Ordering a dress from a tailor in another city, or just wanting to know your numbers, comes down to one skill: measuring yourself correctly. Most bad fits from remote orders trace back to errors of half an inch or less, made in the same handful of places. This guide walks through each measurement in the order a tailor takes them, where the tape goes, the mistakes that ruin an order before the cutting starts, and how to send your numbers so your tailor can work from them with confidence.
Christiana O.28 September 2026.
Every tailor has received a set of measurements that could not possibly belong to one person. A waist larger than the hip, a sleeve that would reach the knuckles, a bust taken over a thick jacket. None of it is the client's fault, because nobody teaches this. Yet a garment is only as good as the numbers it is cut from, and a mistake of half an inch at the shoulder or waist can turn a beautiful piece of fabric into something you will not wear. What follows is the process we would walk you through if you were standing in our shop in Aba, in the order we would take it. We use inches, since most Nigerian tailors do. If your tape has centimetres, use those instead, but stay with one unit throughout and tell your tailor which you used.
Use a soft tailor's tape, the flexible kind sold in any market or fabric shop. A steel builder's tape will not bend around your body, and a piece of string or ribbon marked with a pen will stretch and give you different numbers each time. Look at the first inch of your tape too, because on an old one the metal tip wears off and the numbers start from the wrong place. Wear underwear or a thin, fitted top, and if you are ordering a dress or blouse, put on the bra you will wear with it, since it changes the bust and underbust by up to an inch. Stand with your feet together, weight even on both legs, arms relaxed at your sides, and breathe normally. Holding your breath or pulling your stomach in gives you a number your body will not keep, and the garment will be tight the moment you exhale.
Ask someone to help if you can, especially for the shoulders, back and sleeves, since you cannot see or reach these properly on yourself. If you are alone, stand in front of a mirror and check that the tape lies level around you, not sloping or twisted. Write each number down as you take it, with its name beside it, and take everything twice. If the two readings differ, measure a third time and use the one that repeats.
Bust. Wrap the tape around the fullest part of your chest, across the nipple line, and keep it level across your back at the same height as the front. It should be snug enough not to slide, with room for one finger under it. Underbust is taken directly beneath the bust, where a bra band sits, and matters most for corset tops, boned bodices and off-shoulder styles.
Waist. Your natural waist is the narrowest part of your torso, above the navel and below the ribs. If you cannot find it, bend sideways and note the crease that forms, or tie a piece of string around your middle and let it settle where it wants to sit. Measure there, without tucking in your stomach. Many women have a smaller waist than they expect and a lower waist than they assume.
Shoulder. Find the bony point at the top of your arm where the shoulder ends and the arm begins. Measure straight across the back from one of these points to the other, with the tape flat and not following the curve of your upper back. This is the measurement we see done wrong most often, and it decides whether sleeves hang or twist. A second useful number is neck to shoulder point, taken from the base of your neck to that same bone.
Nape to waist. Tilt your head forward and find the prominent bone at the base of your neck. Measure from there, down the centre of your back, to your natural waist. This gives us your torso length, and it is the number that tells us whether a waist seam needs to be raised, as described in our guide to dressing a fuller bust, wide hips or a short torso.
Shoulder to bust point, and bust point to bust point. The first runs from the top of your shoulder near the neck down to the fullest point of the bust. The second is the distance between your two bust points. Together they tell us where the darts belong, which is why a blouse can fit a friend of the same size and not you.
Sleeve length. Start at the shoulder point, run the tape down the outside of a slightly bent arm, and stop at the wrist bone. Bending the arm gives the elbow room, and it is the difference between a sleeve that stays put and one that rides up. For three quarter or short sleeves, note where on your arm you want the hem to end. Add upper arm, measured around the fullest part with the arm relaxed, and wrist, since narrow cuffs need the second number.
Hip. Stand with your feet together and wrap the tape around the fullest part of your hips and buttocks, which is usually seven to nine inches below your waist. Check in a mirror from the side that the tape is level, because it tends to dip at the back. If your thighs are fuller than your hips, take a thigh measurement as well.
Waist to hip and waist to floor are vertical numbers, taken down the side of your body. Waist to hip tells us where the fullest part sits, and waist to floor gives us a base for skirt and gown lengths, which we can then adjust depending on the heels you plan to wear. Mention those heels, since a hem cut for flat shoes will drag in stilettos. For skirts, also note where on your leg you want the hem, at the knee, mid-calf or ankle.
Trousers and jumpsuits need two more: inseam, from the crotch seam to the ankle, and crotch depth, which you take by sitting on a hard, flat chair and measuring from your waist, along the side of your body, to the seat. These are the measurements people are least likely to have, and the ones that most affect how trousers feel to sit and walk in.
Measuring over thick clothing. A jacket, a jeans waistband or a padded bra adds bulk that will be built into the garment. Measure against the skin or over thin underwear.
Pulling the tape too tight or leaving it slack. Snug means one finger fits under it. Tight gives you numbers a size too small, and loose gives you a size too large. Check that the tape stays level around your back.
Adding ease yourself. Some people add an inch or two to every number, thinking they are helping. Do not. Ease, the room to move and breathe, depends on the fabric, the cut and the occasion, and your tailor adds it. Give us your body measurements, exactly as they are.
Rounding numbers up or down. Write the number as it reads. A quarter inch matters at the shoulder.
Assuming both sides match. Most women have one shoulder a little lower, or one arm a little longer, than the other. If you notice a difference, measure both sides and tell your tailor which is which.
Take a garment that fits you well, lay it flat, and measure it across the bust, waist, hip and sleeve length. Send those numbers too, since a tailor can compare them with yours and catch anything that looks out of line. Then take three photos in fitted clothing, front, side and back, standing naturally, and send those along with your height, the heel height you will wear, and the date of the event. Posture and proportion show up in a photo in a way that numbers cannot, as we explain in reading a woman's body in five minutes.
Your body changes, so measure within a couple of weeks of placing the order and again if you have gained or lost weight, are pregnant, or the order is for something months away. A garment cut in a fabric with no stretch, such as lace or structured cotton, has no room to forgive a change.
We sew for clients across Nigeria and beyond, and a good share of them have never stood in our shop. If that is you, send us your measurements and photos on WhatsApp. We will go through them with you, ask about anything that looks off, and confirm the numbers before a pair of scissors touches your fabric. And if you would like to skip all of this, come by the shop in Aba, where measuring takes about ten minutes and we do it for you.
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