Step-by-Step Technique
Stand with your feet together and wrap a soft measuring tape around the widest part of your hips and rear. This is usually a few inches below your waist.
Keep the tape parallel to the floor all the way around, since a tape that angles up or down at the back gives an inaccurate reading. The tape should sit snugly against your skin without compressing it, the same tension you’d use to measure a waistband that fits comfortably.
Common Measuring Mistakes
Measuring over thick clothing adds extra inches that throw off the result. Measure over thin clothing or directly against skin instead.
Letting the tape sag at the back is another common error, since it measures a shorter distance than your actual hip circumference. Holding the tape too tight compresses soft tissue and gives a size that reads smaller than your comfortable fit will be.
What to Do With Your Number
Once you have your hip measurement, check it against a Panty size chart or run it through the Panty Size Calculator for an instant result across US, UK, and EU sizing.
Why Posture Affects Your Number
Standing with your weight shifted to one side, or measuring while slightly hunched, can shift the tape’s position enough to throw off the reading by half an inch or more. Stand naturally with your weight even on both feet, arms relaxed at your sides, for the most repeatable result.
Re-Measuring Over Time
Hip measurement isn’t fixed for life. Re-measure every several months, or any time your usual size starts feeling different, rather than assuming your last measurement is permanent. This takes the same thirty seconds it took the first time and saves the guesswork of trying to figure out whether a bad fit is the brand’s fault or a genuine size change.
Measuring for Someone Else
If you’re measuring for a gift or on someone else’s behalf, use the same technique but let them take the actual reading when possible. A self-measured number is generally more accurate than an estimate from a garment they already own, since worn garments stretch unevenly over time.
Measuring for Different Body Shapes
If your hips aren’t a simple oval shape (more angular, or wider at one specific point), measure at the single widest point regardless of exactly where that falls vertically. That widest measurement is what actually determines whether a style will fit through the hip area, more than measuring at a fixed height from the floor.
A Second Measurement Confirms Accuracy
If you have access to a well-fitted pair of underwear you already know is comfortable, laying it flat and measuring the waistband unstretched can serve as a helpful cross-check against your body measurement.
Consistency Beats Precision Obsession
Measuring the same way every time (same posture, same tape tension) matters more for reliable results than achieving theoretically perfect measuring technique on a single attempt.
