Bust, upper bust and under-bust: how to measure each

Full bust

This is the bust on our size guide, and the number every order needs.

• Stand straight with your arms down and breathe normally.
• Pass the tape round your back and over the fullest part of the bust at the front.
• Check the back in a mirror. The tape likes to ride up between the shoulder blades; it should be level with the front.
• Keep it snug without flattening anything. One finger should slide under it.
• Read it after an ordinary breath out, not while holding your breath.

Upper bust

Also called the high bust. The tape goes high under both arms, across the top of the chest above the bust at the front and across the shoulder blades at the back. It sits a little higher at the front than at the back, which is how it should be.

Its value lies in the comparison. The upper bust follows your ribcage and back more than your bust, so the gap between it and the full bust shows how much of your bust figure is bust and how much is frame. Dressmaking patterns are commonly drawn for a gap of about 2 inches (5 cm). A much bigger gap means a kameez cut from the full bust alone can be roomy across the shoulders and upper chest; a much smaller one can leave the front tight across the bust. Sending both lets the cut follow your shape.

Under-bust

Taken directly under the bust, where a bra band sits, level all round. The ribcage moves with each breath, so stand easy and do not pull in.

A straight kameez rarely needs it. It matters for an empire seam, a frock with a seam under the bust, and any fitted bodice. Our guide to yoke length for a frock or anarkali explains how the under-bust and the length to that seam work together.

Chest or bust: same thing?

Not always. In women’s tailoring, “chest” is used for the full bust by some tailors and size charts and for the upper bust by others, while in men’s clothing it simply means the full round of the chest. Garment listings add a third meaning: the chest of the garment itself, often given laid flat. Our article on pit to pit covers that one.

So the word alone is never enough. Label each number by where the tape went, for example “full bust 38 inches” or “upper bust, under the arms, 35 inches”.

What to send with your order

Put the full bust in the bust box on the quote form and any other figures in the notes. Send body measurements only; the room for movement is added in the cutting, as ease explained describes. Custom stitching explains how the agreed measurements are set out in writing before anything is cut.

• Every order: full bust.
• A gap of well over 2 inches (5 cm) between upper and full bust, or well under it: add the upper bust.
• Empire lines, frocks and fitted bodices: add the under-bust.
• Darts or a closely shaped front: add the distance from the shoulder beside the neck down to the fullest point of the bust.
• Measuring alone: our guide to measuring yourself without help has a mirror method for the bust.