1. Wear a well-fitting bra: Ideally, wear a non-padded bra or no bra if that’s how you’ll wear the clothing you’re measuring for. This gives a more accurate measurement of your natural bust size.
2. Use a soft measuring tape: It’s best to use a flexible cloth or plastic measuring tape for body measurements. Make sure the tape is not stretched out or damaged.
3. Stand tall and relaxed: Stand with your back straight but relaxed, with your arms at your sides. Keep a natural posture.
4. Take your bust measurement: Wrap the measuring tape around your back, bringing it across the fullest part of your bust, typically over the nipples. Make sure the tape is snug but not too tight, and it should sit level all the way around.
5. Take your waist measurement: Wrap the measuring tape around the natural waistline, ensuring it’s level all the way around your body (parallel to the ground). The tape should be snug but not tight—just enough to rest comfortably against your skin without pinching.
6. Check the measurement: The number where the tape meets itself is your measurement. Make sure it is measured in inches or centimeters, depending on the sizing system you use.
7. Take the measurement with a mirror or friend: If possible, use a mirror to ensure the tape is straight across your back and not twisted, or ask a friend to help for a more accurate result.

Choosing the Right Size Corset or Stays

When choosing the right size corset, it’s important to start with accurate body measurements, including your bust and waist. Our size charts provide recommended measurements for each size, so begin by selecting the size that most closely matches your measurements.

If your bust and waist measurements fall into different size categories, prioritize the waist size first. If your bust is smaller or larger than the recommended size, you can adjust the fit using a chemise or shift underneath for added fullness, or by loosening or tightening the lacing to accommodate your bust more comfortably.

For those with a larger bust, you may need to tighten the corset more in the bust to close the lacing gap, and/or you may have a wider lacing gap than in the waist. Conversely, if you have a smaller bust, you can pad with period-appropriate methods like additional layers or bust inserts.

Ultimately, it’s about finding the balance between a snug, supportive waist fit and comfortable bust shaping. If you’re between sizes, it's usually best to size based on your waist and adjust the rest with lacing or layering techniques.

When selecting stays or a corset, experienced wearers may want to size down for a tighter fit. Typically, we recommend finding a corset or stays that is:

• 2-3 inches smaller than your bust for a relaxed fit
• 4-5 inches smaller for a snug fit
• 5-6 inches smaller for the most snug, cleavage-enhancing fit

However, achieving this level of bust reduction might not always be possible depending on your waist size. If your bust doesn’t match the waist size you select, you can use padding or layering to enhance the bust area for added shape.

For the waist measurement, we suggest:

• About 1 inch smaller than your waist for a relaxed fit
• 2-3 inches smaller for a standard fit
• 4-6 inches smaller for the most snug fit

Keep in mind, the width of the lacing gap at the front and/or back of your stays will also change depending on how small the corset is and how tightly you lace it. Consider how big you’d like that gap to be when picking your size. The recommendations above are based on having little to no lacing gap in the back, so if you'd like more of a gap in the back, you could size down even smaller. 

Other considerations:

• Please remember that every body compresses differently, so we can't guarantee an exact fit. To ensure the best results, follow our sizing recommendations on the size chart.
• Larger body measurements are typically are able to squish more than smaller measurements
• If you're planning on changing weight, select a size that fits more in the middle (standard fit). If your measurements increase/decrease, you can utilize the lacing gap to increase/decrease the size of your corset up to 4 inches (back lacing styles only)