Women's Dress Size Calculator
Determine your starting dress size based on silhouette mechanics, identifying which measurement governs the cut and where minor alterations yield bespoke fit.
Tailoring & Alteration Strategy
Couture StandardHow to Measure for Dresses
-
1
Measure your bust
Measure horizontally around the fullest part of your bust wearing your everyday underwire or bra. This anchors fit for sheath, shift, and empire styles.
-
2
Measure your natural waist
Wrap the tape around the narrowest point of your midriff (above the navel). This dictates the waistband fit for fit-and-flare, wrap, and tailored dresses.
-
3
Measure your fullest hips
Stand with feet together and measure around the widest point of your seat and hips. Essential for pencil and bodycon silhouettes; floating A-lines allow generous hip ease.
-
4
Fit to your limiting measurement
Select your starting size based on where the dress cut hugs tightest, then have a tailor take in any looser seams for a custom, bespoke fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
In tailoring, taking a garment in is simple and inexpensive, whereas letting a garment out is often impossible due to minimal seam allowance. For fitted dresses, sizing to fit your widest measurement allows a tailor to nip in the remaining areas for a custom fit.
US dress sizes run numerically lower than UK and EU equivalents. Generally, a US Size 6 corresponds to a UK Size 10 and a European Size 38.
Dress silhouette determines which measurement acts as the limiting factor. For form-fitting sheath, mermaid, and bodycon dresses, all three measurements (bust, waist, hip) must fit within the size chart. For A-line, skater, and empire cuts, the skirt floats freely over the hips, meaning you only need to match your bust and waist measurements.
Taking in a dress through the side seams, nipping the waist, shortening the straps, and hemming the length are simple, routine alterations for any tailor. Conversely, letting a dress out is rarely possible due to modern industrial seam allowances, which is why sizing up to fit your largest dimension is the golden rule of dress fitting.