How to Measure Your Body?

Whether you are buying a shirt for your everyday office routine or need one for vacation, you can never land on the best option until you know the art of taking your body measurements. 

Right body measurements decide whether a standard size would be too tight, too loose, or sit perfectly comfortably. Besides comfort, accurate sizing makes you purchase clothing which actually looks good on you. 

Speaking precisely of a shirt, then the trickiest point to measure is your bust area. This becomes especially true for online purchases where you can't try on the shirt before ordering it. 

Also, people make most of the mistakes while measuring their chest area as they don't know how to stand while taking measurements, where and how to place measuring tape, etc. So today, we are going to pen down a quick method to get proper chest measurements. Give it a read so you can ace it on your next shopping haul! 

How to measure chest size? 

• Measuring chest size with a friend's help

Remember that the measuring tape needs to stay level throughout around your bust. If it sags, twists, or rolls on itself at any point, the measurements would go wrong. 

Since you cannot see whether the tape is level and perfectly wrapped from behind, it's always a better idea to get someone's help. To start taking your chest measurements with your friend, you first need to take off your shirt, vest, or any other upper piece of garment you are wearing as it will add unnecessary bulk. 

After this, stand in a relaxed pose, without flexing your muscles or puffing out on your chest as this could alter the measurements. Hold your arms out from your body and ask your friend to wrap the measuring tape around the widest area of your bust. Generally, this is the area right below your armpits. 

Ask your friend to make sure the measuring tape is perfectly parallel to the floor and at the same level around the front and back of your chest. Note down the measurements and get a button-down shirt exactly as per the noted size. However, if you want a shirt in a loose fit, add two inches to the measurements. 

• Measuring chest size with string

Don't you have a flexible measuring tape? Don't worry since you can still measure your chest area just with a piece of string, ribbon, or even with your mobile charger. 

For this, you need to wrap the string around the widest area of your bust or ask a friend to do so for you. Make sure the string is not tight around your chest but properly snug. 

Mark the string where its other end meets the starting end. Then lay the string on a flat surface and use a metal tape or ruler to measure from the starting end of the string to the marked point. Note down the measurement as your chest circumference. 

• Half chest method 

If you can't get anyone to help you measure your chest size, this method will work for you. In this, you take measurements of a shirt that fits you perfectly, rather than measuring your chest around. 

Even though you can't get exact measurements of your chest with this method, it's still a good way to get accurate sizes for button-downs and other loose-fit clothes. 

For this, you need to spread out a perfectly fitted shirt on a flat surface like on the floor or a table. Then put one end of the measuring tape, just below the sleeve, at one side seam and stretch it to the other side seam. 

Note this half measurement and multiply the number by 2 to get the full chest size. 

Decoding chest chart

Every clothing brand comes with its sizing system. What's small for one might be medium or large for another. So to ensure that you're spending money on the perfect fit, you need to go through the size chart in detail. 

Generally, if you have a 34-36’ chest size, it means small-sized shirts will fit you best. On the other hand, 38-40’ comprises medium, 42-44’ comprises large, and 46-48’ comprises XL size. Also, pay attention to whether the given size chart is displaying size in inches or centimetres. 

One thing that's important to mention here is that most size charts provide garment measurements instead of body measurements. For example, if a given shirt's chest size is 42.5 inches, it probably means it would fit best to chest size 39-39.5 inches. 

Thus, to get a well-fitting shirt, it's recommended to add 2-3 inches to the measurements taken. For instance, if your chest measures 42 inches, get a shirt that measures 44-45 inches to the chest. This will be perfect for a slim yet comfortable fit. Likewise, for a loose-fitting shirt, add around 6-8 inches to the measured chest size. 

This way, you'd be able to get a shirt that provides a full range of motion without billowing out the fabric. 

FAQs

• Do you inhale when measuring your chest?

Yes, you need to inhale or breathe in while measuring around your torso. 

• Is the shirt size the same as the chest size?

This is not true for most cases and you need to add 2-3 inches to your chest measurements to get the right sized shirt.