To measure for a wedding dress at home you need a soft tape measure, fitted undergarments, a friend, and twenty minutes. A made-to-measure gown is cut from ten measurements (neck to shoulder, shoulder width, sleeve length, dress length, wrist, upper arm, waist, shoulder to waist, bust and chest) plus your height, weight and the heel height of your wedding shoes. None of them is difficult. What goes wrong is almost always one of three things: the tape was pulled tight instead of snug, the measurement was taken over the wrong clothes, or one person tried to do it alone. This guide walks through each measurement in the order our form asks for it, with the mistakes to avoid at each, and explains what to do if you are between numbers or your body changes before the wedding.
Before you start
- Use a soft tape measure. A dressmaker's tape, not a metal builder's tape and not a piece of string measured afterwards. If you do not have one, a pharmacy or a sewing shop will; it is the only equipment.
- Wear what you will wear under the gown. The bra you plan to wear on the day, fitted underwear, and nothing bulky over them. A gown cut to a bust measurement taken in a padded bra will not fit over an unpadded one, and the reverse.
- Ask someone to help. Four of the ten measurements (shoulder width, shoulder to waist, dress length and the back of the bust) cannot be taken accurately on yourself, because reaching for the tape moves the body being measured.
- Stand naturally. Straight, relaxed, feet together, arms at your sides except when a measurement says otherwise. Do not pull in, do not stand taller than you are.
- Keep the tape level and snug, not tight. It should sit flat against the body all the way round without pressing into it. If it leaves a mark, it was too tight.
- Measure everything twice. If the two numbers differ, take a third and use the one that appears twice.
- Choose inches or centimetres and stay with it. Our form takes either; a mix is the commonest cause of a wrong gown.
The ten measurements
1. Neck to shoulder
From the base of the neck, where the neck meets the shoulder, out to the end of the shoulder bone. This sets where the collar ends and the shoulder seam begins, which on a high-neck gown decides whether the collar sits close or gapes. Your friend takes it from behind while you look straight ahead.
2. Shoulder width
Straight across the back from the end of one shoulder to the end of the other, over the shoulder blades. Find the shoulder bone on each side by raising and lowering the arm; the point where it pivots is the end. This is the measurement that makes sleeves hang straight instead of pulling forward or dropping off the shoulder.
3. Sleeve length
From the shoulder point down the outside of the arm to the wrist bone, with the arm slightly bent. The bend matters: a sleeve measured on a straight arm comes up short the moment you lift a hand. Measure the arm you write with, which is usually very slightly longer.
4. Dress length, shoulder to floor
From the highest point of the shoulder, beside the neck, straight down the front to the floor, with your shoes off. Your friend holds the top of the tape and lets it fall; do not curve it over the bust, let it hang. We add your heel height separately, which is why this one is taken barefoot.
5. Wrist
All the way around the wrist at the point where the sleeve will end, usually just below the wrist bone. Snug, so the cuff closes without gaping, but with room for your hand to pass through if the cuff has no opening.
6. Upper arm
Around the fullest part of the upper arm, with the arm relaxed at your side, not flexed and not held out. This is the measurement most often taken wrong and the one a fitted sleeve depends on. If you are between numbers, choose the larger.
7. Waist
Around the narrowest part of your natural waist, usually just above the belly button, not where your trousers sit. Breathe out normally and measure at the end of the breath; do not pull in. Tie a ribbon round your middle and let it settle if you are not sure where the narrowest point is; the ribbon finds it.
8. Shoulder to waist
From the highest point of the shoulder, beside the neck, straight down the front over the bust to the narrowest part of the waist. This decides where the waist seam of the gown lands, and it is the measurement that makes a gown look made for you rather than adjusted; a seam an inch above or below the natural waist is visible in every photograph. Your friend takes it, with the tape following the body over the bust rather than hanging straight.
9. Bust
Around the fullest part of the bust, over the bra you will wear, with the tape level all the way round the body, front and back. Your friend checks the back is at the same height as the front; the tape drops at the back when you take this one alone. Arms down, breathing normally.
10. Chest
Around the widest part of the chest above the bust, at the level of the armpits, from armpit to armpit and round the back. This sets the width of the bodice above the bust and how the sleeves are set in. Keep the tape high under the arms and level.
The three extra questions
Our order form also asks for your height without shoes, your weight, and the heel height of the shoes you plan to wear. The gown is cut from the ten measurements; height and weight help the seamstress judge the overall fit and structure of the dress and check that the numbers make sense together, which catches a measurement that was taken wrong. Heel height is added to the dress length so the hem meets the floor in your wedding shoes. If you have not chosen the shoes, decide the heel height now and buy to it; a gown cut for a three-inch heel worn with a flat will drag. There is also a notes field for anything the numbers do not say: broad shoulders, a preference for more room in the hips, a looser sleeve, a longer train.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the tape tight. The gown is then cut small. Snug means the tape touches all the way round without compressing.
- Measuring over clothes. A T-shirt adds half an inch; a jumper adds two. Undergarments only.
- Standing to attention. Shoulders back and stomach in produces a gown that fits for as long as you can hold the pose.
- Measuring the waist where the jeans sit. That is the hip, and the gown's waist seam will land there.
- Taking the dress length in shoes. We add the heel; if you measure in heels too, the gown is cut long.
- Rounding. Give the number the tape shows, to the nearest quarter inch or half centimetre. Rounding up on three measurements adds a size.
- Doing it alone. The back of the bust, the shoulder width and the shoulder-to-waist all drift when you reach for the tape.
What if I am between measurements?
Choose the larger. A gown with a quarter inch of room is comfortable and invisible; a gown a quarter inch short pulls at the seams in every photograph. This applies most to the upper arm, the bust and the waist. If you would like the gown deliberately closer or looser somewhere, say so in the notes rather than adjusting the numbers, so the seamstress knows the measurement is true and the preference is yours.
What if my body changes before the wedding?
Measure when you order, not months in advance, and if you are planning to lose or gain weight, measure at the point you expect to be four weeks before the wedding rather than the day you happen to be ordering. Small changes, a few pounds either way, sit inside the ease of the gown. Larger changes are better handled by telling us when you order so the seamstress can leave room in the seams where it matters, than by guessing at numbers you have not reached. If you have already ordered and your measurements have changed, email us before the gown is cut; production is 8 to 10 weeks and the earlier we know, the more we can do.
Can I really order a wedding dress without a fitting?
Yes, and the ten measurements are how. A fitting in a boutique is a way of adjusting a standard-size sample to a body; a made-to-measure gown skips the sample and cuts to the body directly, so the fitting happens on paper before the fabric is touched. What the measurements cannot do is tell us your preferences, which is what the notes field and an email are for. Our guide to ordering a custom wedding dress without an in-person fitting covers the rest of the process, and the guide to plus size modest wedding dresses explains why made to measure matters most for brides outside the middle of a size chart.
Sending the measurements
On every product page, choose Custom Measurements, pick inches or centimetres, and the form walks through the ten measurements in the order above with a photograph for each, then asks for height, weight, heel height and notes, and shows you the full set to confirm before adding the gown to the cart. Standard sizes from XS to XXL are also offered if you prefer them. Production is 8 to 10 weeks from the order, with express and rush options at checkout, free shipping in the US and shipping to Canada, Australia, the UK, Ireland and 14 countries in Europe (any import duties or VAT are paid by the buyer on delivery). If any measurement is unclear, the measuring guide has the photographs, and you can contact us before you order rather than guessing.