How to ACTUALLY measure your hips?

Measuring your hips is crucial if you want well-fitted clothes. You’d be surprised how many types of clothing rely on a proper hip measurement.

Jeans and pants are such garments, for example. Dresses, overalls, and skirts too.

We’re here to help you feel comfy and stunningly highlight your body. Let’s dig right in.

How to measure your hips

1. Remove your clothes (or wear something thin and close-fitting)

Being naked is the most accurate way to measure your hips. If you dislike being unclothed, you can still wear close-fitting underwear or a thin piece of clothing. Just don’t have something bulkier on as it’ll skew the results.

2. Stand straight in front of a mirror, keeping your feet close together

Never keep your feet apart! This will increase your hip circumference measurement, leading to inaccurate results.

If you have trouble keeping your feet close and standing straight, just ask a friend or family to help you out.

3. Use a soft measure tape and measure the fullest part of your hips

Always use a cloth measure tape, never a metal one – you need the flexibility. The tape should be snug around you. It shouldn’t twist, so keep it straight around your hips. Don’t pull the tape either.

Regarding the fullest part of your hips bit, here’s some advice: 

For most women, the widest part of the hips coincides with the most defined spot of your bottom. Don’t make the mistake of measuring your high hip, which is where your hip bones are visible.

4. Write down your measurements in both inches and centimeters

Different countries use different measuring systems. The same also applies to many brands. Always have your measurements available in both inches and centimeters. This way you’ll have a quick reference point when shopping online!

And…done!

Well, that was it! You’re now ready for your perfect pair of pants, your perfect dress, or whichever cute garment you had your eyes on.

However…

There’s another piece of information you might find insightful. 

How about we discuss the invaluable waist-to-hip ratio?

Measuring your waist-to-hip ratio & identifying your body type

Do you know your waist measurements? If not, head over to our relevant guide for a quick and easy method.

Once you have both your hip and waist measurements, you can calculate your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). This is the key to finding well-fitted clothing.

The formula is pretty simple:

Just divide your waist circumference by your hips circumference.

Here’s an example. 

Let’s say that your waist is at 75, while your hips are at 95. Dividing 75/95 means you have a 0.78 waist-to-hip ratio.

In general: The lower the waist-to-hip ratio you have, the more you’ll need elastic and stretchier clothing.

WHR also helps classify women’s bodies into three main body type groups:

Pear-shaped women might find it harder to find pants or jeans that fit well both their waist and hips. Fabric elasticity becomes extremely important in such cases, as it helps accommodate this mismatch between hip and waist dimensions.

The hip measurement is also important when buying dresses, as the ratio between your hips and your bust matters. 

Imagine you’re a size S when buying shirts. However, as your hips are wider, a size S dress would be too tight on you. You’d need to get a bigger size.

Are you a designer or a brand?

The waist-to-hip ratio is underutilized by existing size recommendation tools. 

Do you have a lot of pear-shaped clients in particular? Legacy sizing solutions won’t be effective at all, then.

Size Sense improves on other tools by considering fabric elasticity for a more accurate fit. Install our Shopify app on your ecommerce store and give your customers the fit they deserve.