, if you ever want to get into vintage and secondhand shopping online, you simply cannot go by the size tags as the scale has drastically changed over time.

So, how do you take your measurements?

First, you need a cloth measuring tape. I recommend looking locally at your nearest fabric and craft store, the laundry aisle at your nearest drugstore or big box retailer like Target, or, ordering from a site for sewing supplies like Wawak. They're almost always less than five bucks and there are even extra long (up to 120 inches) versions.

The main measurements you're gonna need for womenswear are the bust, waist, and hip. If you wear pants, you'll also want your inseam. Here's how to figure yours out: