A holy grail when it comes to taking your measurements, is having a good quality measuring tape, which will provide accurate measurements and be long-lasting as well.
An elementary tip is to measure yourself while you have minimal layers of clothing, preferably fine fabric. Ensure to firmly place but gently pull the tape close to your body, without creating a depress.
Try to create almost a routine of measuring yourself - doing it regularly and in the same method, ensures conclusive measurements. If you have a friend or another person helping you out, make sure it is the same person every time, this assures the same manner of measuring is repeated every time or one that is akin.
How do Men and Women’s body measurements differ?
Given the natural physiological differences between the body of a man and women's, some areas are bound to be dissimilar. Men generally seem to have a wider chest and broader shoulders, whereas women tend to be widest at the hips. The way fat is stored in the body also differs, from being in the abdomen for men to settling on thighs for women.
However, to take your own body measurements, it is quite simple with a few steps to get the most reliable measurement.
How to Measure Your Waist
While many get confused between their waist and hip, the correct placement of the measuring tape to measure your waist is just at the level of your belly button, which is the natural dip of the torso, also the smallest part of the torso. First, wrap the tape around your waist, while keeping it at a uniform level, using your belly button as a guide. A common mistake to look out for is making sure the tape sits flat on your skin throughout. However, don’t try to suck in. This way, you would end up with the wrong measurements which might goof up any tailoring ideas. Instead, breathe out comfortably and then begin measuring.
How to Measure Your Hips
For this measurement, it is important to stand with your feet together. Place the beginning of the tape on one of your hips, and circle it back around, intercepting the widest part of your buttocks and bringing it back where you started. It is important to you have feet together for this particular measurement as having your feet apart could instead give you a measurement much larger than you hips. Similarly, confirm that the tape is levelled and sits flat on the skin.
How to Measure Your Chest
While this is recommended to do with a friend since it could get a little tricky, doing it yourself is entirely possible as well. Position the tape bringing it from your back so that it is just underneath your armpits. Bring it forward to the broadest part of your chest, usually where the breast nipples are located. We recommend doing this in front of a mirror, where you can easily read the measurements instead of straining your neck and risking an inaccurate result.
How to Measure Your Arms
To measure your arms, let them hang free, do not try to force them straight. Leave your muscles relaxed and wrap the tape around your bicep. This is usually the thickest part of your upper arm, giving you the width of your arm for short-sleeved clothing.
How to Measure Your Thighs
Thighs are measured standing, by finding the thickest part of your thigh. Usually, this is around the midpoint of the thigh or just below the buttocks. Find the thickest point of your thigh - this would differ according to different body types. A common mistake made when measuring thigh sizes is pinching the tape too hard, making it sink into the skin. Avoid this by gently wrapping the tape around the thigh with very little pressure - only to hold it in place.