Women's Dress Size Chart: US Sizes by Bust, Waist & Hips

The full women's dress size chart

Every row below is the standard US misses chart, sizes 0 to 20, with bust, waist, and hip in inches and centimetres. The centimetre figures are the inch figures times 2.54, rounded to one decimal. Print the page to take the chart to the shops with you.

How to measure yourself

Stand straight, breathe out naturally, and measure over light clothing with a soft tape — not a metal one. Bust: around the fullest part, keeping the tape level all the way around your back. Waist: at the narrowest part of your torso, usually an inch or two above your belly button — tip your body side to side and the tape will settle into the crease. Hips: around the widest part, usually at the fullest part of your seat, with your feet together. Measure each one twice; if the two readings disagree, measure a third time. A 36-28-38 is the default on this page and a common set of measurements — it takes a US 8, because the bust and waist both need an 8 even though the hips alone would fit a 6.

When your three measurements disagree

Most bodies are not one size. The rule on this page is to take the largest size any single measurement needs: a 36-28-42 takes a US 12, because the hips need a 12 even though the bust and waist fit an 8. That is the safe choice for a fitted dress, which cannot be let out at the hips — a dress that is too big at the bust can be taken in, but one that is too tight at the hips cannot be worn at all. For a loose or stretchy style, the rule relaxes: a knit dress with stretch can take the middle size, and an A-line skirt cares mostly about the waist. The branches on this page prove the rule: 34-26-37 is an exact US 4, 39-31-42 is an exact US 12, 42-34-45 is an exact US 16, and 36.5-28.5-39.5 falls between 8 and 10 on every measurement and sizes up to a 10.

Rounding convention, stated plainly: the lookup compares your measurements against the chart values exactly — a measurement equal to a chart value takes that size, and anything above it takes the next size up. Centimetres are inches times 2.54, rounded to one decimal, so 36 in is 91.4 cm and 28 in is 71.1 cm.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The online shopper: measures 36-28-38 and learns the answer is a US 8, not the 6 her hips alone suggest — and orders a dress that fits at the bust and waist too.
• The between-sizes buyer: measures 36.5-28.5-39.5, sees every number falls between 8 and 10, and sizes up to a 10 instead of squeezing into an 8.
• The split-size wearer: measures 36-28-42 and learns the hips decide — a US 12 — and stops ordering 8s that never fit at the hips.
• The international shopper: reads the centimetre columns — 91.4 / 71.1 / 99.1 cm for a US 8 — and compares against a European or Asian chart without a second tool.

Accuracy & limitations

This chart is the standard US misses chart, sizes 0 to 20, the same chart as the site's waist-based dress size chart — and it is a guide, not a guarantee for every brand. Vanity sizing means brands routinely label the same body a different number: Belk's own missy chart puts a size 8 at 36.5 in bust, 30 in waist, and 41 in low hip, against this chart's 36 / 28 / 39, so a size 8 here can be sold as a 6 or a 10 elsewhere. Junior, petite, and plus lines cut the same numbers differently again, and a brand's own chart always wins over a general one — check the chart on the product page of the exact dress you are buying. The chart stops at US 20; bodies above a 46 in bust, 38 in waist, or 49 in hips are outside it. Fabric matters too: a stretch knit forgives a size, a structured bodice does not. Measure twice, and when between sizes, go up.