While shopping is a fun pastime for many, navigating varying sizing systems can be a pain, both online and in person. Knowing how and where to measure hips is the first essential step to always finding your perfect fit in pants (or leggings, skirts, and even dresses)!

We’ve all got unique bodies and with so many different butt shapes , leg lengths, and hip measurements, standardized sizing can be a nightmare. Knowing how to measure your hips is the simplest way to make shopping for pants (and undies!) less of a struggle. It also helps to think of yourself as a set of unique measurements rather than a standardized size if you’re on the winding road to body acceptance!

Keep reading to find out exactly how and where to measure your hips!

If you’ve gotten by this far in life without taking down your measurements, you’re probably wondering: why should I learn how to measure hips? The answer is simple: learning how and where to measure hips will help you choose clothes that fit your unique shape. This will vastly improve your relationship with clothing. That sounds like a silly promise, but trust me, there are so many benefits to clothes that fit properly. Let’s take a look at some of them!

• For Your Body’s Sake: Clothes that fit your body properly are less likely to cause you discomfort. Let’s take a pair of undies, for example. If they’re too small they’ll have you asking “ Why do I keep getting wedgies? ”. If they’re too big you’ll be dealing with a saggy butt. Different fabrics stretch and rest on your body in different manners so relying on your go-to size can sometimes lead you astray and consulting an underwear size chart requires you to know your measurements. The same goes for garments outside of underwear. The better they fit you the more comfortable they’ll be to wear!

• For The Planet’s Sake: The fast fashion industry is responsible for a large portion of our world’s carbon emissions and waste production. As consumers, we are responsible for making choices that will help to alleviate some of this pollution. Knowing where to measure hips seems like an insignificant step to living a more sustainable life but it’s really not! Most clothing these days isn’t built to last and that, along with the changing nature of fashion trends, encourages a cycle of consumerism. Taking the time to understand your own style, how clothes fit your body, and which types of garments you feel most comfortable in will help you shop more consciously and choose clothing that you’re less likely to discard after a few wears.

• To Up Your Style: I happen to not have the best relationship with irons (I often forget they exist) so I’m no stranger to looking frumpy and I’m not here to judge. However, there’s a lot to be said about the correlation between dressing well and achieving success. Wearing clothing that fits your body properly helps to create a more sleek and put-together look that will help you appeal to society’s picky eyes. Hey, if you have to play the game anyway, you might as well play to win. 

• To Make Shopping Easier: Having an updated list of your body’s measurements on hand makes shopping for clothes a lot easier. With online shopping as a popular and convenient option, you don’t get a chance to try on clothes so knowing your measurements comes in handy. That said, surprisingly, most Americans still prefer to shop in person. Carrying around a soft tape measure and a list of your measurements will make your shopping trips more convenient (especially if you prefer thrifting) because you can easily check a garment's measurements to see if it’s even worth trying on. 

Learning how to measure hips is quite easy, but before I can lead you through the process you have to prepare some supplies! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Soft Measuring Tape: The easiest way to measure your hips is by using a cloth measuring tape that you can easily wrap around your body. If you don’t have access to one of those, a piece of yarn or ribbon will do the trick as well but you’ll also need a ruler for this method!

• A Full Length Mirror: In order to take your measurements you need to actually be able to see what you’re doing so you can ensure you’re getting a proper measurement. If you don’t have a long mirror but you happen to have a buddy nearby, they can help you make sure that you’re measuring in the correct spot and then you can return the favor!

• A Smile: The goal here is to end up with clothes that fit you perfectly, which means there’s no room for a negative attitude! This silly world of ours has done a great job of messing with our abilities to love our bodies as they are but people have started entire movements to fight against the stigma of not fitting “ideal” (nonsensical) beauty standards. If looking at your whole body in the mirror or taking down your measurements gives you some stress, that’s okay. Face those feelings proudly and think about how much more powerful you’ll feel in clothes tailored to compliment your already perfect figure. 

Before we can get to the measuring, let’s tackle the biggest question: Where to measure hips? To get the most accurate measurement you need to know exactly where to measure and to do that we need to talk about where the hips are. Now, the general guideline is that the hips make up the widest part of your torso. However, due to the anatomical differences between male and female bodies, there is some nuance to this. Let’s break it down by going over where to measure your hips for both men and women!

Where To Measure Hips: Women

Women tend to have rounder, softer bodies than men and wider hips for the purposes of childbirth. Ladies, your hips will be easier to distinguish but they may rest a little lower than you would expect. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself measuring around the top part of your butt. So long as you find the widest point on your torso, you should be golden!

Where To Measure Hips: Men

Men tend to have more rectangular torsos and fewer curves that lend themselves to the female hourglass figure. With that in mind, the hips on a male body may be harder to distinguish but they’ll still be the widest spot on your torso. Pro tip:use your hip bones as your guide for finding where to measure, boys! 

1. Strip Down, Folks!

To get a proper measurement you’ll want to remove all bulky items of clothing from your body. This can mean baring your booty or remaining in your favorite pair of hemp underwear. Ladies, I recommend wearing high-waisted underwear if you’re keeping the skivvies on because they’ll provide you with a smooth surface to work with, as well as a guide for where your waist is (if you choose to measure that too)! Boys, stick to your favorite mens boxer briefs for this!

2. Stand At Attention!

To get a proper measurement, you’ll need to do a quick posture check. Are you slouching? Get that spine back in order, sirs and ladies! You want to be standing up straight with your feet hip distance apart. If you feel stable with your feet together, that’s an option too! The main idea is to be standing straight but not too rigid! Just breathe normally and check out the attractive person in the mirror (wink wink).

3. Find Those Hips!

I’ve already covered where to measure your hips so this step should be straightforward! Go ahead and locate the widest spot on your torso. While you do that, give your sexy booty a little smack, you know... for morale! 

To make this easier, use your belly button as a guide for where to start. Of course, you’ll be measuring a bit below your belly button and not directly over it but it gives you a good center point that will make wrapping the measuring tape around your torso a less complicated endeavor.

Once you’ve got the start of your measuring tape lined up, go ahead and wrap that thing around you to meet back at that center point. The tape should rest snuggly against your skin but not to the point of digging in. Do a little turn in the mirror to make sure that the tape is resting at the same height around your body.

When you’re sure everything is in place, go ahead and check the number on the measuring tape, and voila! you’ve got your hip measurement! Be sure to write it down somewhere you can easily access later.

There you have it folks, a full rundown on how and where to measure hips! If you follow the steps I’ve outlined then I foresee a whole lot of sexy booty moments in your future. Rock those perfectly fitting jeans and undies! And if this inspires a measuring frenzy, go ahead and take down all your measurements and get ready to take over the world looking fresh in clothing made to fit your beautiful body!

Do you already know your own measurements or has shopping always been a bit of a guessing game for you? Share your experiences in the comments!