Chest

Chest is the distance around the fullest part of the chest, taken under the arms with the tape level. It decides the size of almost every top, shirt, jacket and coat. Women's charts often call the same line the bust.

How to measure

1. Bare skin or a thin T-shirt, no sweater or jacket.
2. Stand naturally: feet flat, shoulders relaxed, arms down.
3. Lift your arms just enough to pass the tape around your back, then lower them.
4. Cross the fullest part of the chest at the front and the shoulder blades at the back, tape level.
5. Snug, not tight. Breathe out normally and read, with the unit.

The template step: "around the fullest part of your chest, under the arms."

On a size chart

A body chest is a range per size. On the Men's T-shirts and tops template:

The Men's suits and blazers template sizes jackets by the chest, an EU 48 fitting a 94 to 97 cm chest, with the note "Jacket sizes follow your chest; trousers follow your waist." A garment's own chest is larger than the body inside it, and a chest laid flat is half of it: the T-shirt template lists a half chest of 50 to 62 cm in its garment tab.

In Ruban Size

On tops and jackets, Find my size counts the chest first, and a size too tight at the chest costs more than one a little loose. On an adult chart, chest values under 72 cm can't be a body, so they are read as laid flat and doubled. When a chart lists the garment's own chest, it adds room before comparing: 11.6 cm for a regular top, 12.9 cm for a jacket and 18.9 cm for a coat, from the Vogue, Butterick and McCall's ease allowances.