Hips

Hips is the distance around the fullest part of the hips and seat, with the feet together and the tape level. The line is usually lower than people think: below the hip bones, where the seat is fullest seen from the side. Pants, skirts, dresses, swimwear and briefs are sized by it, usually with the waist.

How to measure

1. Wear underwear or thin leggings, pockets empty.
2. Stand straight, feet together.
3. Find the fullest part of the seat in a mirror, side-on.
4. Wrap the tape level around it, slide it a little up and down, and keep the largest reading.
5. Snug, not tight. Note the number and the unit.

The template step: "feet together, around the fullest part of your hips."

On a size chart

Hips are a range per size. On the Dresses template, an M has 98 to 103 cm hips; on the Women's jeans template, in inches:

The Scrubs template says it plainly: "Tops follow your chest; pants follow your hips." The high hip, at the hip bones, is a smaller line, and charts mean the fullest part.

In Ruban Size

Find my size weighs the hips with the waist on pants and dresses, and counts them first on swimwear and briefs. When a chart lists the garment's own hips, it adds 6.4, 9 or 12.9 cm for Snug, Regular and Loose on pants and skirts, the midpoints of the Vogue, Butterick and McCall's ease allowances. Hips laid flat are doubled: on an adult chart, a value under 68 cm can only be half a hip. The Women's jeans template has waist, hips and inseam in inches.