How to measure your waist?

Measuring your waist isn’t tricky at all. Finding the right spot to measure, though?

Now, that can be a bit elusive.

Which remains a frustration for many women. After all, together with your hips and bust, waist circumference is among your body’s three most important measurements.

We have a few handy tips that will help you pinpoint the exact location to measure.

Of course, we’ll also outline the whole process of how to measure your waist.

How to measure your waist the right way

1. Remove any clothing around your waist

You can either fully remove your clothes or lift them enough to uncover your stomach. In any case, the tape measure must be laid directly against your bare stomach.

2. Find your actual waist

Here comes the trickiest part. In general, your waist is located in the area located below your rib cage and above your hip bones. This area feels way softer to the touch and is often the narrowest part of your torso.

A good reference point is your belly button – the right spot should be located either around or just a little above it.

3. Wrap the measuring tape around your waist

Keep the tape parallel to the floor and make sure it doesn’t twist. It shouldn’t poke into your skin. You should feel comfortable, as this is how clothing will envelop your body.

It’s essential to neither exhale nor inhale too much. Just breathe as you normally would.

4. Write down your measurements

As with other body measurements, make sure to note your waist circumference in both inches and centimeters. It’ll help out with shopping globally or at brands that stick to either of the two systems.

Where is my waist?

An often-seen misconception to look out for!

Too many people believe the waist is located lower than it really is. 

The result has been way too many disappointing purchases of jeans or pants. That, and a lot of product returns.

The biggest misconception we’ve seen is that the waist is located where the hip bones are. 

This is completely wrong.

This misunderstanding is often rooted in the design of low-rise jeans or pants. Low-rise jeans might wrap around your hip bones, but this is not your actual waistline.

If we use jeans as a reference point, high-waisted jeans are a better choice. You’ll notice they fall around the same spot as your actual waist measurement. 

Why? Because this design was made to address your real waist.

In general, mid-rise or low-rise fit will have a measurement that’s larger than your actual waist circumference. The gap is usually around 1,5-6 inches (or 4-15 cm).

Don’t worry about this, it’s actually quite normal. As we pointed out, your natural waist is at your torso’s narrowest point. Moving lower and lower, your body becomes wider and wider.

However, some specifics depend on your body type.

Women’s body shapes and waist circumference

The “moving lower → body becoming wider logic” holds true for women with an hourglass or pear body shape.

Such is not the case for women who have an apple or rectangular body shape. These two body types have a less-defined waist.

What does this mean?

Basically, even mid-waist or low-waist jeans can fit your actual waist circumference. 

However, maybe you want them to fit as they are supposed to. In such cases, you’ll need a larger size to accommodate the intended mid-waist or low-waist design.

You might be interested in our guide to measuring hips where body shape also plays a significant role.

The link between sizing & fabric elasticity

Most people consider the size of pants to actually show waist circumference. In reality, sizing and actual measurements can differ substantially.

Here is where sizing becomes fickle. Your size can pretty much vary, depending on:

Brands use very elastic materials for many jeans or pants. Their goal is to accommodate as many customers as possible in a comfortable way. As a result, you might notice some of the waist or hip measurements might be on the smaller side to ensure a proper fit.

The bottom line is:
Always consider fabric elasticity when shopping around for your size!

This sounds easier said than done, though. Especially when you’re buying clothes online! 

Fortunately, there are size recommendation tools which take fabric elasticity into account.

This is what Size Sense does. Our tool considers fabric elasticity so customers can get the well-fitting clothes they deserve.

In fact, we always request that fashion designers or brands include fabric elasticity in their measurements. Thanks to this, our algorithms deliver accurate size recommendations for a delightful online shopping experience.