Ordering a custom wedding dress online, especially from an atelier across the ocean, can feel intimidating how do you know it'll actually fit if no one's ever seen you in person? Here's the good news: it comes down to a handful of accurate measurements, a soft tape measure, and about fifteen minutes of your time. Get the numbers right, and your dress will be built to fit exactly how you move, stand, and breathe.
This guide walks you through every measurement we ask for, in the order it appears on our official measurement form, so you can fill it out with confidence the first time.
Before You Start: Getting Set Up Right
A few things make a real difference in accuracy:
- Use a soft, flexible tape measure not a metal one from a toolbox. Fabric or vinyl tape measures are inexpensive and available at any craft or fabric store.
- Wear well-fitted, everyday underwear the bra and underwear you'd normally wear, not shapewear or anything overly padded. If you'll be wearing a specific bra style under your dress, measure in that.
- Ask a friend to help. Several of these measurements (especially on the back) are nearly impossible to get accurately alone. If you truly have to do it solo, a full-length mirror helps.
- Stand naturally. Don't suck in your stomach or throw your shoulders back measure your body as it actually is, relaxed and standing straight.
- Keep the tape snug, not tight. You should be able to slide a finger underneath it. Too tight, and your finished dress will feel restrictive.
Front-of-Body Measurements
1. Whole Body Size (Height)
Measure from the top of your head straight down to the floor, barefoot. This tells us your overall proportions and helps us calculate skirt and hem length correctly.
2. Bust and Underbust
- Bust: Wrap the tape around the fullest part of your bust, keeping it level all the way around your back.
- Underbust: Measure directly underneath your bust, where a bra band would sit keep the tape snug and level.
Both numbers matter for us: the bust tells us the cup volume we're building for, and the underbust tells us how a fitted bodice or corset band should sit against your ribcage.
3. Waist
Find your natural waist this is usually the narrowest point of your torso, typically an inch or two above your belly button. Bend slightly to one side; the crease that forms is usually right at your natural waistline.
4. Hip
Measure around the fullest part of your hips and rear, usually 7–9 inches below your natural waist. Keep the tape level all the way around, even if that means it's not perfectly parallel to the floor on the sides.
5. Front Center
This is the vertical distance from the base of your neck (front) straight down to your natural waist. It helps us map out the front bodice length before we even touch the corset structure.
6. Breastpoint and Front Length
- Breastpoint (6a): The horizontal distance between the two fullest points (apex) of your bust. This tells us exactly where to place shaping and support in the bodice.
- Front length (6b): From the shoulder point, over the fullest part of the bust, down to the natural waist.
These two measurements together are what make a fitted bodice actually fit your shape instead of a generic average.
7. Arm's Length
With your arm slightly bent, measure from the top of your shoulder, over the elbow, down to your wrist bone. This matters most if you're choosing a sleeve or a fitted arm detail.
8. Thigh Circumference
Measure around the fullest part of one thigh, just below the hip crease. This is especially important for fitted or figure-hugging skirt styles, where the fabric follows the leg closely.
Back-of-Body Measurements
For this section, having someone help you is genuinely important — trying to hold a tape measure flat against your own back while checking a mirror rarely gives an accurate result.
9. Shoulder Width
Measure straight across your back from the outer edge of one shoulder to the outer edge of the other, following the natural curve of your shoulders.
10. Half Back Width
Measure horizontally across the upper back, from armpit to armpit, at the point where the back is at its widest just below the shoulder blades.
11. Back Length
From the base of your neck (the bony bump where your neck meets your shoulders) straight down to your natural waist.
12. Side Length Outside
From your natural waist down to the floor, measured along the outside of your leg. This is one of the key numbers for calculating hem and skirt length.
13. Inseam
From your crotch straight down to your ankle bone, along the inside of your leg. Even in a floor-length gown, this helps us calibrate your proportions correctly.
Finishing Details
14. Collar Size (Up / Below)
Measure around the base of your neck where a collar would sit — once slightly above the natural neckline (a) and once slightly below it (b). This matters if your dress includes any collar, choker-style neckline, or high-neck detail.
15. Upper Arm Circumference
Wrap the tape around the fullest part of your upper arm, roughly halfway between your shoulder and your elbow, letting your arm hang relaxed at your side.
16. Hand Circumference
Measure around your hand at its widest point, across the knuckles, with your fingers together. This is essential if your sleeve design is fitted enough that your hand needs to pass through it.
17. Others
Anything unique to your body or your vision for the dress goes here — a scar you'd like accounted for, a preferred fit tightness, an asymmetry between your left and right side, or any other detail you want us to know before we start cutting fabric.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER #5] A warm, human photo — hands filling out the measurement form, or a consultation call in progress. Place near the end, right before the call-to-action, to reinforce that a real person reviews every submission.
A Few Extra Tips Before You Submit
- Measure twice. Small differences happen if two attempts give you numbers more than half an inch apart, take a third measurement and go with the two that agree.
- Don't round up "to be safe." A dress built from inflated measurements won't fit any better — it'll just be loose in the wrong places. Send us your real numbers; that's what a made-to-measure fit depends on.
- Take your measurements close to your wedding date, ideally within a few weeks of placing your order, rather than months in advance bodies shift naturally over time, and we want your dress to fit you, not who you were six months ago.
- When in doubt, ask. If a measurement feels confusing or you're not sure you're doing it right, reach out before you submit the form. A quick question now saves a lot more time than an alteration later.
The Bottom Line
Getting measured for a custom gown might feel like the most technical part of the process, but it's really just fifteen focused minutes with a tape measure and a friend. Every number on that form exists for a reason together, they let us build a dress around your actual body, not an approximation of it. And that's the entire point of made-to-measure: a gown that was never meant to fit anyone but you.