How to measure coats: Finding a coat that fits

An ill-fitting coat not only looks bad. It also fails to provide you with the proper weather protection.

In other words – you’ll lack style and comfort if you fumble the fit.

What makes measuring coats easier is that despite the different styles, coats follow pretty much the same logic. In particular, you’d want to measure the following:

Let’s start!

How to measure a coat:
Some quick preparation notes

A piece of advice before you get to work:

Always lay the coat flat on a stable surface before measuring. It should be buttoned up and without any wrinkles.

As with most other garments, you should use a soft measure tape for maximum flexibility.

Chest measurement

Measure from one armpit of the coat to the other, gliding across the chest. Double the measurement for the total chest circumference.

In order for the coat to fit properly, the chest dimensions should be at least 2.5-4 inches (6-10 cm) larger than a person’s chest circumference.

There’s a logic behind that: coats are usually worn over other layers, especially in winter. Adding some buffers secures a comfortable fit.

Waist measurement

Lay down the coat – it should be both flat and buttoned up.

Measure across the narrowest part of the coat. Usually, the narrowest part of the coat is around 15.7 inches (~40 cm) below the highest point of the shoulder.

Double the measurement and you’ll get the waist circumference.

As a general rule of thumb, the coat’s waist should be at least 2-3 inches (4-6 cm) larger than a person’s actual waist circumference. Once again, this allows for a comfortable fit when worn over layers.

Hips measurement

Measure across the widest part of the coat, where it typically sits around the hips. In general, the point lies some 25 inches (60 cm) from the highest shoulder point. Refer to the image above for a clearer representation of the exact spot.

When measuring from one end to the other across the widest part, remember to double the result to get the total circumference.

Shoulder width

This one is the easiest factor when jotting down a coat’s dimensions.

Here’s the process:

• Lay the coat flat: Do it on an even surface such as a table or bed. Make sure the coat is buttoned or zipped up, and also smoothen any wrinkles.
• Locate the shoulder seams: The point where the sleeves meet the body of the coat.
• Measure between the shoulder seams: Using a measuring tape, measure the distance from one shoulder seam to the other, keeping straight across the back of the coat.
• Record the measurement: You can do so in either inches or centimeters.

Measuring coat sleeve length

Place the coat flat with the sleeves fully extended. Glide the measuring tape from the shoulder seam all the way down to the end of the cuff.

The sleeve should extend to the base of the thumb, covering the wrist and ending where the palm begins. Otherwise, you’ll end up with the wrong fit.

How to measure overall coat length

Identify the highest shoulder point of the coat. That would be the seam where the collar meets the shoulder.

Use a soft measuring tape and measure from that highest shoulder point to the very bottom edge of the coat. Remember to keep the tape straight if you want truly accurate results.

Measuring and comparing yourself to the coat measurements

Are you shopping around for a new coat?

There are several measurements you want to pay attention to. Let’s look at them one by one.

Chest

The easiest way to get proper results here is to ask a friend or family member to help you. 

If you have to do it alone, don’t sweat it. It’s nothing too complicated.

Wrap the measuring tape around the fullest part of your chest. That would be just under your armpits and across your shoulder blades.

Our tip: Remember to keep the tape parallel to the floor. It should fit snugly, don’t tighten it too much.

As we said above, to ensure the coat will fit properly, the coat chest measurement should be some 2.5″-4″ (6-10 cm) larger than your actual chest size. 

Why?

Coats are usually worn over other layers, especially in colder seasons. The added size buffer will help you out in case you wear something bulkier underneath.

Waist

You should measure the narrowest part of your waist. Typically, it’s located just above your belly button and slightly below the bottom of your ribcage. 

Don’t mistake this with your pants’ waistline – they’re different!

Keeping the measuring tape straight and parallel to the ground, gently guide it around your torso to get your waist measurement.

Remember to breathe normally when measuring!

Shoulders

Relax your body and stand upright. This is another case where having a friend/family to help is more efficient. You can still do it by yourself, it’s just a bit inconvenient.

The soft measuring tape should stretch across the top of your shoulders in a horizontal line. Measure from the tip of one shoulder (where the shoulder seam would be) across to the tip of your other shoulder.

Once again, you want to keep the tape as straight as possible. Ill-fitting shoulder measurement means sagging and crumpling, and you don’t really want that!

Sleeve length

Aesthetically speaking, this is the measurement that matters the most. The wrong sleeve length can cause a coat to look plain awful.

If you have someone to help:

The first step in avoiding this is to relax your arms when measuring. Don’t stand straight like a plank, as sleeves don’t work like this. You should bend your arms slightly to emulate your body’s natural position.

The tape should descend over the top of your shoulder (the spot where a shirt seam would normally lie), then continue down your arm. The final stop lies just below your wrist bone.

Remember: Top of shoulder → down the arm → right below the wrist bone.

By “below the wrist bone”, we mean around the base of your thumb. It’s the spot right around where your palm begins.

Hips

Stand up straight and keep your feet together. Don’t lean on one side – make sure your weight is evenly distributed between your legs.

As always, you want to use a flexible measuring tape made of cloth.

Measure around the widest part of your hips. The exact spot usually falls 7-9 inches (18-23 cm) below your natural waistline.

A reliable sidekick in finding the right coat size

Despite guides and practice, you might still have issues with finding the right fit.

Especially if you’re shopping for a coat online.

Size recommendation tools that consider both your individual body measurements and your preferences are invaluable here.

At Size Sense, we go beyond standard sizing solutions. We ditch generic size charts and stay true to product-specific coat measurements. Then, we match customer and product dimensions, carefully considering additional factors such as garment design and the materials used.

This sophisticated approach yields best-in-class accuracy. With a 94% successful prediction rate, our tool makes sure customers get the right fit available to them.

Check Size Sense on the Shopify app store and re-discover shopping for a coat online.