Bust

Bust is the distance around the fullest part of the bust, with the tape level all the way round. Women's charts use it to size dresses, tops, swimwear and maternity wear, and bra charts pair it with the underbust to find the cup. For most people it is the same line as the chest, under another name.

How to measure

1. Wear the bra you would wear with the garment, an unpadded one for a bra chart.
2. Stand straight, arms down, and pass the tape around your back, under the arms.
3. Place it over the fullest part of the bust at the front, level at the back.
4. Keep it snug, not tight, breathe out normally and read. Note the unit.

Ruban Size's templates put it in one line: "around the fullest part of your bust, tape level."

On a size chart

Bust is a circumference, given as a range per size. On the Dresses template:

The Swimwear, Women's petite, Maternity and Plus-size women templates have a bust row too; Plus-size gives it in inches, 42 to 44 in for a 1X. On a bra chart the bust only means something next to the underbust: under EN 13402-3, the bust minus the underbust gives the cup size.

In Ruban Size

Find my size asks for Bust when the chart has a bust row. On dresses it weighs the bust with the waist and hips, and a size too tight on any of them costs more than one a little loose. On a bra chart it asks for Underbust and Bust, then answers with a size from the chart, the same size in other systems and its sister sizes. The bra size calculator does it with your own two numbers.