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A 29.5-inch waist is a US size 10: bust 37.5 in, waist 29.5 in, hip 40.5 in. Enter your waist in inches and the lookup finds your size from the full misses chart below — bust, waist, and hip in inches and centimeters, sizes 0 through 20. Between sizes, the lookup rounds up to the larger size for a comfortable fit.
Dress sizes are a misses progression: each step up adds about an inch at the bust, waist, and hip, with a half-inch step at sizes 10 and 14. The lookup takes your waist, finds the first chart waist at or above it, and returns that size — so a waist between two chart waists rounds up, never down. Measure your natural waist, the narrowest point of your torso, with the tape snug but not tight, and enter inches.
Centimeters are inches × 2.54, rounded to one decimal. This is a standard misses progression: sizes 0–8 step by a full inch, size 10 steps by 1.5 inches at the bust and hip and 1.5 inches at the waist from size 8, size 12 steps by 1.5 inches, and size 14 steps by 1.5 inches at the bust and hip — the half-inch steps are where the progression widens, which is why a tape measure beats a remembered size.
| US size | Bust (in) | Waist (in) | Hip (in) | Bust (cm) | Waist (cm) | Hip (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 32 | 24 | 35 | 81.3 | 61.0 | 88.9 |
| 2 | 33 | 25 | 36 | 83.8 | 63.5 | 91.4 |
| 4 | 34 | 26 | 37 | 86.4 | 66.0 | 94.0 |
| 6 | 35 | 27 | 38 | 88.9 | 68.6 | 96.5 |
| 8 | 36 | 28 | 39 | 91.4 | 71.1 | 99.1 |
| 10 | 37.5 | 29.5 | 40.5 | 95.3 | 74.9 | 102.9 |
| 12 | 39 | 31 | 42 | 99.1 | 78.7 | 106.7 |
| 14 | 40.5 | 32.5 | 43.5 | 102.9 | 82.6 | 110.5 |
| 16 | 42 | 34 | 45 | 106.7 | 86.4 | 114.3 |
| 18 | 44 | 36 | 47 | 111.8 | 91.4 | 119.4 |
| 20 | 46 | 38 | 49 | 116.8 | 96.5 | 124.5 |
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Your size | First chart waist at or above your waist | 29.5 in → size 10 at the default, an exact chart waist. |
| Between sizes | Round UP to the next chart waist | 30 in → size 12, because 30 in falls between the 29.5 in and 31 in waists. |
| Centimeters | Inches × 2.54, 1 decimal | 29.5 in × 2.54 = 74.9 cm at the default. |
| Below the chart | Waist under 24 in | No size returned: smallest here is size 0 at 24 in. |
| Above the chart | Waist over 38 in | No size returned: largest here is size 20 at 38 in. |
This is a standard misses chart, not any one brand's chart — and that distinction is the whole warning. Vanity sizing means brands routinely label the same body a different number: a size 10 here can be sold as an 8 or a 12 elsewhere, and junior, petite, and plus lines cut the same numbers to different proportions. Fit also depends on bust and hip, not waist alone: if your bust or hip points to a different size than your waist, buy for the larger measurement and tailor the rest. Always check the brand's own size chart before ordering, and measure over light clothing, standing straight, with the tape level all the way around.
Bright Side Kit. "US Women's Dress Size Chart: Sizes 0-20, Bust, Waist, Hip" https://brightoolbox.com/dress-size-chart/ Accessed October 24, 2026.US size 10: bust 37.5 in, waist 29.5 in, hip 40.5 in (95.3 / 74.9 / 102.9 cm).
US size 4: bust 34 in, waist 26 in, hip 37 in (86.4 / 66.0 / 94.0 cm).
US size 14: bust 40.5 in, waist 32.5 in, hip 43.5 in (102.9 / 82.6 / 110.5 cm).
US size 20: bust 46 in, waist 38 in, hip 49 in (116.8 / 96.5 / 124.5 cm).
Round up to the larger size: a 30 in waist rounds up to size 12, because it falls between the size 10 waist of 29.5 in and the size 12 waist of 31 in. Size down only for a fitted cut in a stretch fabric.
Under 24 in is below this chart (smallest is size 0) and over 38 in is above it (largest is size 20). Check petite, junior, or extended and plus ranges, and always check the brand's own chart.
Vanity sizing: brands label the same body measurements with different numbers, and junior, petite, and plus lines cut the same numbers to different proportions. The tape measure and the brand's own chart beat a remembered size.
Measure your natural waist, the narrowest point of your torso, over light clothing, standing straight, with the tape snug but not tight and level all the way around. Enter inches.