I have always bought clothes by sizes and never by measurements until I got into Pin Up and Vintage clothing. I would go shopping or try and order online and would never know what size to get or whether something would fit or not just by looking at it. I tried guessing for a while and that would only work maybe 1 out of 5 times. Recently I have been trying to purchase something by my measurements, but was really doing just that “trying”.
I have decided that I need to know my measurements and figured I would share what I learned just in-case anyone else has encountered the same problem. This way when someone says “What are your measurements?” You can just blurt them out. So here is what I learned by doing some research.
- You need to measure your bust from the fullest part of your bust and do not pull your tape measure too tight. You sure make make sure you are wearing a natural bra and not a super padded one as this will distort your bust measurement.
- Next you need to measure your waist. Measure this at the most natural part which would be the smallest part of your waist.
- Last you will need to measure your hips and these are at the fullest point just like your bust guidelines.
Here is a great YouTube video showing you how to take your measurements.
I learned that my measurements have absolutely nothing to do with the size clothing I use to buy. If I went to buy a vintage dress from lets say Electric Lemonade I would have to try on everything to find out if it fit or not. This is because most Vintage clothing does not have the size or measurements anywhere like clothing today does.
When I did my measurements I thought “wow I am not very small”. So, I was just looking around at measurements of past icons and came across this article of Marilyn Monroe. Seems people are obsessed with what her measurements were. She was gorgeous whether she was small, average, or larger boned.
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