Learn how to accurately measure your shoulder width like a pro

Whenever buying clothes, always check M, L, waist, hip and other sizes. But what about shoulder width? You check when you buy a suit or a formal suit, but you don't check as often when you buy a T-shirt or a hoodie.

This time, we will cover how to measure the clothing size you care about, focusing on how to correctly measure shoulder width. Knowing how to measure accurately will reduce the number of mail-order errors and you'll probably dress better than ever.

The basics of measurement
There are two ways to measure shoulder width, one is to directly measure the clothes worn on the body, and the other is to measure the clothes laid on a flat surface.

First, let's check the exact position of the shoulder width at the same time.

1. Where does shoulder width go from?

Shoulder width is generally the length from the bottom of the right shoulder to the bottom of the left shoulder. However, when choosing clothes, two dimensions may be listed. Let's look at the difference between them.

< Naked size measurement method >

It refers to the size of the body itself, which is the size you are when you are not wearing clothes. Clothing labeled "nude size" is a size that says "if you have the body type for this size, you can comfortably wear clothes."

When you look at the clothing label, the nude size is "height 158-162 cm, bust 80-86 cm, waist 62-68 cm." This size seems to be often used for pants and underwear sizes.

< Product size  (finished product size) >

It shows the actual measurements of the clothes. A product size is a size that leaves some space for a nude size and may be listed with a nude size. If you mistake the product size for a nude size, you may be cramped and unable to fit in, so be careful.

Without a doubt, you should keep in mind "product size = nude size + loose space".

2.Clothing measurement
Body measurement methods are particularly suitable for measuring nude dimensions. You can take the correct measurements without clothes, but if you can only take measurements in clothes, try to wear something thin, such as underwear or a shirt.

Please refer to the following for measurement methods.
1. Align the "0" scale of the measurement with the vertex of one shoulder (the part where the bone meets) as the base point.

2.Use a tape measure to move from the base of the shoulder to the nape of the neck (the protruding part of the bones at the base of the neck).

3. Hold the tape measure at the neck position with your left hand, extend the tape measure and measure to the base point of the opposite shoulder.

If you use this measurement method, you can know the exact size of your current shoulder width.

3.Measure yourself

If you want to buy clothes online now, but there is no one around to measure them for you, try self-measuring. If you want to measure shoulder width yourself, you only need to measure the size of one shoulder. If you have a tape measure, you don't need any other tools!
1. Align the "0" scale of the measurement with the vertex of one shoulder as the base point.
2. Use a tape measure to measure length from shoulder base point to neck base point.
3. The size of the shoulder width can be found by multiplying the measured scale by 2.
Again, it is recommended that you measure without clothes or light clothing such as underwear.
■ Instructions according to the type of clothing
A convenient way to compare product sizes listed on websites is to lay your clothes flat and measure them. Plane measurement is the measurement of clothes spread out on a flat surface.
First of all, let's choose clothes suitable for measurement according to the following two points.
* Clothes that fit your body type.
* Please use the same type of clothing (shirts, dresses, coats, etc.) when selecting items against the scale table.
Basically, the measured garment is laid flat and measured from the seam apex of one shoulder to the seam apex of the other side.
The following are several types of shirts, coats, suits and so on to explain in detail how to measure.
4.How to measure the shoulder width of shirts and T-shirts

<T shirt>

The shoulder width of the T-shirt is measured by aligning the tape measure with the position of the shoulder seam.

<shirt>

The shirt also measures the straight-line distance between the shoulder seams.

If you want to know the exact size of the shirt, it is safe to measure the sleeve length at the same time. Sleeve length is the length from the back neck point to the cuff. It is used for the size symbol of the T-shirt and the seamless shoulder length of the rotator cuff.

For sleeve length, match the size to the neck point of the bag and measure to the length of the shoulder, elbow, and cuff.

5. How to measure the shoulder width of the suit

Measure a suit or jacket as you would a shirt. The only difference with the shirt is that the suit has shoulder pads on the shoulders.

It's easy to include the thickness of the shoulder pads in the measurements, but it's important to accurately measure the location of the joints. You generally can't easily buy a suit that fits you, so if you're starting to feel a little cramped, measure your shoulder width as well.

Keep this in mind, especially for men who often wear suits.

6. How to measure the shoulder width of a coat

The measurement method of the shoulder width of the shirt is the same as that of the shirt, but the thickness of the face material and the presence or absence of shoulder pads should be checked, and the joint should be accurately measured with the joint as the basis point of the shoulder.