What Size Am I?

Women who shop online for clothes usually know their dress size or US size, but not their full body measurements. It is already puzzling to have to shop at different stores like Forever 21, Zara, H&M, ASOS and have to deal with non-standardized sizing, but to not have your own body measurements and wanting to shop online to find affordable and chic clothes would be a disaster.

I would like to highlight that the best way to shop online is to know your own body measurements and then shop at online stores that provide good clothing measurements. The more detailed the clothing measurements the webstore gives, I believe, the more serious they are of making sure you fit into the piece you are thinking of buying.

Finding your own dress size gives you a good starting point to finding a good fit. Just knowing your dress size though, is only good at brick and mortar retail stores where you can try them on. If you buy online, two stores selling a US size 6 may have totally different measurements entirely! So get your own body size.

Here's how to measure your body size:

What you need?

1. A tailors measuring tape (those soft flexible fabric looking ones)

2. If you don't have a measuring tape, find a string or thin rope. Use it to take point, then measure the points with a ruler.

Upper Body - For tops, shirts, blouse, tees, tunics, cardigans

1. Measure your bust/chest size which is the fullest part of your chest. Bust/chest size.

2. With help from a friend, measure your shoulders from tip to tip. Shoulder length.

3. Measure around your waist at the smallest part of your mid section. Waist size.

4. Measure your upper arms (bicep area). It is useful to know how the armholes fit in that top. Arm.

Lower Body - For pants, skirts, tights

1. Measure your waist at the smallest part of your mid section.

2. Measure the widest part of your hips. If you do not know where to measure, try around 6-7 inches below your waist.

3. Measure your inseam which is the inside part of your leg from the crotch to the feet. This measurement will let you know whether you need your pants hemmed or not or if it is too short for our height.

4. Take note of the rise of the bottoms you plan to purchase. If it is a low rise pants, then the waist size provided for the pants would be larger depending on how low it rests on your hips.

For an illustration, this is how retailers measure the clothing they stock. By understanding how retailers or manufacturers measure the clothing pieces and knowing your own body measurements, hopefully the next time you purchase something online, that piece should fit you to a T!

Now you are ready to take on the online women's clothes shopping world by storm!

If you want to find clothes that fit you when it arrives in the mail, find a Women's Fashion Online Clothing Store that takes clothing measurement details seriously.