When youre shopping for
occasions dresses whether its online or in store, its so important that you have your measurements ready.
In order to do that you will need to know how to take your own measurements, as the most common cause of returned dresses is the fact that they dont fit properly due to incorrect measurements.
Read on to see just how easy it is to take your own measurements here:
The most common reason for new occasions dresses to be returned is due to incorrect or no measurements being taken. This is especially common with online stores who have no physical address for you to try a dress on before you buy.
All you need is a measuring tape, preferably two meters long and displaying measurements in cm and inches. You can get one of these from any craft, fabric or tailors store and it shouldnt cost much.
Now its time to measure, so get ready to strip off!
Waist This measurement is easy to find, just put the tape around your tummy and make sure that its roughly two inches above your navel. You need to make the tape tight, but not pull it so its uncomfortable, and dont suck in your tummy.
Hips To find this figure youll need to measure around the widest part of your hips. Again make sure that the tape is tight, but not constrictive.
Bust To measure your bust size you need to pass the tape around your shoulder blades at the back and the fullest part of your bust. To get the most accurate measurement you should wear a bra that is similar to the one that you plan to wear with your dress. Make sure that the tape stays close to your bust, but isnt squeezing into it.
Your actual bra size has nothing to do with your bust measurement.
Height This is your actual height and to get this measurement you need to stand, without shoes, on a flat surface and measure from the top of your head to where your heel touches the floor.
Hollow to hem This is the distance between just under your throat, the hollow at the top of your rib cage, and the hem of your dress. You may not know how long your dress is as it hasnt been made yet, but dont worry. You will know how long its roughly supposed to be, is it knee-length, tea-length or floor-length?
For knee-length measure from your hollow to your knee or just above. Tea-length is about three inches above your ankle and floor length is, well, the floor of course. Remember to be barefoot to take this measurement.
The dress maker will then base the exact length of your dresses hem on your measurements.
In the case of floor-length dresses the dressmaker will usually add on something like about two and a half inches of length to account for your high heels.
Your actual dress size means fairly little when dealing with tailor made dresses, it may be that your dress comes out slightly bigger or smaller than a dress in your size, because these are generic sizes meant for women who are roughly the same size, whereas your dress is specifically and only for you.
When you take the measurements if youre unsure err on the side of caution and choose very slightly larger as its much easier and faster to reduce a dresses size than to let one out.
Its always better to get a friend to help you with these measurements, and if you do youll reap the benefits as youll be able to shop online safe in the knowledge that the dress that you order will fit you and you can save a lot of money!
