Body length

Body length is the length of a top, shirt, sweater or dress, from the top of the shoulder, next to the collar, down to the hem. It is a garment measurement, taken laid flat, and charts often call it plain "Length". It tells a cropped top from a long one, and a shirt that stays tucked in from one that doesn't.

How to measure

1. Lay the garment flat, front up, smoothed out without stretching.
2. Find the highest point of the shoulder, where the shoulder seam meets the collar.
3. Measure straight down, parallel to the center front, to the bottom of the hem.

Some brands measure from the center back of the collar instead: that is the back length, and the caption should say which one the chart uses.

On a size chart

Ruban Size's templates give it in their garment tabs, from the smallest size to the largest:

The Dresses tab is captioned "Garment length, from shoulder to hem". Tall sizes add length, "Tall sizes (T) add about 2 in to the body and sleeve length.", and petite sizes take it off: "shorter sleeves, legs and torso."

In Ruban Size

Body length stays in the guide for shoppers to compare: Find my size sizes tops by the chest. Put it in a garment tab beside the body measurements, as the Men's T-shirts template does with its length and half chest, and give the row a unit so the cm/in switch converts it.