Natural waist

The natural waist is the narrowest part of the torso, usually a little above the belly button. It is the line body measurement charts mean by "waist", and the line dresses and tops are cut around. Pants and jeans often sit lower, so the waist a pair of pants closes around can be a different number.

How to measure

1. Stand straight and bend to one side: the crease that forms at your side is the natural waist.
2. At the front, it is usually above the belly button.
3. Wrap the tape level around that line, on bare skin or a thin layer.
4. Relax, don't pull your stomach in, breathe out normally and read.

On a size chart

Every waist step in Ruban Size's templates names this line. Most say "around your natural waistline, the narrowest part of your torso."; the Women's tops template says "measure around your natural waistline, above the belly button." The values are body measurements:

A pant waist is another line, where the waistband sits, and the rise of the pants decides how far below the natural waist that is. For pants, measure both.

In Ruban Size

In a How to measure block, the waist step is linked to the waist: pointing at it or tapping it lights up the waist line on the body figure and the waist row in the table. Find my size compares the natural waist a shopper types with the chart's ranges. The height and weight estimate of the Fit plan works the waist out with the equations of Bozeman et al. 2012, and shows it as an estimate. The Dresses template has bust, waist and hips beside the body figure.